NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Engineering Analysis EA07-007: ENGINE STALLING
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Engineering Analysis EA07-007 on April 27, 2007, the day it closed Preliminary Evaluation PE07-009, whose summary cites it, and closed it on May 7, 2008. NHTSA's investigations file lists 3 Jeep models for it and links recall 08V-203 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- EA07-007 (also written EA07007)
- 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 May 7, 2008
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
- Components
- Electrical System; Engine and Engine Cooling; Power Train — Automatic Transmission — Control Module (TCM/PCM/TECM)
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 08V-203: POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE/ENGINE STALL, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 3 Jeep models, including the Commander and Commander 4X2
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Engineering Analysis EA07-007.
ON MAY 5, 2008, CHRYSLER LLC (CHRYSLER) SUBMITTED A DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT TO NHTSA CONCERNING AN ENGINE CALIBRATION ISSUE THAT COULD RESULT IN ENGINE STALL IN APPROXIMATELY 24,461 MODEL YEAR (MY) 2006 JEEP COMMANDER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE 4.7L V-8 ENGINE AND BUILT FROM FEBRUARY 25, 2005 THROUGH JANUARY 11, 2006.
ACCORDING TO CHRYSLER, THE POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE (PCM) WAS PROGRAMMED WITH SOFTWARE THAT MAY ALLOW THE ENGINE TO STALL DURING CERTAIN OPERATING CONDITIONS.CHRYSLER DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE PCM SOFTWARE IN THE RECALLED VEHICLES. INFORMATION PROVIDED BY CHRYSLER DURING PE07-009 AND EA07-007 INDICATED THAT A REVISED ENGINE CALIBRATION WAS IMPLEMENTED IN PRODUCTION EFFECTIVE JANUARY 12, 2006 FOR THE MY 2006 JEEP COMMANDER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 4.7L V-8 ENGINES.ODI'S ANALYSIS OFCONSUMER COMPLAINTS, FIELD REPORTS AND OTHER DATA RELATED TO FIELD EXPERIENCE WITH ENGINE STALLING IN MY 2006 THROUGH 2007 JEEP COMMANDER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 3.7L, 4.7L AND 5.7L ENGINES IDENTIFIED AN ELEVATED RATE OF STALLING INCIDENTS IN THE MY 2006 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 4.7L ENGINES THAT WERE MANUFACTURED BEFORE THE CALIBRATION CHANGE.ODI INTERVIEWED OVER 70 CONSUMERS WHO REPORTED STALLING INCIDENTS IN EARLY PRODUCTION MY 2006 4.7L VEHICLES.INFORMATION GATHERED FROM THOSE INTERVIEWS INDICATED THAT THE STALLING INCIDENTS WERE OCCURRING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, OFTEN OCCURRED DURING TURNS AND TYPICALLY OCCURRED MORE THAN ONCE.THE INTERVIEWS DID NOT IDENTIFY ANY CONCERNS WITH RESTARTABILITY. ALTHOUGH THE EARLY MY 2006 PRODUCTION VEHICLES WITH 4.7L ENGINES MAKE UP ONLY ABOUT 15 PERCENT OF ALL MY 2006 THROUGH 2007 JEEP COMMANDERS BUILT BY CHRYSLER, THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR 465 OF THE 854 REPORTED STALLING INCIDENTS (54%), 6 OF THE 12 CRASH INCIDENTS (50%) AND THE ONLY INJURY CLAIM.THE STALLING RATE FOR THE RECALLED VEHICLES IS 1.90 PERCENT, ALMOST 7 TIMES GREATER THAN THE RATE IN THE REMAINING POPULATION (0.28 PERCENT).
CHRYSLER'S RECALL COVERS THE VEHICLES WITH THE ELEVATED STALLING RATE.THE REMAINING VEHICLES HAVE RELATIVELY LOW RATES OF STALLING AND DO NOT EXHIBIT ANY SIGNS OF AGGRAVATING FACTORS SUCH AS PROBLEMS WITH RESTART. ODI ALSO ANALYZED COMPLAINTS ALLEGING CONCERNS WITH LOSS OF LIGHTING COINCIDENT TO STALLING INCIDENTS.THIS ANALYSIS IDENTIFIED SEVEN STALLING INCIDENTS WHERE LOSS OF EXTERIOR LIGHTING WAS ALLEGED.NO SPECIFIC CAUSE WAS IDENTIFIED IN THESE INCIDENTS AND THERE WAS NO DISCERNIBLE PATTERN REGARDING ENGINE, VEHICLE PRODUCTION OPTIONS, BUILD RANGE OR FAILURE TREND. THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED WITH CHRYSLER'S RECALL.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Engineering Analysis EA07-007. 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.
Jeep
All Jeep recallsWhat 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.
Jeep VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for EA07-007
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.