NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE08-059: TURN SIGNAL MALFUNCTION
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE08-059 on October 7, 2008 and closed it on April 17, 2009. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE08-059 (also written PE08059)
- 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 April 17, 2009
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
- Components
- Exterior Lighting — Turn Signal; Exterior Lighting — Turn Signal — Switch
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2006 Dodge Ram 3500
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 PE08-059.
ODI HAS CLOSED THIS INVESTIGATION BASED ON A REVIEW OF THE COMPLAINTS, OTHER FIELD DATA AND TECHNICAL DATA SUBMITTED BY CHRYSLER TO THE AGENCY.CHRYSLER REPORTS THAT THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH IS HARD WIRED INTO THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER (IC) AND THE CLUSTER DECIDES WHICH DIRECTION HAS BEEN SELECTED BASED ON AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL FROM THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH.THE IC SENDS A SIGNAL TO THE VEHICLE'S TOTALLY INTEGRATED POWER MODULE (TIPM) AND THE TIPM RESPONDS BY CONTROLLING THE VOLTAGE AND FLASH RATE OF THE EXTERIOR TURN SIGNAL LAMPS AND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL INDICATOR.CHRYSLER'S TESTING FOUND THAT IMPROPER LEVELS OF RESISTANCE WITHIN THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH MAY RESULT IN THE IC SELECTING THE WRONG DIRECTION.COMPLAINANTS SAY THAT WHEN THE TURN SIGNAL IS USED, THE VEHICLE MAY SIGNAL THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AND THAT THE PROBLEM IS OFTEN INTERMITTENT.THIS WOULD BE EVIDENT FROM THE TURN INDICATOR LAMPS ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AS WELL AS THE EXTERIOR TURN SIGNAL LAMPS.EITHER RIGHT OR LEFT SIGNALS MAY BE AFFECTED. DEALERS ARE CORRECTING THIS BY REPLACING MULTIFUNCTION SWITCHES ON THE STEERING COLUMN.NEITHER ODI NOR CHRYSLER HAS RECEIVED ANY REPORT OF A CRASH RELATED TO THE SUBJECT CONDITION. CHRYSLER WILL IMPLEMENT AN EXTENDED WARRANTY ON THE SUBJECT VEHICLE POPULATION.NOTIFICATION TO VEHICLE OWNERS IS TO BEGIN IN MAY 2009.
THIS ACTION IS CONSISTENT WITH THAT TAKEN IN OTHER INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING TURN SIGNAL FAILURES AT SIMILAR RATES.FURTHER USE OF AGENCY RESOURCES DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE WARRANTED AT THIS TIME.ACCORDINGLY THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.THE CLOSING OF THIS INVESTIGATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A FINDING BY NHTSA THAT A SAFETY RELATED DEFECT DOES NOT EXIST.THE AGENCY WILL TAKE FURTHER ACTION IF WARRANTED BY THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE08-059. 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.
Dodge
Dodge Ram 3500
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 PE08-059
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.