NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE11-016: Rear Liftgate Window Glass Breakage
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE11-016 on April 27, 2011 and closed it on August 18, 2011. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE11-016 (also written PE11016)
- 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 18, 2011
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Components
- Structure — Body — Hatchback/Liftgate; Structure — Body — Hatchback/Liftgate — Hinge and Attachments; Structure — Body — Hatchback/Liftgate — Support Device/Strut; Visibility; Visibility — Glass, Side/Rear
- Vehicles and equipment
- Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner
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 PE11-016.
try.vin does not copy NHTSA's investigation documents; NHTSA's investigation record lists the ones NHTSA has published.
In its response to the agency, Ford acknowledged a higher than normal level of glass breakage incidents in the model year (MY) 2010 to early-build MY 2011 subject vehicles.
The incidentsoccurred when the liftgate glass was being opened, or more typically while being closed, but in both cases while the vehicle was stationery, i.e., not moving on the roadway.
Additionally failures often occurred during early morning hours when ambient and/or liftgate glass temperatures may have been lower.
Ford advised that it investigated the failures but failed to identify an anomaly in the glass manufacturing process (which is often a factor in glass breakage trends ODI investigates) that could explain the reports.
It did however identify a potential thermal expansion/compression condition in the mounting of the rear wiper motor to the liftgate glass.
Starting at MY 2008 vehicle production the motor was attached to the glass using an adhesive.
Ford revised that design to a nut and bolt type attachment in October 2010, during MY 2011 vehicle production.
ODI's review of Ford data indicates that vehicles built after this change exhibit lower glass breakage rates.
Among the 296 consumer complaints on the subject vehicles, ODI identified 15 injury incidents resulting in a total of 18 alleged injuries.
All the injuries were minor in nature and consisted mainly of superficial skin cuts or minor lacerations, with two of the injury incidents occurring when vehicle owners were cleaning up broken glass.
Additionally both the injury rate and report rate (including warranty claims) are low in comparison to similar investigations resulting in safety recalls (see PE04-045, MY 2002 Ford explorer liftgate glass failure, which resulted in NHTSA safety recall 04V442). In November 2010 Ford issued Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 10-22-10 to address reports of liftgate glass breakage on all MY 2010 vehicles, and MY 2011 vehicles built through 10/15/2010, the date the above design revision was implemented.
The TSB enables owners of affected vehicles to have a broken liftgate glass replaced under normal vehicle warranty, which would not otherwise be a warrantable failure, with the revised design liftgate glass.
A safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.
Accordingly, this investigation is closed.
The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist.
The agency will monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE11-016. 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 PE11-016
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.