NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Audit Query AQ17-001: Champion Ford Edinboro / Steering Shaft
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Audit Query AQ17-001 on January 4, 2017 and closed it on June 15, 2018. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2015 Ford F-150 for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- AQ17-001 (also written AQ17001)
- Investigation type
- Audit Query An administrative investigation into compliance with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting Early Warning data on time or carrying out a recall.
- Status
- Closed June 15, 2018
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Component
- Steering
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2015 Ford F-150
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Audit Query AQ17-001.
NHTSA opened AQ17-001 to determine whether Champion Ford Edinboro, Inc. (Champion Ford), of Edinboro, Pennsylvania, complied with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 (Safety Act) and its implementing regulations. The Safety Act requires, among other things, that a manufacturer notify its dealers of defects related to motor vehicle safety and non-compliances with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and, in turn, that a dealer not sell a new vehicle subject to a recall unless the recall remedy has been performed (49 U.S.C. ?30120(i)).
NHTSA issued an information request (IR) letter to Champion Ford on January 4, 2017.
Champion Ford responded to this request on January 19, 2017.
Also on January 4, 2017, an IR letter was issued to Ford Motor Company (Ford) and a response was received from Ford on January 25, 2017.
Finally, another IR was issued to Champion Ford on May 31, 2017, and Champion Ford's response letter was submitted to NHTSA on June 14, 2017.
NHTSA's investigation indicated that Champion Ford did sell and deliver recalled vehicles that did not have the recall remedy completed at the time the vehicles were delivered to the customers.
NHTSA therefore concluded that Champion Ford was liable for civil penalties for violations of the Safety Act, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. ?30165.
Under a Settlement Agreement dated April 16, 2018, Champion Ford agreed to pay compromised civil penalties in the amount of $20,000.
Champion Ford also represented in writing that it repaired all twenty-three (23) recalled vehicles identified in AQ17-001 and will strictly adhere to Ford's procedures requiring dealers to check for outstanding safety recalls prior to customer delivery.
NHTSA's Recall Management Division has verified that all twenty-three (23) vehicles have been remedied of the safety recalls identified in AQ17-001.
This Audit Query is closed.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Audit Query AQ17-001. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Ford
Ford F-150
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Ford VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for AQ17-001
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.