Ford preliminary evaluation PE18010
Internal transmission failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the automatic transmission on 10 model years (2009–2016). Opened Aug 21, 2018, closed Jul 16, 2019 after 11 months. It led to safety recall 19V432000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedBy letter dated June 10, 2019, Ford Motor Company notified the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of a safety defect that may exist in certain model year (MY) 2009 through 2016 Ford Econoline vehicles equipped with a 5R110W transmission. Following the receipt of consumer complaints alleging transmission failures in vehicles built with a 5R110W transmission, NHTSA opened this investigation to assess the manufacturer's data including warranty claims, field reports, design changes, etc. Vehicles equipped with a 5R110W transmission contain a capacitive discharge weld within a coast clutch component in the transmission. A substandard weld may fatigue and fail, causing an elevated rate of loss of motive power in subject vehicle applications. Reports indicate that most of the weld failures occur when the torque is highest, which is when the driver attempts to accelerate from a stop. Analysis of the data provided by Ford Motor Company found that the risk of a transmission failure is very high in vehicles equipped with the combination of a W-MOD 5.4L SOHC EFI NA V8 G-NP engine and a 5R110W transmission. This vehicle population mainly consists of school buses and ambulances. A loss of mobility in school bus applications may result in the transfer of children when the vehicle is immobilized in a roadway, and a loss of vehicle mobility in ambulance applications may result in the delay of patient treatment. In response to this investigation, Ford Motor Company agreed to conduct recall 19V-432. Owners will be notified by mail and instructed to take their vehicle to a Ford or Lincoln dealer to have the coast clutch cylinder replaced and to replace the single-engaging coast one-way clutch with a dual-engaging one-way clutch. With recall action 19V-432 taken by Ford Motor Company 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 exist 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 on model years this site has no page for: 2015 Ford E-350; 2015 Ford E-450; 2009 Ford Econoline; 2010 Ford Econoline; 2011 Ford Econoline; 2012 Ford Econoline; 2013 Ford Econoline; 2014 Ford Econoline; 2015 Ford Econoline.
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 PE18010 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 19V432000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE18010 still open?
No. It closed on Jul 16, 2019 and led to recall 19V432000.
Which vehicles does PE18010 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 10 model years: 2016 Ford E-Series, 2015 Ford E-350, 2015 Ford E-450, 2009 Ford Econoline, 2010 Ford Econoline, 2011 Ford Econoline 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.