NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE09-033: TORQUE CONVERTER OUTPUT SHAFT FAILURE
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE09-033 on July 15, 2009 and closed it on November 17, 2009. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE09-033 (also written PE09033)
- 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 17, 2009
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Components
- Power Train — Automatic Transmission; Power Train — Automatic Transmission — Torque Converter
- Vehicles and equipment
- Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey
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 PE09-033.
ODI HAS RECEIVED 227 OWNER COMPLAINTS ALLEGING A SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED LOSS OF MOTIVE POWER DUE TO AN INTERNAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE IN THE SUBJECT VEHICLES.OF THOSE COMPLAINTS, 124 CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE TORQUE CONVERTER OUTPUT SHAFT SPLINES STRIPPING CAUSING A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER TO THE DRIVETRAIN.THE REMAINING 103 COMPLAINTS EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF MOTIVE POWER BUT THE SPECIFIC INTERNAL FAILURE CAUSE WITHIN THE TRANSMISSION IS NOT KNOWN.ODI HAS UPGRADED THE INVESTIGATION TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA09-016) TO CONTINUE ITS ASSESSMENT OF THE SCOPE, FREQUENCY AND SAFETY-RELATED CONSEQUENCES OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE09-033. 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.
Ford
All Ford recallsMercury
All Mercury 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 PE09-033
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.