NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE08-052: PRNDL MISALIGNMENT
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE08-052 on September 2, 2008 and closed it on November 10, 2008. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Dodge Charger and Magnum for it and links recall 08V-583 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE08-052 (also written PE08052)
- 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 November 10, 2008
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
- Component
- Power Train — Automatic Transmission — Lever and Linkage — Column Shift
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 08V-583: POLICE PACKAGE GEARSHIFT CABLE STEERING COLUMN, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- Dodge Charger and Magnum
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE08-052.
IN A NOVEMBER 5, 2008 LETTER, CHRYSLER SUBMITTED A DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT DESCRIBING A DEFECT CONDITION THAT COULD RESULT IN PRNDL MISALIGNMENT (I.E., INCORRECT GEAR INDICATION) IN APPROXIMATELY 20,300 MODEL YEAR (MY) 2006 THROUGH 2009 DODGE CHARGER AND MAGNUM POLICE VEHICLES BUILT FROM MAY 17, 2005 THROUGH OCTOBER 21, 2008 (NHTSA RECALL NO. 08V-583, CHRYSLER RECALL H37).
ACCORDING TO CHRYSLER, THE GEARSHIFT CABLE MAY BECOME DISENGAGED FROM THE STEERING COLUMN MOUNTING BRACKET AND CAUSE AN INCORRECT TRANSMISSION GEARSHIFT POSITION DISPLAY.THIS COULD ALLOW THE VEHICLE TO MOVE INADVERTENTLY AND CAUSE A CRASH WITHOUT WARNING.CHRYSLER DEALERS WILL REMEDY THE DEFECT CONDITION BY INSTALLING A REDUNDANT LOCKING MECHANISM TO THE GEARSHIFT CABLE AND THE MOUNTING BRACKET TO ENSURE PROPER RETENTION AND SHIFT LINKAGE FUNCTION. CHRYSLER USES A UNIQUE COLUMN SHIFTER IN THESE POLICE VEHICLES.AFTER PE08-052 WAS OPENED, CHRYSLER INSPECTED A MY 2009 POLICE VEHICLE AND NOTED THAT THOUGH THE GEARSHIFT CABLE APPEARED FULLY SEATED INTO THE STEERING COLUMN MOUNTING BRACKET, THE CABLE RETENTION FEATURE (LOCKING PIN) WAS NOT FULLY SEATED.CHRYSLER SUBSEQUENTLY DETERMINED THAT IF THE RETENTION FEATURE IS NOT FULLY SEATED, THE CABLE MAY DISENGAGE FROM THE MOUNTING BRACKET, RESULTING IN THE SHIFT LINKAGE SYSTEM NOT FUNCTIONING TO DESIGN INTENT WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR INCORRECT GEAR POSITION INDICATION VIA THE PRNDL DISPLAY.CHYSLER'S INSPECTION OF 59 MY 2009 DODGE CHARGER AND MAGNUM POLICE VEHICLES IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER FOUND 30 WHERE THE GEARSHIFT CABLE WAS NOT FULLY ENGAGED TO THE MOUNTING BRACKET.THERE ARE NO REPORTED CRASHES OR INJURIES RELATED TO THE DEFECT CONDITION TO DATE. THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE08-052. 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.
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.
Dodge VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE08-052
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.