NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE07-044: POWER SLIDING DOOR OPENING
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE07-044 on August 16, 2007 and closed it on December 11, 2007, the day it opened Engineering Analysis EA07-019, which this investigation's summary cites. NHTSA's investigations file lists 5 models from 4 makes for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE07-044 (also written PE07044)
- 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 11, 2007
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- General Motors, LLC
- Components
- Latches/Locks/Linkages — Doors — Latch; Structure — Body — Door; Structure — Body — Door — Hinge and Attachments
- Vehicles and equipment
- 5 models from 4 makes, including the Buick Terraza and Chevrolet Uplander
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 PE07-044.
ODI HAS RECEIVED REPORTS THAT THE POWER SLIDING DOORS OPENED WITHOUT COMMAND WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON MODEL YEAR 2005 AND 2006 GENERAL MOTORS MINIVANS (CHEVROLET UPLANDER/VENTURE, PONTIAC MONTANA SV6/MONTANA, BUICK TERRAZA, AND SATURN RELAY).
SOME REPORTS INDICATE THAT THE DOOR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN CLOSED AND LATCHED BEFORE DRIVING AWAY CAUSING THE DOOR TO REVERSE (OPEN) AT LOW VEHICLE SPEEDS.HOWEVER, OTHER REPORTS INDICATE THAT THE DOOR WAS INITIALLY SHUT THEN OPENED AFTER DRIVING FOR SEVERAL MINUTES AND/OR MILES AT VEHICLE SPEEDS BETWEEN 20 AND 70 MPH.ODI HAS UPGRADED THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA07-019) TO FURTHER ASSESS THIS ISSUE.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE07-044. 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
All Buick recallsChevrolet
All Chevrolet recallsPontiac
All Pontiac recallsSaturn
All Saturn recallsWhat 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 PE07-044
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.