NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Audit Query AQ24-002: Certification
- Open
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Audit Query AQ24-002 on February 12, 2024; NHTSA's investigations file listed it as open on October 23, 2026. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Nuna Pipa Lite and Pipa Lite R for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- AQ24-002 (also written AQ24002)
- 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
- Open since February 12, 2024
- Opened
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Nuna Baby Essentials, Inc.
- Component
- Child Seat
- Vehicles and equipment
- Nuna Pipa Lite and Pipa Lite R
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Audit Query AQ24-002.
The Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC) tested two products marketed and sold by Nuna Baby Essentials, Inc. (“Nuna”) under the model names “Nuna PIPA lite” and “Nuna PIPA lite r” to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, “Child Restraint Systems.” As documented in each model's test report, the PIPA lite and PIPA lite r appear not to comply with a number of FMVSS No. 213 requirements, including but not limited to the means of installation in S5.3.2, and labeling requirements in S5.5. As each model’s test report documents, the products’ “infant car seat”—as it is referred to by Nuna in Nuna’s printed instructions—did not appear capable of being installed using a Type I seat belt assembly. Further examination of Nuna’s certification of the Nuna PIPA lite and Nuna PIPA lite r as compliant with FMVSS No. 213 is necessary. Through this investigation, the agency will obtain additional information about the basis for Nuna’s certification of these products.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Audit Query AQ24-002. 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.
Nuna
Nuna Pipa Lite
- model year not given
Nuna Pipa Lite R
- model year not given
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.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for AQ24-002
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.