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NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Preliminary Evaluation PE11-030: Wheelchair Lift Rollstop Failure

  • Closed

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE11-030 on September 9, 2011 and closed it on February 3, 2012. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Braun (model not given) for it and links 12 recalls to it.

Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file

Key facts

NHTSA number
PE11-030 (also written PE11030)
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 February 3, 2012
Opened
Closed
Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
Braun Corporation
Component
Structure — Body
Recalls linked by NHTSA
  • 12E-002: WHEELCHAIR LIFT/OUTER ROLL STOP LATCHING MECHANISM, reported
  • 12V-148: WHEELCHAIR LIFT/OUTER ROLL STOP LATCHING MECHANISM, reported
  • 12V-153: WHEELCHAIR LIFT/OUTER ROLL STOP LATCHING MECHANISM, reported
  • 12V-163: WHEELCHAIR LIFT/OUTER ROLL STOP LATCHING MECHANISM, reported
  • 12V-199: WHEELCHAIR LIFT/OUTER ROLL STOP LATCHING MECHANISM, reported
  • 12V-225: WHEELCHAIR LIFT/OUTER ROLL STOP LATCHING MECHANISM, reported
  • 12V-226: WHEELCHAIR LIFT/OUTER ROLL STOP LATCHING MECHANISM, reported
  • 12V-258: WHEELCHAIR LIFT/OUTER ROLL STOP LATCHING MECHANISM, reported
  • 12V-259: WHEELCHAIR LIFT/OUTER ROLL STOP LATCHING MECHANISM, reported
  • 12V-263: WHEELCHAIR LIFT/OUTER ROLL STOP LATCHING MECH, reported
  • 12V-321
  • 14V-216
Vehicles and equipment
Braun (model not given)

NHTSA's summary

As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE11-030.

Braun Vista 2 and Century 2 wheelchair lifts may allow unintended wheelchair roll-away to occur when the outer barrier system fails to latch.

This failure mode is alleged to have allowed an occupied, powered wheelchair, weighing 417.3 lbs (the lift is rated to 800 lb.) to roll off an elevated lift resulting in serious injuries to the chair occupant.

To address outer rollstop latching issues going forward, Braun modified the subject lifts latching mechanism...a modification introduced into production on 8-24-10.

To correct those lifts already in use, Braun issued two service bulletins (36218 and 36359 in April 2010 and June 2010, respectively) and one modified latch kit.

Braun has now decided to recall the subject lifts covered by the two bulletins.

With that safety-related recall (12E-002) this PE is closed.

Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation

NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE11-030. 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.

Braun

  • Braun (model not given)

    • model year not given
All Braun recalls

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 PE11-030

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.