Chrysler preliminary evaluation PE20012
Interior Vehicle Fire. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the electrical system on 1 model year (2014). Opened Aug 6, 2020, closed Apr 4, 2022 after 20 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn August 6th, 2020, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE20-012) to investigate alleged thermal events, and/or vehicle fires originating at the charge hub in 2014 Chrysler Town and Country minivans manufactured by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). While the investigation was focused on the 2014 Chrysler Town and Country vehicles, the scope of the investigation was expanded to include the 2013-2020 Chrysler Town and Country, and Dodge Grand Caravan vehicles (the RT Platform).During the investigation ODI sent two separate Information Request letters to the manufacturer. One on August 17th, 2020 and one on March 31st, 2021. ODI identified a subject 2014 Chrysler Town and Country van on a vehicle salvage website that appeared to have experienced a thermal event where the charge hub is located. With the help of the NHTSA's Vehicle Research and Test Center (VRTC), ODI purchased the vehicle from the salvage company to inspect the damage and determine if more information about the failure could be obtained. A joint inspection with the manufacturer was conducted. Following this comprehensive inspection, a cause of the fire could not be determined. FCA initiated a parts collection initiative to obtain parts from the field for testing. The test results from the FCA field parts collection were inconclusive as they could not identify a common cause for the alleged thermal events. FCA looked at multiple liquid solutions that could have entered the charge hub circuit and caused it to short out, potentially leading to a fire. FCA also performed testing where the charge hub circuit was shorted out using a wire to observe if a flame or fire was produced. FCA provided their assessment to ODI concluding that none of the testing methods performed lead to a flame or fire being propagated. Given the low rate of thermal incidents at the subject vehicle charge hub, no reports of serious injury, zero reports of crash or death, and a lack of common failure mode, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists. 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 closed without a recall. That means NHTSA found no defect trend it chose to act on at the time, or the manufacturer addressed the condition another way (a service campaign or a bulletin, which have their own pages). A closed file can be reopened if new reports arrive.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2014 Chrysler Town AND Country.
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 PE20012 a recall?
No. A preliminary evaluation is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is PE20012 still open?
No. It closed on Apr 4, 2022 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE20012 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 1 model year: 2014 Chrysler Town AND Country. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.