NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Engineering Analysis EA04-016: STEERING BINDING
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Engineering Analysis EA04-016 on June 24, 2004 and closed it on March 31, 2005. NHTSA's investigations file lists 8 Volvo models for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- EA04-016 (also written EA04016)
- Investigation type
- Engineering Analysis A more detailed stage of a defect investigation, opened when NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation decides an issue merits further review, often after a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query; it can include vehicle testing, surveys and further information requests.
- Status
- Closed March 31, 2005
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Volvo Trucks North America
- Components
- Steering; Steering — Column
- Vehicles and equipment
- 8 Volvo models, including the VN and VN610
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 Engineering Analysis EA04-016.
ODI'S INVESTIGATIONCONCLUDED THAT THE LEGS THAT RETAIN THE TURN SIGNAL CANCELING RING (TSCR), PART NUMBER 1607363, TO THE STEERING WHEEL INSTALLED IN MODEL YEAR 1998 - 1999 VN AND VHD SERIES VTNA (VOLVO TRUCK NORTH AMERICA) VEHICLES ARE PRONE TO CRACKING AND BREAKING.WHEN THE RETENTION LEGS BREAK, THE SEPARATED PIECES OF THE TSCR TYPICALLYREPOSE IN THE HOST CAVITY IN THE STEERING WHEEL HUB WHERE THEY WERE DEPOSITED.ODIFOUND THAT BROKEN PIECES OF THE TSCR EITHER (1) MIGRATED FROM THEIR HOST CAVITY AND DROPPED COMPLETELY FROM THE STEERING WHEEL ASSEMBLY OR (2) LODGED IN VARIOUS AREAS OF THE STEERING WHEEL PROXIMATE TO THE TSCR.ODI SIMULATED VARIOUS LOCATIONS AND POSITIONS THAT A SEPARATED PIECE OF THE TSCR MIGHT BECOME LODGED WITHIN THE STEERING WHEEL ASSEMBLY, BUT NONE OF THESE SIMULATIONS GENERATED ANY APPRECIABLE INCREASE IN STEERING EFFORT.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Engineering Analysis EA04-016. 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.
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.
Volvo VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for EA04-016
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.