NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE10-013: Fire In Grote LED Clearance/Marker Lamps
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE10-013 on April 30, 2010 and closed it on September 2, 2010. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2006 Grote CLEARANCE/MARKER LAMP for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE10-013 (also written PE10013)
- 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 September 2, 2010
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Grote Industries, LLC
- Component
- Exterior Lighting
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2006 Grote CLEARANCE/MARKER LAMP
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 PE10-013.
try.vin does not copy NHTSA's investigation documents; NHTSA's investigation record lists the ones NHTSA has published.
The subject Grote Clearance / Marker lamps have not demonstrated that they represent an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety.
In the past five years of operational exposure ODI is only aware of 124 failures representing a failure rate of less than .02%.
In the year leading up to this investigation ODI is only aware of 13 failures of the subject lamps.
Of 124 failures ODI is not aware of any where the burning lamp resulted in damage to the vehicle beyond just the lamp.
These lamps are often mounted on aluminum surfaces that help prevent the burning lamp from causing damage to the vehicle.
At a very early stage in the subject lamps exposure life Grote took steps to address the potential failures modes of the subject lamps.
Grote made the necessary design changes to the lamps to prevent lamps from being susceptible to water intrusion.
With these design changes Grote appears to have acted responsibly in proactively identifying and remedying potential design issues with the subject lamps even when the failure rates were very low.
In light of these findings, a safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.
The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists.
The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
For more detailed information, please see the attached closing report.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE10-013. 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.
Grote
Grote CLEARANCE/MARKER LAMP
- 2006
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.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE10-013
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.