VAN Hool preliminary evaluation PE17006
Seat belt latch failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the seat belts on 17 model years (2015–2018). Opened Sep 25, 2017, closed Apr 4, 2018 after 6 months. It led to safety recall 18V209000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThrough Early Warning Reporting (EWR) data review of 2016 Q1-Q3, several field reports were found that identified failures of seat belt latch casings on MY 2016 Van Hool motorcoaches. While reviewing the EWR data related to the latch issue, ODI was contacted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) regarding seat belt latch issues they discovered while investigating a crash between a train and a 2016 Van Hool bus in Biloxi, Mississippi. Through inspections of buses similar to the bus involved in the crash, the NTSB found that casing failures were occurring on seat belt latches manufactured by Fasching Salzburg. These concerns were forwarded to ODI suggesting the latch casing failures may be a wide spread problem found on MY 2016 Van Hool buses. As a result of the information provided by the NTSB along with the related EWR field reports, ODI opened a defect investigation (PE17-006) on the subject vehicles. The intent of the investigation was to better understand if there was a safety related defect involving the latches. During the investigation ODI reviewed warranty claims submitted by VAN Hool and found that many identified situations where passengers could not get the seat belt buckles to latch or in some case unlatch. This presented a situation where passengers were either unrestrained during a potential crash or could not get out of their seats to exit the vehicle in a potential emergency. With recall action 18V-209 taken by Van Hool this investigation is closed. Further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exists on other model or MY vehicles outside of the recall scope. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
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 opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
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: 2015 VAN Hool CX35; 2016 VAN Hool CX35; 2017 VAN Hool CX35; 2018 VAN Hool CX35; 2015 VAN Hool CX45; 2016 VAN Hool CX45; 2017 VAN Hool CX45; 2018 VAN Hool CX45; 2015 VAN Hool TD925; 2016 VAN Hool TD925; 2017 VAN Hool TD925; 2015 VAN Hool TDX25; 2016 VAN Hool TDX25; 2017 VAN Hool TDX25; 2018 VAN Hool TDX25; 2016 VAN Hool TX40; 2016 VAN Hool TX45.
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 PE17006 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 18V209000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE17006 still open?
No. It closed on Apr 4, 2018 and led to recall 18V209000.
Which vehicles does PE17006 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 17 model years: 2015 VAN Hool CX35, 2016 VAN Hool CX35, 2017 VAN Hool CX35, 2018 VAN Hool CX35, 2015 VAN Hool CX45, 2016 VAN Hool CX45 and more. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.