NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE04-058: WHEEL SEPARATIONS
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE04-058 on August 9, 2004 and closed it on December 20, 2004. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2003 Pace American Commercial Trailers for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE04-058 (also written PE04058)
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
- Status
- Closed December 20, 2004
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- PACE AMERICAN, INC.
- Components
- Wheels; Wheels — Lugs/Nuts/Bolts/Studs
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2003 Pace American Commercial Trailers
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 Preliminary Evaluation PE04-058.
ODI CONDUCTED THIS INVESTIGATION TO INVESTIGATE WHEEL SEPARATIONS OCCURRING IN CARGO TRAILERS. IN 2003, ODI IDENTIFIED A PROBLEM WITH WHEEL SEPARATIONS OCCURRING IN RECREATIONAL VEHICLES (EA04-009, EA04-019, EA04-032) AND, IN AUGUST 2004, EXTENDED THE INVESTIGATION ACTIVTY TO CARGO TRAILERS EQUIPPED WITH SIMILAR WHEEL END COMPONENTS AS THE RECREATIONAL VEHICLES THAT HAD EXPERIENCED WHEEL SEPARATIONS.PACE AMERICAN HAS PROVIDED INFORMATION TO ODI (4 INCIDENTS INMODEL YEAR 2003 VEHICLES AND 1 INCIDENT IN MODEL YEAR 2004 VEHICLES) THAT INDICATES A SMALL BUT PERSISTENT NUMBER OF SEPARATION INCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED IN PACE AMERICAN VEHICLES.THE OVERALL INCIDENT COUNT IS SMALL.HOWEVER, VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH ALUMINUM WHEELS CONSTITUTE A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER SEPARATION RATE THAN VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH STEEL WHEELS.ODI IS UPGRADING PE04-058 TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS TO REQUEST FURTHER INFORMATION FROM PACE AMERICAN.ODI WILL ALSO CLOSELY MONITOR THE WHEEL SEPARATION PERFORMANCE AT PACE AMERICAN FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE04-058. 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.
Pace American
Pace American Commercial Trailers
- 2003
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 PE04-058
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.