NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE12-010: Engine compartment fire
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE12-010 on March 28, 2012 and closed it on July 19, 2012. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2011–2012 Chevrolet Cruze for it and links recall 12V-288 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE12-010 (also written PE12010)
- 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 19, 2012
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- General Motors, LLC
- Component
- Engine
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 12V-288: OIL SPILLING OR DRIPPING/ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2011–2012 Chevrolet Cruze
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE12-010.
In a June 21, 2012 letter to NHTSA, General Motors LLC. (GM) submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) identifying a defect in approximately 413,148 model year (MY) 2011 through 2012 Chevrolet Cruze vehicles manufactured from October 2, 2009 through May 31, 2012 (Recall 12V-288). According to GM, engine oil change procedures can result in spilling or dripping of oil on the engine shield.
Also, manual transmission vehicles with a completely worn clutch may cause hydraulic fluid to be expelled from the clutch housing vent hole.
If oil, debris or the burning hydraulic fluid contacts hot engine or exhaust system surfaces, and the engine shield, the shield may ignite and burn, leading to a possible engine compartment or vehicle fire.
GM and its engine shield supplier, Hanwha, modified the engine shield to address factors that may contribute to engine compartment fire. The redesigned shields were completely implemented in production vehicles by June 2012.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) analyzed complaint data provided by GM as well as complaints submitted to ODI from consumers. In total, there were 25 unique Chevrolet Cruze reports indicating hot surface ignition due to engine oil or hydraulic fluid contacting hot manifold, exhaust surfaces and the engine shield.
Four additional fires were identified that resulted from other or unknown causes, including 1 attributed to a missing oil filler cap.
Three fires of unknown cause all involved vehicles equipped with 1.4L L4 turbocharged engines.
ODI will continue to monitor field experience in Cruze vehicles equipped with that engine.
Owners of the recalled vehicles are notified to take their vehicle to a GM dealer, who will modify the engine shield to prevent oil fluids from contacting the shield.
Also, on vehicles with a manual transmission, dealers are to apply a protective tape to the electronic power steering wire harness to prevent any incidents related to this issue. This preliminary evaluation is closed.
The ODI reports cited above can be viewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification numbers (ODI Nos.): 10456338, 10453754, 10450556, 10446718.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE12-010. 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.
Chevrolet
All Chevrolet 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.
Chevrolet VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE12-010
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.