NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Engineering Analysis EA16-001: CNG Fuel System Integrity
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Engineering Analysis EA16-001 on February 3, 2016 and closed it on September 10, 2021. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Freightliner Business Class M2 and M2 for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- EA16-001 (also written EA16001)
- 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 September 10, 2021
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Daimler Trucks North America, LLC
- Components
- Fuel System, Other; Fuel System, Other — Storage; Fuel System, Other — Storage — Tank Assembly; Fuel System, Other — Storage — Tank Assembly — Mounting
- Vehicles and equipment
- Freightliner Business Class M2 and M2
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 EA16-001.
try.vin does not copy NHTSA's investigation documents; NHTSA's investigation record lists the ones NHTSA has published.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) is only aware of the one subject fuel container rupture incident on the subject vehicles that first prompted this investigation. The subject CNG fuel system and fuel container design, material, manufacture, assembly and performance appear to be consistent with certain other manufacturers of CNG vehicles and related items of motor vehicle equipment, and in accordance with standards in effect at the time of manufacture. Since the subject incident, new and revised industry standards have advanced CNG fuel system and fuel container integrity and safety. In 2019, NHTSA noted an extremely low failure rate of CNG fuel containers, in a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the visual inspection labeling requirement in FMVSS 304. NHTSA also entered a strategic partnership project (SPP) with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to assess fuel system and fuel container integrity requirements in an effort to update FMVSS Nos. 303 and 304. In NREL's report, they provided several considerations that reflect minimum safety standards, as well as industry best practices, to harmonize applicable light-, medium-, and heavy-duty natural gas and propane fuel vehicle codes and standards.
Given these activities and the low rate of CNG fuel container ruptures in general, and the lack of other incidents among the subject vehicle population, indicating a lack of a safety defect trend, NHTSA is closing this investigation. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
Please see the Engineering Analysis closing report for more information.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Engineering Analysis EA16-001. 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.
Freightliner
All Freightliner 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 EA16-001
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.