NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE04-075: IGNITION RELAY FAILURE
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE04-075 on November 10, 2004 and closed it on April 28, 2005. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Buick Rendezvous and Pontiac Aztek for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE04-075 (also written PE04075)
- 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 April 28, 2005
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- General Motors, LLC
- Components
- Electrical System — Ignition; Electrical System — Ignition — Module
- Vehicles and equipment
- Buick Rendezvous and Pontiac Aztek
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 PE04-075.
ON NOVEMBER 10, 2004, THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) OPENED A PRELIMINARY EVALUATION TO INVESTIGATE THE FAILURE, MALFUNCTION, OR OTHER UNSATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE OF THE ENGINE CONTROL SYSTEM WHICH MAY RESULT IN ENGINE STALLING IN CERTAIN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2004 BUICK RENDEZVOUS (GMT250) AND PONTIAC AZTEK (GMT250) VEHICLES ALLEGEDLY CAUSED BY IGNITION RELAY FAILURE.ODI IS AWARE OF 68 NON-DUPLICATIVE COMPLAINTS AND 1092 WARRANTY CLAIMS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT ISSUE.THERE ARE NO KNOWN CRASHES RELATED TO IGNITION RELAY FAILURE ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.BY LETTER DATED APRIL 19, 2005, GENERAL MOTORS CORP. (GM) HAS NOTIFIED ODI THAT IT WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL (NTHSA RECALL NO. 05V-157) TO REPLACE DEFECTIVE IGNITION RELAY MODULES IN APPROXIMATELY 34,996 SUBJECT VEHICLES BUILT BETWEEN OCTOBER 13, 2003 AND MARCH 8, 2004.
THIS PERIOD OF VEHICLE PRODUCTION IS ASSOCIATED WITH ESCALATED WARRANTY CLAIMS RATES AND COMPLAINTS THAT ALLEGE ENGINE STALL DUE TO IGNITION RELAY FAILURE.GM HAS IDENTIFIED PARTS SUPPLIERS WHO USED MATERIALS CONTAINING SILICONE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SPECIFIC COMPONENTS FOR THE IGNITION RELAY MODULE.SILICONE CONTAMINATION CAN RESULT IN SILICA DEPOSITS FORMING ON THE CONTACTS AS THE RELAY SWITCHES AND THE HEAT GENERATED BY THE RESULTANT ARC CONVERTS THE SILICONE TO SILICA.SILICA BUILD-UP ON THE CONTACTS IS PROGRESSIVE AND MAY PRODUCE A VOLTAGE DROP ACROSS THE RELAY SUFFICIENT TO CAUSE AN INTERMITTENT NO-START OR ENGINE STALL CONDITION.WARRANTY ANALYSIS INDICATES THE INCIDENCE OF NO/HARD START VERSUS ENGINE STALL TO BE EQUAL.ANALYSIS OF TOWING CLAIMS AND DETAILED SERVICE RECORDS INDICATES THAT VEHICLES MAY EXPERIENCE RESTART DIFFICULTIES AFTER A STALLING INCIDENT APPROXIMATELY 20-30 PERCENT OF THE TIME.THE USE OF SILICONE MATERIALS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE SUBJECT IGNITION RELAY HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED.THE ACTION TAKEN BY GM IS SUFFICIENT TO RESOLVE THE ISSUES RAISED BY THIS INVESTIGATION.ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE04-075. 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.
Buick
Buick Rendezvous
Pontiac
Pontiac Aztek
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 PE04-075
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.