Kia and Hyundai preliminary evaluation PE18003
Air bags may be disabled during crash. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the air bag/restraint control module on 15 model years (2010–2013). Opened Mar 16, 2018, closed Aug 30, 2019 after 18 months. It led to safety recall 18E043000, 18V137000, 18V363000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE18-003 on 3/16/18 to investigate incidents involving crashes, resulting in significant collision related damage, where the frontal airbags failed to deploy. ODI reviewed complaint data, available design, test, and field data on the model year (MY) 2011 Hyundai Sonata, MY 2012-2013 Kia Forte and Forte Koup vehicles. ODI also evaluated data from the automotive air bag system supplier, ZF-TRW (ZF), to review vehicles that may contain the same air bag control unit (ACU) used in the subject vehicles. Hyundai Motor America (HMA) issued recall No. 18V-137 for MY 2011-2013 Sonata and MY 2012 Sonata Hybrid vehicles. Kia Motors America (KMA) issued recall No. 18V-363 for MY 2010-2013 Kia Forte and Forte Koup, MY 2011-2013 Optima, MY 2011-2012 Optima Hybrid, and MY2011-2012 Sedona vehicles. The two recalls address vehicles containing ACUs manufactured without adequate circuit protection by installing a wire harness filter kit to prevent internal damage to the ACU. In the event of a crash, ACU damage may result in the disablement of the vehicle's airbags. Each respective manufacturer has mailed letters to affected vehicle owners informing them of the remedy and its availability. ODI plans to evaluate the susceptibility of the subject ACU to electrical signals, as well as other vehicle factors that can either lead to, or reduce the likelihood of, an electrical overstress event in other vehicles manufactured with the subject ZF ACU. Accordingly, this Preliminary Evaluation has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA19-001), to expand the scope of the investigation to include the Tier-one supplier and any manufacturers who installed the subject ACU in production vehicles. Additional information is available with the closing resume available at NHTSA.gov (see Associated Documents).The ODI complaints cited above can be viewed at www. NHTSA.gov under the following ODI identification numbers: 10781050, 10849839, 11099038, 11080341.
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: 2011 Hyundai Sonata; 2012 Hyundai Sonata; 2013 Hyundai Sonata; 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid; 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid; 2010 Kia Forte; 2011 Kia Forte; 2012 Kia Forte; 2013 Kia Forte; 2010 Kia Forte Koup; 2011 Kia Forte Koup; 2012 Kia Forte Koup; 2013 Kia Forte Koup; 2011 Kia Sedona; 2012 Kia Sedona.
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 PE18003 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 18E043000, 18V137000, 18V363000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE18003 still open?
No. It closed on Aug 30, 2019 and led to recall 18E043000, 18V137000, 18V363000.
Which vehicles does PE18003 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 15 model years: 2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2012 Hyundai Sonata, 2013 Hyundai Sonata, 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, 2010 Kia Forte 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.