NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE08-040: REAR SUSPENSION TRAILING ARM FAILURE
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE08-040 on July 2, 2008 and closed it on October 29, 2008. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2001 Hyundai Santa FE for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE08-040 (also written PE08040)
- 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 29, 2008
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Hyundai Motor America
- Components
- Suspension; Suspension — Rear
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2001 Hyundai Santa FE
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 PE08-040.
IN RESPONSE TO AN INFORMATION REQUEST LETTER SENT BY THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) DURING THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION, HYUNDAI PROVIDED ODI WITH 15 ALLEGATIONS OF CORROSION FAILURE OF THE LEFT- AND/OR RIGHT-REAR SUSPENSION TRAILING ARM.THREE OF THE 15 CONSUMERS ALLEGED A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL AS A RESULT OF A REAR TRAILING ARM CORROSION FAILURE.SIMILARLY, ODI HAS RECEIVED 12 COMPLAINTS OF REAR TRAILING ARM FAILURE (ONE IS A DUPLICATE OF A COMPLAINT FILED WITH HYUNDAI).
OF THE 12 ODI COMPLAINTS, 4 CONSUMERS ALLEGE A LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL. IN TOTAL, ODI IS AWARE OF 26 CONSUMER ALLEGATIONS OF REAR TRAILING ARM CORROSION FAILURES AND 7 ALLEGATIONS THAT THE FAILURES AFFECTED VEHICLE CONTROL.ALL OF THESE VEHICLES HAVE BEEN OPERATED PRIMARILY IN SALT BELT STATES (CONNECTICUT, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, DELAWARE, IOWA, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, KENTUCKY, MASSACHUSETTS, MARYLAND, MAINE, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, VIRGINIA, VERMONT, WISCONSIN AND WEST VIRGINIA).
HYUNDAI IMPLEMENTED A DESIGN CHANGE IN THE MODEL YEAR 2003 PRODUCTION TO ADDRESS THE CORROSION ISSUE.THUS, THE SCOPE OF THE ENGINEERING ANALYSIS WILL BE VEHICLES MANUFACTURED IN MYS 2001 THROUGH 2003 AND SOLD IN SALT BELT STATES.THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA08-023) TO FURTHER ASSESS THE SCOPE, FREQUENCY AND POTENTIAL SAFETY CONSEQUENCES OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE08-040. 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.
Hyundai
Hyundai Santa FE
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.
Hyundai VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE08-040
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.