Ricon recall query RQ15002
Wheelchair lift platform failure. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this recall query about the frame and members. Opened Mar 18, 2015, closed Oct 16, 2015 after 7 months. It concerns recall 15E068000, 15V564000, 15V565000, 15V724000, 15V765000, 15V766000, 15V767000, 15V768000, 15V769000, 15V770000, 15V772000, 15V773000, 15V779000, 15V868000, 15V870000, 16V001000. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedOn July 15, 2014, Ricon Corporation released safety recall 14E-041 to address lower pivot fatigue fractures in certain of its S-series wheel chair lifts. Ricon took this action after becoming aware of subject lift field failures including six involving school buses owned and operated by First Student (a school transport contractor) in Baltimore, MD. Ricon?s remedy in 14E-041 was the installation of an ?elastomeric bumper kit? (essentially a rubber bumper), designed to limit lift platform oscillation while in the stowed position. This RQ was opened when it became evident that lower pivot fatigue failures were continuing to occur on buses that had been remedied pursuant to 14E-041. On February 25, 2015, we were contacted by First Student, Baltimore regarding a recall remedy failure of a Ricon S-series wheelchair lift platform in three of its buses. We inspected those buses the following day and later, with Ricon staff. Subsequently the pivot bushing holes in the folding link arms were found to be larger than specified thus allowing the busing to withdraw and the lift to oscillate while stowed. This movement stressed the link arms near the pivot bushing hole causing them to crack. Since the remedy in 14E-041 was inadequate, Ricon decided to conduct a second recall (15E-068) to address the newly discovered root cause. With that recall, this RQ is closed.
A Recall Query is a look at a recall that already exists — whether its remedy works, whether it reached every vehicle it should have, whether the manufacturer met its obligations. 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 | 2015 | |
| Closing resume | INCLA | 2015 | |
| Information request to the manufacturer | INIM | 2015 |
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 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 is closed. A recall query ends with NHTSA’s finding on the recall it examined — the remedy stands, is widened, or a new campaign follows; the file names the recall it concerned and NHTSA’s closing resume carries the reasoning.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themNHTSA filed this action against Ricon Corporation without naming a model year — an equipment or manufacturer-level query.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs RQ15002 a recall?
No — it is NHTSA’s examination of recall 15E068000, 15V564000, 15V565000, 15V724000, 15V765000, 15V766000, 15V767000, 15V768000, 15V769000, 15V770000, 15V772000, 15V773000, 15V779000, 15V868000, 15V870000, 16V001000, which has its own page and remedy.
Is RQ15002 still open?
No. It closed on Oct 16, 2015 with its finding on recall 15E068000, 15V564000, 15V565000, 15V724000, 15V765000, 15V766000, 15V767000, 15V768000, 15V769000, 15V770000, 15V772000, 15V773000, 15V779000, 15V868000, 15V870000, 16V001000.
Which vehicles does RQ15002 cover?
NHTSA filed it against Ricon Corporation without naming a model year.