Hyundai preliminary evaluation PE16018
Front Passenger Seat Belt Anchor Failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the anchorage on 1 model year (2013). Opened Dec 27, 2016, closed Oct 23, 2017 after 10 months. It led to safety recall 17V152000, 17V617000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation on December 27, 2016 based on two ODI consumer complaints reporting a failure of the front passenger seat belt to remain connected to the seat belt anchor and pre-tensioner during a crash. On March 8, 2017 Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) filed a defect report with the agency stating that it would conduct a safety recall on 977,778 model year 2010-2014 Sonata vehicles produced from December 11, 2009 through May 29, 2014 and model year 2011-2015 Sonata Hybrid vehicles produced from December 2, 2010 through January 9, 2015. The remedy for the recall was to inspect the front seat belt anchor connector for proper attachment to the seat belt pre-tensioner. ODI continued the investigation in order to pursue a remedy that would be more lasting, rather than a one-time inspection. The connector is designed so that it can be removed from the pre-tensioner, when required, during vehicle maintenance. If it is not properly connected when originally installed or when re-installed after maintenance, the connector could potentially release in a crash. On September 4, 2017 Hyundai filed an amended defect report and advised the agency that the remedy would be modified to provide a permanent label, to be attached to the connector, at the time of inspection. The label provides graphic instructions and illustration as to the proper orientation of the connector lock when it is properly installed. On October 4, 2017 Hyundai filed an additional defect report (see 17V-671) to have the vehicles that have had only theinspection procedure performed return to dealers to have the permanent label applied to the connector. ODI is closing this investigation based on Hyundai's recall action to add a permanent label to the connector. This preliminary evaluation is closed. The ODI reports cited above can be viewed at www-odi.nhtsa.gov/complaints under the following identification numbers: 10903469 and 10926737.
A Preliminary Evaluation is the first formal stage: NHTSA has decided the complaints and other information it screened are worth a closer look, and asks the manufacturer for its own data on the condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the resumes carrying the full reasoning are linked below.
The paperwork NHTSA filed
Source: every document on this action, at nhtsa.gov- Opening resume — ODI’s own summary of why it opened this — the subject, what prompted it, and the vehicles in scope.
- Closing resume — ODI’s own summary of why it closed this, and what it concluded.
| Document | Code | Filed | At NHTSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening resume | INOA | 2016 | |
| Closing resume | INCLA | 2016 | |
| Manufacturer's response — data | INRD | 2016 | 29 files 1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829 |
| Manufacturer's response — full submission | INRL | 2016 |
These are NHTSA’s own files, served from the agency’s site — the resumes are what ODI wrote when it opened and closed the action, and the rest is the correspondence behind them, including what the manufacturer sent when the agency asked. They are linked, not copied: where a document names the people who wrote in, that redaction is the agency’s to make and its copy is the one you should read.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one became a recall. The campaign page carries the manufacturer’s filed defect, risk and remedy, the build window and every model year covered; whether one specific vehicle is included is settled by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2013 Hyundai Sonata.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE16018 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 17V152000, 17V617000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE16018 still open?
No. It closed on Oct 23, 2017 and led to recall 17V152000, 17V617000.
Which vehicles does PE16018 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 2013 Hyundai Sonata. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.