NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE12-023: SRS Warning Light Illumination
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE12-023 on August 15, 2012 and closed it on January 22, 2013. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2012 Nissan Versa for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE12-023 (also written PE12023)
- 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 22, 2013
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Nissan North America, Inc.
- Components
- Air Bags; Air Bags — Frontal
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2012 Nissan Versa
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 PE12-023.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation after receiving Nissan early warning reports (EWR) concerning supplemental restraint system (SRS) light illumination on model year (MY) 2012 Nissan Versa vehicles.
Information in the reports suggested that the SRS spiral cable harness from the spiral cassette to the driver?s air bag module became pinched within the steering wheel assembly during installation.
The pinching condition was apparently causing a short to ground condition. As reported by Nissan, the shorts were the result of isolated operator errors, specifically errors in the way the harness was routed in the steering wheel area.
Nissan advised that a production countermeasure was implemented on December 10, 2011 in order to reduce misrouting the spiral cable harness.
If an electrical short does occur, the red air bag warning light is designed to continuously flash to alert the driver.
However, a shorted harness may prevent the air bag from deploying in a frontal collision.
The opening resume originally identified the subject vehicle population as all 2012 Nissan Versa vehicles. It was noted by Nissan that the MY 2012 Versa Sedan and MY 2012 Versa Hatchback vehicles were built on different platforms and varied significantly in design, specifically in that they are equipped with different steering column and air bag module components.
Accordingly, the subject vehicle population for analysis was limited to 2012 Nissan Versa Sedan models.
Through analysis of the data Nissan provided, ODI determined that 13 manufacturer reports and 39 warranty claims submitted were potentially a result of pinched and/or shorted spiral cable assemblies. These reports occurred prior to the assembly process change on December 10, 2011.
ODI notes that an additional six warranty claims occurred after the process change, but this population had a significantly lower rate of failure than those occurring beforehand.
Therefore the subject vehicle population shown above covers sedan vehicles built from the start of production through December 9, 2011.
ODI?s analysis indicated that this condition typically occurred early in the life of the vehicle with 40% occurring prior to vehicle sale or delivery, and 69% with less than 2 months in service.
When compared to ODI investigations involving similar air bag concerns, this investigation has a low rate of failure.
ODI has not yet received any related consumer complaints and no injuries or crashes have been reported that relate to the alleged problem. Therefore, 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 PE12-023. 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.
Nissan
Nissan Versa
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.
Nissan VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE12-023
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.