NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Equipment Query EQ09-007: FALLING BUS WINDOWS
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Equipment Query EQ09-007 on August 18, 2009 and closed it on November 24, 2009. NHTSA's investigations file lists 3 models from 2 makes for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- EQ09-007 (also written EQ09007)
- Investigation type
- Equipment Query An administrative investigation that reviews recall reports to confirm that the equipment suppliers and vehicle manufacturers involved in an equipment recall have filed the recall reports required of them.
- Status
- Closed November 24, 2009
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturers
- Daimler Buses North America; Daimler Commercial Buses NA; HEHR INTERNATIONAL
- Component
- Visibility — Glass, Side/Rear
- Vehicles and equipment
- 3 models from 2 makes, including the Orion VII and Orion Orion VII
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 Equipment Query EQ09-007.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS INVESTIGATION WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE TIP-IN STYLE TRANSOM WINDOWS SUPPLIED TO DAIMLER BUSES FOR USE ON BUSES IT MANUFACTURED, AND CONCERNING WHICH THAT COMPANY MADE A DEFECT DETERMINATION, WERE SUPPLIED TO ANY OTHER VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS OR AS REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT AND, IF SO, TO PROMPT ADDITIONAL SAFETY RECALLS IF AND WHERE NEEDED.RMD ISSUED A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION TO THE WINDOWS' MANUFACTURER, HEHR INTERNATIONAL, INC. (HEHR) ON SEPTEMBER 2, 2009, INQUIRING ABOUT ITS DISTRIBUTION OF THE WINDOWS AND SOLICITING ITS OPINION AS TO WHETHER A SAFETY DEFECT EXISTED IN THOSE WINDOWS.HEHR RESPONDED ON OCTOBER 28, 2009, THAT IT HAD NOT SUPPLIED THE WINDOWS TO ANYONE OTHER THAN DAIMLER BUSES.IT ALSO OPINED THAT THE WINDOWS DID NOT CONTAIN A SAFETY DEFECT AND THAT ANY SCREW LOOSENING, AND CONSEQUENTIAL WINDOW COLLAPSE, WOULD BE DUE TO A FAILURE TO PROPERLY RETIGHTEN A SCREW AFTER MAINTENANCE, AS OPPOSED TO A DEFECT INHERENT TO THE DESIGN OR MANUFACTURE OF THE SCREWS OR WINDOWS.IN SUPPORT OF ITS OPINION, IT PROVIDED A SUMMARY OF HISTORICAL FIELD DATA AND ITS FIELD INSPECTION INVESTIGATION, NEITHER OF WHICH DEMONSTRATED ABERRANT PERFORMANCE.IT ALSO PROVIDED A SUMMARY OF TESTING CONDUCTED BY AN INDEPENDENT TESTING FACILITY DEMONSTRATING THAT THE SCREWS WOULD NOT LOOSEN AS MANUFACTURED. IN VIEW OF HEHR'S RESPONSE AND THE INFORMATION PROVIDED THEREIN, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Equipment Query EQ09-007. 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.
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 EQ09-007
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.