NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE11-004: Frame/Body Structure Corrosion
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE11-004 on January 28, 2011 and closed it on June 30, 2011. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4 for it and links recall 11V-244 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE11-004 (also written PE11004)
- 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 June 30, 2011
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Nissan North America, Inc.
- Components
- Steering; Steering — Column; Suspension; Suspension — Front; Suspension — Front — Macpherson Strut; Suspension — Front — Shock Absorber
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 11V-244: FRAME/BODY STRUCTURE CORROSION, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE11-004.
In their Defect Information Report (DIR) of April 20, 2011, Nissan North America, Inc. (Nissan) notified NHTSA that it would conduct a safety recall of certain 1996-2004 Nissan Pathfinder and 1997-2003 Infinity QX4 vehicles to repair corrosion damage to the driver's side front strut tower.
The vehicles included in the recall are those that were originally sold, or are currently registered in salt belt states including Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
The DIR states in part, ...the strut housing may crack and pull away from the inner hood ledge assembly.
This could lead to the strut housing panel separating and contacting the steering column lower shaft.
Contact with the steering column lower shaft can cause steering difficulties and may require an increase in steering effort by the driver.
If the steering column lower shaft completely fractured it would result in a total loss of steering control.
In some cases, the strut housing panel can contact or affect adjacent brake system components.
Complainants reported experiencing either steering or brake system issues, and in some cases, both.
Nissan dealer's will inspect the strut housing and, based on the level of corrosion found, make an assessment as to how to remedy the vehicle (see defect information report for additional details). Brake system components adjacent to, and in the area of, the strut tower (i.e., brake master cylinder, left front brake line, ABS wire harness, etc.) will also be inspected.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE11-004. 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.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE11-004
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.