NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE11-041: Collapse of Squad Seat Base
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE11-041 on January 20, 2012 and closed it on January 11, 2013. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2011 Medtec Ambulance for it and links recall 12V-554 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE11-041 (also written PE11041)
- 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 11, 2013
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Medtec Ambulance Corporation
- Components
- Seat Belts — Front — Anchorage; Seat Belts — Front — Retractor; Seat Belts — Front — Warning Light/Devices; Seat Belts — Front — Webbing; Seats; Seats — Front Assembly — Recliner
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 12V-554: Bench Seat Top may Collapse, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2011 Medtec Ambulance
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE11-041.
On January 20th 2012 the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) to assess and review a complaint (VOQ # 10424476) concerning a squad bench failure on a 2011 Medtec R152 Type 1 Ambulance emergency response vehicle.
The VOQ, submitted by an emergency medical professional, indicated that he was injured due to a failure of the bench seat in the emergency cab while treating a patient en route to the hospital.
The complainant was allegedly sitting on the squad seat bench located in the emergency cab when the vehicle drove over a bump causing the seat to separate from its hinged bracket.
This failure caused the complainant to fall into the lower storage area, allegedly injuring his back in the process.
An ODI investigator contacted the complainant and arranged for an inspection of similar vehicles to examine their squad bench seats.
ODI also contacted the Vehicle Research Testing Center (VRTC) to conduct testing of the bench seat and its support hinge.
However, Medtec initiated a safety recall before VRTC completed its testing program. On November 29th 2012, Medtec submitted a Part 573 defect notice indicating it would conduct a safety recall to install improved seat hinge hardware on the effected population.
This investigation is closed.
NHTSA will continue to monitor the recalled vehicles to ensure the remedy implemented by Medtec is adequate. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
The ODI report cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) number: 10424476.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE11-041. 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.
Medtec
Medtec Ambulance
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 PE11-041
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.