NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE11-032: Brake Line Chafing
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE11-032 on September 12, 2011 and closed it on January 30, 2012. NHTSA's investigations file lists 3 models from 2 makes for it and links recall 11V-505 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE11-032 (also written PE11032)
- 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 January 30, 2012
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturers
- FREIGHTLINER LLC; THOMAS BUILT BUSES, INC.
- Component
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic — Foundation Components — Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 11V-505: BRAKE LINE CHAFE, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 3 models from 2 makes, including the Thomas Built Buses C2 and Thomas Built Buses SAF-T-Liner C2
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE11-032.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a complaint alleging brake fluid loss caused by a ruptured brake line that had chafed against a wire harness in the engine compartment of the complainant?s vehicle.
It was determined that the chafing was caused by contact between the convoluted tubing covering the fuel supply line and the metal brake lines.
This issue only affects units with a Caterpillar (CAT) C7 engine and a fuel water separator mounted in a specific location on the frame rail.
Not all units with CAT engines were equipped with fuel water separators, but all units with CAT engines and a fuel water separator have them mounted in the same location.
Units with other engines have a different fuel supply line routing and are not affected by this defect.
Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) submitted a recall notice on 18 October 2011 involving seven-hundred (700) model year (MY) 2005-2009 vehicles.
In its notice, DTNA provided an explanation that MY2010 vehicles were not built with CAT C7 engines and, that of the model years that were built with C7 engines, only 700 had fuel water separators.
All 700 such vehicles are included in this recall.
DTNA's announcement of a safety recall addresses ODI's concerns.
The recall remedy involves replacement of any damaged brake lines and rerouting as needed.
This investigation is closed.
The ODI report cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) number: 10383939
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE11-032. 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.
Thomas
Thomas C2
Thomas Built Buses
All Thomas Built Buses 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 PE11-032
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.