NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE07-034: DASH/INTERIOR FIRE
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE07-034 on July 10, 2007 and closed it on October 12, 2007. NHTSA's investigations file lists the IC CE and IC Bus CE for it and links recall 09V-052 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE07-034 (also written PE07034)
- 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 October 12, 2007
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- IC CORPORATION
- Component
- Electrical System
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 09V-052: STEPWELL HEATER/REAR WALL MOUNTED HEATER/FIRE, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- IC CE and IC Bus CE
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE07-034.
BASED ON THE DATA PROVIDED BY INTERNATIONAL AND FURTHER REVIEW OF THE ALLEGED FIRES, A SAFETY RELATED DEFECT TREND HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME. A REVIEW OF THE WARRANTY DATA PROVIDED NO ADDITIONAL CLAIMS THAT DESCRIBE STEP-WELL HEATER BLOWER THERMAL EVENTS.NO WARRANTY CLAIMS INDICATE FIRES OR ADDITIONAL PROPERTY DAMAGE TO THE BUS.SIMILARLY, A REVIEW OF 64 APPLICABLE DEALER REPORTS FOUND NO REFERENCE TO SMOKE, FIRE, OR BURNED COMPONENTS.OTHER THAN THE THREE FIRE CLAIMS MENTIONED IN THIS PE, INTERNATIONAL HAS NOT IDENTIFIEDANY OTHER REPORTS OF FIRE RELATING TO THE ALLEGED DEFECT FOR THE 23,000 SUBJECT BUSES.WITH REGARD TO THE THREE FIRES IDENTIFIED, INTERNATIONAL WAS ONLY ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT THE ORIGIN OF THE TWO ELGIN FLEET FIRES OCCURRED IN THE AREA OF THE STEP-WELL HEATER AROUND THE BLOWER MOTOR AREA.THE ORIGIN OF THE ST. PAUL FIRE WAS NOT IN THE AREA OF THE STEP-WELL HEATER, RATHER,BASED ON THE BURN PATTERNS OF THIS UNIT, THE FIRE ORIGINATED TO THE LEFT OF THE STEP-WELL HEATER.INTERNATIONAL PLANS TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR FIELD REPORTS AND WARRANTY CLAIMS RELATED TO THE STEP-WELL HEATER AND THE FRONT ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. NO FIELD ACTION OF ANY KIND IS PLANNED AT THIS TIME.HOWEVER INTERNATIONAL IS CONTINUING THE INVESTIGATION WITH REGARD TO THE ELGIN BUSES TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE ROOT CAUSE OF THOSE TWO INCIDENTS.A SAFETY RELATED DEFECT TRENDHAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED AT THIS TIME AND FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES IS NOT CURRENTLY WARRANTED. THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT NO SAFETY-RELATED DEFECT EXISTS. THE AGENCY WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR REPORTS AND TAKE THE APPROPRIATE ACTION IFWARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE07-034. 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.
IC
All IC recallsIC Bus
IC Bus CE
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 PE07-034
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.