NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Engineering Analysis EA09-013: Vehicle Rollaway Allegations
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Engineering Analysis EA09-013 on August 18, 2009 and closed it on February 12, 2013. NHTSA's investigations file lists 3 models from 3 makes for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- EA09-013 (also written EA09013)
- 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 February 12, 2013
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Components
- Power Train — Automatic Transmission — Gear Position Indication (PRNDL); Power Train — Automatic Transmission — Lever and Linkage — Column Shift; Steering; Steering — Column; Steering — Column Locking — Anti-Theft Device
- Vehicles and equipment
- 3 models from 3 makes, including the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer
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 EA09-013.
try.vin does not copy NHTSA's investigation documents; NHTSA's investigation record lists the ones NHTSA has published.
This investigation is being closed based on several considerations.
By the most inclusive counting of all alleged rollaway incidents (i.e., counting all alleged rollaway incidents and assuming a singular failure mechanism), the incident rate is low, however during EA09-013, ODI identified a number of different failure mechanisms in 180 incidents related to the alleged defect.
The highest rate for any particular failure mechanism, the failure of the Automatic Transmission Parking System, was 4.4/100K.The next-highest failure rate was for the BSI System, at 3.4/100K.For all identified failure mechanisms there has been a drastically declining trend including very few incidents occurring in recent years.
Accordingly, this investigation is closed.
The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist.
For additional information regarding this investigation, see the complete closing resume in the document file for EA09-013. The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) numbers:10168454, 10279630, 10280078.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Engineering Analysis EA09-013. 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.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for EA09-013
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.