Mercedes-Benz preliminary evaluation PE18002
Low Pressure Fuel Supply Hose Leak. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the hoses, lines/piping, and fittings on 2 model years (2016–2017). Opened Mar 13, 2018, closed Jun 18, 2019 after 15 months. It led to safety recall 18V837000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn November 27, 2018, Daimler Vans USA, LLC submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA describing two engine compartment fuel hose connection defects in certain model year (MY) 2016 and 2017 Mercedes-Benz Metris vehicles (Recall 18V-837).The recall scope includes approximately 12,383 Metris vehicles manufactured from March 2, 2015 (SOP) to March 15, 2017. The defects may result in leakage from an upper hose connection that feeds the high-pressure fuel pump or from a lower hose connection of the fuel transition hose between the underbody fuel line and the Shrader valve. The upper connection defect was caused by thermal aging of the hose material (Veritas hose), resulting in a loss of elasticity over time. The thermal aging of the hose leads to a progressive reduction of sealing performance, which is most evident at low ambient temperatures. The problem was corrected by changing to a hose with better material properties (ContiTech hose).The lower connection defect was caused by a manufacturing process problem, where the hose clamp may have been installed using an incorrect tool. The recall remedy involves replacing the upper and lower hoses and clamps, as necessary, and ensuring proper installation. The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE18-002 to investigate nine (9) complaints (VOQs) reporting incidents of gasoline odor or leakage in nine (9) model year (MY) 2016 Mercedes-Benz Metris vans (subject vehicles).Eight (8) of the VOQs indicated that the problem occurred in cold ambient temperatures, either during engine warm-up after a cold start or after the vehicle had been parked and shutoff. Two (2) of the consumers have indicated to ODI that the problems were diagnosed by dealer service technicians as the upper hose connection defect. As part of PE18-002, ODI analyzed information related to the incidents reported to the Office by consumers and analyzed the information provided by Daimler Vans in response to ODI's information request letter. The fuel hose leak field experience shown in the Failure Report section of this resume all involve vehicles covered by the Daimler Vans recall. This Preliminary Evaluation is closed with recall 18V-837. VOQs associated with the investigation: 10936026, 10936184, 10991876, 11054491, 11057992, 11063437, 11063829, 11104437, 11138922, 11139024, 11140844, 1150262, 11152201.
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 | 2018 | |
| Closing resume | INCLA | 2018 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2018 | |
| Manufacturer's response — data | INRD | 2018 | 37 files 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637 |
40 of 108 documents shown; the rest are under this number at nhtsa.gov.
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 owners had already reported
Source: complaints on file the day it openedWhen NHTSA opened this on Mar 13, 2018, owners had filed 46 complaints with the agency about the model years above, of which 9 named the fuel/propulsion system NHTSA went on to investigate. Owner complaints are the agency’s main early signal: ODI screens them, and a Preliminary Evaluation is usually where a pattern in them ends up.
This is what the complaint file held on that date, not a claim about which reports prompted the investigation — NHTSA’s complaint records carry no investigation number, so nobody can make that link from the data alone. The opening resume linked above names the reports ODI itself cited. Complaint records on this site begin with 2016.
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 themA 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 PE18002 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 18V837000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE18002 still open?
No. It closed on Jun 18, 2019 and led to recall 18V837000.
Which vehicles does PE18002 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2017 Mercedes-Benz Metris, 2016 Mercedes-Benz Metris. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.