Proterra recall query RQ25001
Remedy Effectiveness of Recall 22V887. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this recall query about the traction battery on 3 model years (2017–2019). Opened Jun 27, 2025 and still open — 15 months so far, against NHTSA’s goal of eight months for a recall query. open
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn November 2022, Proterra Operating Company, Inc. (Proterra) filed a safety recall (NHTSA recall 22V887) covering nineteen 2017-2019 Proterra Catalyst transit buses to address the potential of liquid accumulation in the 400-volt battery packs, increasing the risk of a fire. On December 16, 2022, Proterra mailed an interim owner notification letter stating that Proterra would physically inspect and analyze each recalled battery pack. In October 2023, Proterra amended their filing to now cover 300 vehicles, with a final remedy plan of updating the battery monitoring software. According to the final remedy documents from Proterra, should liquid be detected within the battery pack, the updated software would illuminate a warning light in the driver's dash display, prevent the batteries from being charged, and reduce the maximum speed of the buses. As of the most recent recall completion rate report, 109 of the 300 buses (36.3%) have received the software update. In August 2023, Proterra declared bankruptcy, with its the three major business areas going to three separate companies. Phoenix Motorcars assumed liability for recall 22V887. On June 5, 2025, a fire occurred at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) decommissioning lot. Local officials stated that the fire initiated in a battery pack of one of the Proterra buses. The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is opening this Recall Query (RQ) to evaluate the remedy effectiveness of recall 22V887 and to further understand the effects of nearly two-thirds of the affected population having not yet received the recall remedy.
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 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 is open. Nothing is owed on the vehicle today; if it becomes a recall, owners are written to and the repair is free. The moment to know is the day the campaign number appears — Recall Watch checks each VIN against every new NHTSA campaign and emails you when one lands, or take a free one-line alert by model year.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2017 Proterra Catalyst; 2018 Proterra Catalyst; 2019 Proterra Catalyst.
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 RQ25001 a recall?
No. A recall query is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one has not produced one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is RQ25001 still open?
Yes, as of NHTSA’s latest file: opened Jun 27, 2025, 15 months ago.
Which vehicles does RQ25001 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 3 model years: 2017 Proterra Catalyst, 2018 Proterra Catalyst, 2019 Proterra Catalyst. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.