Mercedes-Benz preliminary evaluation PE21019
Vehicle Rolls Away While in Park. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the automatic transmission on 2 model years (2019–2020). Opened Aug 2, 2021, closed May 27, 2022 after 10 months. It led to safety recall 21V972000, 22V796000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedThe Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened this PE after receiving 11 Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) alleging that Model Year (MY) 2019 Mercedes-Benz (MB) Sprinter vans, configured for use as Amazon delivery vehicles or ambulances, roll away shortly after being shifted to park using the Auto-P function. A rollaway vehicle with no operator behind the steering wheel could potentially strike pedestrians, moving or parked vehicles or buildings, resulting in injury, fatality and/or property damage. Analysis of data provided by MB in response to the ODI Information Request (IR) letter showed a high failure rate. Following discussions with ODI about the failures, MB decided to conduct a safety recall. On December 15, 2021, Daimler Vans USA, LLC filed recall 21V-972 covering 48,400 model year (MY) 2019-2020 Mercedes-Benz (MB) Sprinter vans. With recall 21V-972, this investigation is closed. The affected vehicle population determined by MB is Sprinter vehicles (VS30, Platform 907) produced between June 5, 2018 and November 30, 2020 with a manual parking brake and a 7-speed automatic transmission that was manufactured between May 1, 2018 and October 31, 2019, in the Hedelfingen transmission plant in Germany. 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. The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID using the following complaint identification numbers:11360500, 11404893, 11404894, 11360505, 11404417, 11405798, 11405804, 11404969, 11404838, 11404891, 11415509, 11428353, 11428296, 11298470, 11428219, 11405803, 11427068, 11428216, 11428296, 11429905, 11447877, 11452051
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 themA 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 PE21019 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 21V972000, 22V796000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE21019 still open?
No. It closed on May 27, 2022 and led to recall 21V972000, 22V796000.
Which vehicles does PE21019 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 2 model years: 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.