NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE11-005: Hybrid inverter failure - vehicle stall
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE11-005 on February 15, 2011 and closed it on July 20, 2011. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Lexus RX Hybrid and Toyota Highlander Hybrid for it and links recall 11V-342 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE11-005 (also written PE11005)
- 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 July 20, 2011
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Toyota Motor Corporation
- Component
- Hybrid Propulsion System — Inverter
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 11V-342: INVERTER ASSEMBLY, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- Lexus RX Hybrid and Toyota Highlander Hybrid
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE11-005.
In a June 29, 2011 letter to NHTSA, Toyota submitted a Defect Information Report regarding a safety recall of certain Toyota Highlander Hybrid and Lexus RX400h vehicles to address a defect condition with the hybrid inverter assembly (NHTSA Recall No. 11V-342).
Toyota's letter identified a defect related to inadequately soldered transistors on the Intelligent Power Module (IPM) of some of the subject vehicles that could result in sudden loss of power while driving.
Toyota's remedy procedure instructs dealers to inspect the hybrid inverter production number to determine if the inverter contains suspect transistors.
If so, the dealer will replace the IPM.The recall covers approximately 45,528 model year (MY) 2006 and 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid vehicles manufactured from February 16, 2005 through August 29, 2006 and approximately 36,745 MY 2006 and 2007 Lexus RX400h vehicles manufactured from February 23, 2005 through August 30, 2006.
This Preliminary Evaluation is closed.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE11-005. 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.
Lexus
All Lexus recallsToyota
All Toyota 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 PE11-005
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.