NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Preliminary Evaluation PE04-066: TIRE VALVE FAILURE

Closed

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE04-066 on September 21, 2004 and closed it on February 2, 2005. NHTSA's investigations file lists 5 models from 3 makes for it and links recall 04V-600 to it.

Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file

Key facts

NHTSA number: PE04-066 (also written PE04066)
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 February 2, 2005
Opened: September 21, 2004
Closed: February 2, 2005
Vehicle or equipment manufacturers: DAIMLERCHRYSLER MANUFACTURING INTL; FREIGHTLINER LLC; Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
Components: Tires; Tires — Valve
Recall linked by NHTSA: 04V-600: DAIMLERCHRYSLER/TIRE VALVE, reported December 23, 2004
Vehicles and equipment: 5 models from 3 makes, including the Freightliner Sprinter and Daimlerchrysler Sprinter 2500

NHTSA's summary

As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE04-066.

ODI OPENED PE04-066 TO INVESTIGATE FIVE COMPLAINTS ALLEGING TIRE VALVE FAILURE IN MY 2003-04 SUBJECT VEHICLES.SOME OF THE COMPLAINTS ALLEGED MULTIPLE TIRE VALVE FAILURES FOR A SINGLE VEHICLE.ON DECEMBER 16, 2004, DAIMLERCHRYSLER MANUFACTURING INTERNATIONAL (DCMI) NOTIFIED NHTSA OF A SAFETY DEFECT IN APPROXIMATELY 23,000 MY 2002-05 SPRINTER 2500 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH TR-600 TIRE VALVES PRODUCED BY ALLIGATOR VENTILFABRICK GMBH (RECALL 04V-600).

THE NOTIFICATION IDENTIFIED THE CHEMICAL SPECIFICATION OF THE RUBBER COMPONENTS AND AN UNSTABLE SUPPLIER PRODUCTION PROCESS, WHICH RESULTED IN INADEQUATE MIXING OF THE RUBBER COMPONENTS, AS THE FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THIS DEFECT.AS A RESULT OF THESE FACTORS, CRACKS CAN DEVELOP WITHIN THE RUBBER PART OR BETWEEN THE METAL AND THE RUBBER PARTS OF THE VALVE STEM, WHICH CAN LEAD TO A LOSS OF AIR PRESSURE AT THE VALVE STEM AND MAY POSE A RISK TO MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY.ALTHOUGH THE TR-600 TIRE VALVE IS USED ONLY ON THE 2500 SERIES SUBJECT VEHICLES WITH 16 INCH TIRES, DCMI WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL FOR ALL SPRINTER 2500 VEHICLES SOLD IN THE U.S. TO REPLACE THE CURRENT TIRE VALVES WITH A TR-600 VALVE, WHICH USES A SINGLE RUBBER COMPONENT FOR THE VALVES.ALL 24 COMPLAINTS AND ALL 43 WARRANTY CLAIMS IDENTIFIED IN THIS INVESTIGATION INVOLVED MY 2002-04 SPRINTER 2500 VEHICLES, WHICH COMPRISE APPROXIMATELY 84 PERCENT OF THE SUBJECT VEHICLE POPULATION.

Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation

NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE04-066. 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.

Daimlerchrysler

Daimlerchrysler Sprinter
- 2004
Daimlerchrysler Sprinter 2500
- 2003, 2004
Daimlerchrysler Sprinter 3500
- 2003

All Daimlerchrysler recalls

Dodge

Dodge Sprinter
- 2003, 2004

All Dodge recalls

Freightliner

Freightliner Sprinter
- 2001, 2002
- 2004

All Freightliner 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 PE04-066

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.