NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Engineering Analysis EA13-005: Brake Light Switch/Sensor Malfunction
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Engineering Analysis EA13-005 on June 6, 2013, the day it closed Recall Query RQ13-001, whose summary cites it, and closed it on July 1, 2014. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2005–2008 Pontiac G6 for it and links recall 14V-252 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- EA13-005 (also written EA13005)
- 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 1, 2014
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- General Motors, LLC
- Components
- Exterior Lighting; Exterior Lighting — Brake Lights; Exterior Lighting — Tail Lights
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 14V-252: Brake Lights may or may not Randomly Illuminate, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2005–2008 Pontiac G6
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Engineering Analysis EA13-005.
try.vin does not copy NHTSA's investigation documents; NHTSA's investigation record lists the ones NHTSA has published.
On May 14, 2014 General Motors (GM) announced a recall action (14V-252) involving model year (MY) 2004-12 Chevrolet Malibu, MY 2004-07 Malibu Maxx, MY 2005-10 Pontiac G6 and MY 2007-10 Saturn Aura vehicles.
An increased resistance can develop in the Body Control Module connection systems and result in voltage fluctuations in the Brake Apply Sensor (BAS, or brake light switch) circuit that can cause the brake lamps to malfunction.
As a result, and according to GM, the brake lamps may illuminate when pedal application is not being applied or may not illuminate when pedal force is applied.
Additionally, the cruise control may not engage or if it is engaged it may require increased pedal travel to disengage.
Pedal application may not be required to move the shift lever out of PARK or additional travel may be required to move the shift lever out of PARK. Traction control, electronic stability control (ESC) and panic brake assist features may also become disabled. These failure conditions may increase the risk of a crash.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Engineering Analysis EA13-005 on June 6, 2013 to further investigate complaints alleging that the brake lights did not operate properly on MY 2005-08 Pontiac G6 vehicles.
The BAS in these vehicles produces a single analog voltage output proportional to the brake pedal's position.
The BAS signal is used by various systems to determine both pedal position and rate of displacement, so a failure or inaccuracy of the signal may affect multiple systems.
ODI also received similar complaints on MY 2009 Pontiac G6, MY 2004-11 Chevrolet Malibu and MY 2007-09 Saturn Aura vehicles that use the same BAS.All of these above models were included in the subject vehicle population of ODI's Information Request (IR) letter to GM.Prior to the recall announcement date, ODI received 855 reports of brake light malfunction resulting in one or several of the failure conditions.
Eight (8) of the reports alleged crashes, with 1 resulting in an injury. Of these crash allegations, 2 were roll-away incidents, in which the shift interlock was moved out of PARK without pedal application and the vehicle rolled into another object.
Three (3) crashes involved rear-end hits, which were believed to be due to brake light reversal.
ESC/Traction Control failures were the alleged cause of 2 incidents, which resulted in unresponsive brake application and in 1 case caused the vehicle to leave the roadway.
One (1) crash allegation was not counted as the circumstances of the crash were not related to any of the failure modes.
ODI notes that it is difficult to determine the actual cause of incidents where brake light reversal or ESC/Traction Control failures were the alleged cause.
In response to ODI's IR, GM submitted 2,268 unique reports that related to brake lamp malfunction. Combined with the data submitted during Recall Query 13-001, a total of 4,664 unique complaints were submitted.
Twelve (12) of the GM reports alleged a crash, with 2 reporting minor injuries and 4 alleging property damage.
Of the 12 reports, 3 involved brake light reversal allegations, 4 involved roll-away incidents and 2 involved ESC/Traction Control malfunctions. ODI did not include three (3) reports that involved allegations inconsistent with the alleged defect. This investigation is closed on the basis of GM's announcement of safety recall 14V-252.
The ODI complaints cited above can be reviewed at: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID, see the attached list for ODI numbers.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Engineering Analysis EA13-005. 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.
Pontiac
All Pontiac 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.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for EA13-005
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.