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NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Preliminary Evaluation PE06-057: SEAT BELTS WEBBING ABRADING ON FRAME

  • Closed

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE06-057 on November 21, 2006 and closed it on March 30, 2007. NHTSA's investigations file lists 5 models from 2 makes for it and links recall 07V-142 to it.

Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file

Key facts

NHTSA number
PE06-057 (also written PE06057)
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 March 30, 2007
Opened
Closed
Vehicle or equipment manufacturers
FREIGHTLINER LLC; THOMAS BUILT BUSES, INC.
Component
Seat Belts
Recall linked by NHTSA
  • 07V-142: SEAT BELT FRAY, reported
Vehicles and equipment
5 models from 2 makes, including the Thomas Built Buses FS-65 and Thomas Built Buses HDX EF

NHTSA's summary

As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE06-057.

THIS INVESTIGATION WAS OPENED AFTER ODI RECEIVED NOTIFICATION FROM TWO FLEETS ALLEGING THEDISCOVERY OFNUMEROUS SEAT BELTS WITH CUT WEBBING AS A RESULT OF THE WEBBING ABRADING AGAINST ANUNDERSEAT METAL BRACKET.THE SUBJECT VEHICLES ARE CLASS A SCHOOL BUSES WEIGHING UNDER 10,000 POUNDS.THEY ARE REQUIRED BY FEDERAL STANDARD FMVSS 208 TO HAVE SEAT BELTS.AS A RESULT OF THIS INVESTIGATION, FREIGHTLINER WILL CONDUCT A SAFETY RECALL TO INSPECT ALL AFFECTED BUSES FOR SEAT BELT ?CHAFING? AND WILL REPLACEDAMAGED BELTS AS NEEDED. ALSO, THE SEAT BELT RETAINER STRIP WILL BE MODIFIED OR REPLACED TO PREVENT FUTURE CHAFING.FREIGHTLINER EXPANDED THE SCOPE OF THE RECALL (BEYOND THE ORIGINAL INVESTIGATION POPULATION) TO INCLUDE APPROXIMATELY 10,251 ADDITIONAL BUSES HAVING GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT RATINGS GREATER THAN 10,000 LBS.THEY DETERMINED THAT THESE BUSES ARE ALSO SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE CHAFING ACTION.THERE IS NO FEDERALREQUIREMENT FOR SEAT BELTS IN SCHOOL BUSES WEIGHING OVER 10,000 POUNDS.HOWEVER, SOME CUSTOMERS HAVE ORDERED SEAT BELTS AND SOME STATES HAVE REQUIREMENTS FOR SEAT BELTS.THEREFORE, FREIGHTLINER HAS AGREED TO ADDRESS THOSE BUSES EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NO APPLICABLE FEDERAL STANDARD.THE RECALL ACTION TAKEN BY FREIGHTLINER RESOLVES 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 PE06-057. 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.

Thomas

All Thomas recalls

Thomas Built Buses

All Thomas Built Buses 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 PE06-057

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.