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NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Engineering Analysis EA10-004: Interior Door Handle Laceration Risk

  • Closed

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Engineering Analysis EA10-004 on May 23, 2010 and closed it on July 18, 2011. NHTSA's investigations file lists 7 models from 2 makes for it.

Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file

Key facts

NHTSA number
EA10-004 (also written EA10004)
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 July 18, 2011
Opened
Closed
Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
General Motors, LLC
Components
Latches/Locks/Linkages; Latches/Locks/Linkages — Doors — Latch; Structure; Structure — Body; Structure — Body — Door; Structure — Body — Door — Hinge and Attachments
Vehicles and equipment
7 models from 2 makes, including the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon

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 EA10-004.

The investigated concern involved chrome plating on interior door handles that could peel or separate from the plastic base material.

This de-lamination could result in a sharp edge and pose a risk of laceration.

In some cases, consumers reported minor hand/skin lacerations.

Of these reported injuries, the vast majority of injuries were to adults.

Ninety percent of claims associated with interior door handle de-lamination were related to the front doors.

In addition to the above Tahoe/Yukon vehicles, other GMT 900 series C/K vehicles (Avalanche, Escalade, Sierra, Silverado, and Suburban) have a trim level that utilizes the chrome plated interior door handles and were included in the analysis.

The resultant population group had a total of 746 complaint reports with 309 injury incidents and 43,619 unique VIN regular warranty claims over a combined 451,745 vehicle population.

The door handle supplier was changed in September 2006 with new tooling and process in place by October 2006.

The base population prior to the September 2006 vendor change accounted for the bulk (or 89%) of all complaints and comparable injury reports and warranty claims.

Due to the nature of the failure (thin chrome plating peeling off the door handle), only minor hand/skin laceration injuries similar to a paper cut were recorded.

All but a few did not require professional medical treatment such as surgical or liquid sutures (i.e. stitches).

Less than 10% of injury reports had specifically involved a 3-10 year old child.

This was due to the fact that 90% of the claims were associated with door handles located in the front seating area (where the window glass panels usually have less solar tinting than rear window glass panels) where children are not normally seated. In July 2010, GM issued a Special Coverage Policy (SCP 09239) on the base vehicles to extend the warranty coverage to 10 years/100k miles.

Recent data indicate that the base population complaint and injury reporting have subsided since the implementation of the SCP campaign.

In June 2011, GM added the remaining interim population (Sep-Oct 2006) to the SCP.A safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.

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.

The agency will monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.

Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation

NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Engineering Analysis EA10-004. 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.

Chevrolet

All Chevrolet recalls

GMC

All GMC recalls

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 EA10-004

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.