NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE10-012: Sticking Accelerator Pedal
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE10-012 on April 29, 2010 and closed it on August 26, 2010. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Dodge Caliber and Caliber AWD for it and links recall 10V-234 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE10-012 (also written PE10012)
- 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 August 26, 2010
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Chrysler (FCA US, LLC)
- Component
- Vehicle Speed Control — Accelerator Pedal
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 10V-234: STICKING OR BINDING ACCELERATOR PEDALS, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- Dodge Caliber and Caliber AWD
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE10-012.
In their Defect Information Report (DIR) of June 3, 2010, Chrysler Group, LLC (Chrysler) notified NHTSA that it will conduct a safety recall of approximately 25,265 model year 2007 Dodge Caliber vehicles and 71 model year 2007 Jeep Compass vehicles manufactured from March 7, 2006 through May 19, 2006.
The recall will remedy a defect in the accelerator pedal assembly (accelerator pedal) of the Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) system that can cause the accelerator pedal to stick in an open position and not return to the idle position when released.
As stated in the opening resume, the subject vehicles (Caliber) are equipped with an ETC accelerator pedal manufactured by the CTS Corporation, the same supplier of the ETC accelerator pedal used in the recently recalled Toyota vehicles.
The ETC accelerator pedal used in Caliber and Compass vehicles is not the same as those used in the recalled Toyota vehicles.
They are of a different design, were manufactured using different tooling, and fail in a different manner.
According to Chrysler and CTS, oversized bearing pockets in the ETC accelerator pedal housing of the Caliber and Compass vehicles allows the accelerator pedal pivot shaft bearings to dislodge from the housing.
If this occurs, the accelerator pedal can stick in an open position (i.e., fails to return to the closed position) or be slow to return.
Chrysler's DIR notes that the subject vehicles are equipped with Smart Brake Technology and contends that the impact of a binding or sticking accelerator pedal can be negated by its Smart Brake system.
In Chrysler's view, the system enables the brake pedal input to override the throttle control system and safely depower the vehicle and minimizes the potential for safety consequences resulting from the defect in the accelerator pedal.
Further, Chrysler states, as a result of the presence of this technology, Chrysler Group LLC has concluded that the condition described in this report does not present an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety.
ODI does not concur with Chrysler's position that the Smart Brake technology employed in the subject vehicles eliminates unreasonable risks to safety stemming from the ETC accelerator pedal defect.
Aside from the fact that the technology is applicable only to situations where the brake pedal is activated, the Smart Brake system implemented in the subject vehicles will override a stuck throttle under a discrete set of conditions.
Because driver behaviors (e.g., kicking at the accelerator pedal to dislodge it, or pumping the brake pedal instead of steady application) may delay or prevent activation of the Smart Brake system in the subject vehicles, ODI believes that this Smart Brake system does not totally eliminate unreasonable risks to safety posed by this defect or the necessity of a safety recall in this case.
See Safety Recall file 10V-234 for recall details.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE10-012. 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 Caliber
Dodge Caliber AWD
- 2007
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 PE10-012
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.