Cruise LLC preliminary evaluation PE23018
Automated Driving System. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this preliminary evaluation about the autonomous/self driving. Opened Oct 16, 2023, closed Jan 14, 2025 after 15 months. It led to safety recall 23E086000. became a recall
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn October 16, 2023, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE23-018) to assess whether vehicles equipped with an Automated Driving System (ADS) manufactured and operated by Cruise LLC (Cruise) were exercising appropriate caution around pedestrians in the roadway after receiving 2 reports of crashes involving pedestrians under Standing General Order 2021-01 (SGO). ODI also identified 2 public reports of Cruise ADS-equipped vehicles encroaching on pedestrians present in crosswalks. On November 7, 2023, Cruise filed a safety recall (NHTSA Recall No. 23E-086) for a defect in its ADS software. Cruise described this recall as relating to the post-collision behavior of the ADS. Specifically, Cruise stated that "In certain circumstances, a collision may occur, after which the Collision Detection Subsystem may cause the Cruise AV to attempt to pull over out of traffic instead of remaining stationary when a pullover is not the desired post-collision response. This issue could occur after a collision with a pedestrian positioned low on the ground in the path of the AV.� The recalled software versions affected 950 vehicles that were operating with a driverless version of Cruise's ADS software. Furthermore, Cruise stated that “With the new update, the Cruise AV would have remained stationary during the October 2 incident� that was reported under the SGO (ID 30412-6395). ODI also analyzed data which included 2,759 reports identified by Cruise that involved the performance of the ADS with respect to avoiding collisions with pedestrians as well as more general behavior of the ADS after a collision. Of these, Cruise identified 1,113 reports that involved a pedestrian conflict. In total, 5 of those incidents involved a collision between a Cruise vehicle and a pedestrian, 3 of which resulted in injury. In each of the 5 pedestrian collision incidents the Cruise vehicle took avoiding action but was unable to avoid a collision. The recall action taken by Cruise is intended to address safety defects in the post-collision behavior of the ADS in such instances. Moreover, Cruise has since ceased business operations and no versions of its ADS are operating on public roads. As such, ODI is closing this Preliminary Evaluation. NHTSA reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances. To review the SGO reports cited above, go to NHTSA.gov/laws-regulations/standing-general-order-crash-reporting. The SGO report ID numbers are provided below: SGO 2021-01 report ID: 30412-6175 SGO 2021-01 report ID: 30412-6395
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 themNHTSA filed this action against Cruise LLC without naming a model year — an equipment or manufacturer-level query.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs PE23018 a recall?
No — it is the investigation that led to one. Recall 23E086000 is the campaign; its page carries the remedy.
Is PE23018 still open?
No. It closed on Jan 14, 2025 and led to recall 23E086000.
Which vehicles does PE23018 cover?
NHTSA filed it against Cruise LLC without naming a model year.