Freightliner preliminary evaluation PE21006
Halogen Headlights May Cause Fires. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the headlights on 3 model years (2018–2020). Opened Feb 25, 2021, closed Jul 16, 2021 after 5 months. It led to safety recall 21V357000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn its process for evaluating Early Warning Reporting data, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) found twenty-four (24) field reports involving headlight fires on Freightliner Cascadia trucks, model years 2017 and newer produced by the vehicle manufacturer, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA). ODI contacted DTNA and learned that it was aware of halogen bulb-related thermal events. DTNA stated a belief that the issue was due to incorrect bulb replacement during maintenance. However, some vehicles experienced fires within the original equipment halogen bulb's expected life range. In July 2019, DTNA released a service bulletin and a training video covering proper headlight bulb replacement. There have been 17 fires, with 3 total vehicle losses, since DTNA released this extra training information. On February 25, 2021, ODI opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE21-006) and sent an Information Request (IR) letter to DTNA. After the PE opening, DTNA reevaluated the data and found additional thermal events at low mileages and decided to file a recall. On May 14, 2021, DTNA submitted recall 21V-357 for 72,508 vehicles covering 2017-2022 models (exceeding the population and model years of this investigation). The planned owner and dealer notification date is July 12, 2021. For the remedy, DTNA will open up the 2-inch access into a 4-inch access hole into the inner fender to provide better access for the maintenance replacement of the bulb, and add a label that provides a visible warning to aid in the correct installation during the change. Additionally, a new foam grommet will replace the flammable rubber boots for both the high and low beam bulbs, improving access to the interface point where the bulbs install into the socket of the reflector. ODI believes that the scope of DTNA recall 21V-357 is sufficient, and accordingly, PE21-006 is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist on other models 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 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 | 2021 | |
| Closing resume | INCLA | 2021 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2021 |
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 Feb 25, 2021, owners had filed 37 complaints with the agency about the model years above, of which 3 named the exterior lighting 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 themAlso named: 2018 Freightliner Cascadia; 2019 Freightliner Cascadia; 2020 Freightliner Cascadia.
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 PE21006 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 21V357000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE21006 still open?
No. It closed on Jul 16, 2021 and led to recall 21V357000.
Which vehicles does PE21006 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 3 model years: 2018 Freightliner Cascadia, 2019 Freightliner Cascadia, 2020 Freightliner Cascadia. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.