Peterbilt and Kenworth preliminary evaluation PE20015
Quarter Fender Failures. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the underbody shields on 59 model years (2017–2019). Opened Sep 21, 2020, closed Oct 14, 2021 after 13 months without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE21-015) based on one Vehicle Owner Questionnaire (VOQ) and supporting fleet reports. The reports indicated that the subject quarter fenders were prone to cracking and/or separation. After a comprehensive review of the data related to the quarter fender failures on the subject vehicles, ODI did not identify the existence of a safety-related defect trend. Quarter fender failures resulted in a warranty claim rate less than one percent (<1%) of the total vehicle population. All separations, including those due to tread separations, road hazards, etc., accounted for less than point one percent (<0.1%) of the total vehicle population. ODI discovered that the minimum recommended gap between the top of the quarter fender and the bottom of the trailer was not known or being followed. The optional quarter fenders were supplied by Fontaine Spray Systems (FSS), who recommended a two inch (2) gap. ODI analyzed the claim data using a calculated gap. A calculated gap using the top of the quarter fender flap and assuming the trailer is level with the top of the fifth wheel hitch was necessary, as PACCAR doesn't know specifically what trailer a purchaser will couple to the tractor. It is safe to assume no trailers on the market extend below the upper fifth wheel plate, but many do provide additional clearance over the wheels where the quarter fenders are located. ODI determined that 94 percent of warranty claims and 84 percent of separations violated FSS' recommendation. ODI confirmed that the VOQ vehicle and the fleet report vehicles also violated FSS' recommended gap. In one fleet the gap was negative point three inches (-0.3).PACCAR has updated its vehicle specification process and issued a customer advisory notice to existing owners. In light of the low rate of reported failures and separations, further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted. 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 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 | 2020 | |
| Closing resume | INCLA | 2020 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2020 | |
| Memo to the investigation file | INME | 2020 |
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 Sep 21, 2020, owners had filed 16 complaints with the agency about the model years above, of which 1 named the structure 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 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: 2017 Kenworth T170; 2018 Kenworth T170; 2019 Kenworth T170; 2017 Kenworth T440; 2018 Kenworth T440; 2019 Kenworth T440; 2017 Kenworth T470; 2017 Kenworth T600; 2018 Kenworth T600; 2019 Kenworth T600; 2017 Peterbilt 210; 2018 Peterbilt 210; 2017 Peterbilt 220; 2018 Peterbilt 220; 2017 Peterbilt 320; 2018 Peterbilt 320; 2019 Peterbilt 320; 2017 Peterbilt 325; 2018 Peterbilt 325; 2019 Peterbilt 325; 2017 Peterbilt 330; 2018 Peterbilt 330; 2019 Peterbilt 330; 2017 Peterbilt 337; 2018 Peterbilt 337; 2019 Peterbilt 337; 2017 Peterbilt 348; 2018 Peterbilt 348; 2019 Peterbilt 348; 2017 Peterbilt 365; 2018 Peterbilt 365; 2019 Peterbilt 365; 2017 Peterbilt 367; 2018 Peterbilt 367; 2019 Peterbilt 367; 2017 Peterbilt 384; 2018 Peterbilt 384; 2019 Peterbilt 384; 2017 Peterbilt 386; 2018 Peterbilt 386; 2019 Peterbilt 386; 2017 Peterbilt 388; 2018 Peterbilt 388; 2019 Peterbilt 388; 2017 Peterbilt 389; 2018 Peterbilt 389; 2019 Peterbilt 389; 2017 Peterbilt 520; 2018 Peterbilt 520; 2019 Peterbilt 520; 2017 Peterbilt 567; 2018 Peterbilt 567; 2019 Peterbilt 567; 2017 Peterbilt 579; 2018 Peterbilt 579; 2019 Peterbilt 579; 2017 Peterbilt 587; 2018 Peterbilt 587; 2019 Peterbilt 587.
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 PE20015 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 PE20015 still open?
No. It closed on Oct 14, 2021 without a recall.
Which vehicles does PE20015 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 59 model years: 2017 Kenworth T170, 2018 Kenworth T170, 2019 Kenworth T170, 2017 Kenworth T440, 2018 Kenworth T440, 2019 Kenworth T440 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.