NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE12-027: Panoramic Sunroof Breakage
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE12-027 on October 2, 2012 and closed it on February 21, 2013. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2012 Hyundai Veloster for it and links recalls 12V-568 and 13V-051 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE12-027 (also written PE12027)
- 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 21, 2013
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Hyundai Motor America
- Components
- Visibility; Visibility — Sun/Moon Roof Assembly
- Recalls linked by NHTSA
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2012 Hyundai Veloster
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE12-027.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE12-027 on October 2, 2012 to investigate allegations of spontaneous sunroof shatter on model year (MY) 2012 Hyundai Veloster vehicles. The MY2012 platform was the first to introduce the panoramic sunroof option. ODI received 26 consumer complaints of sunroof shatter, 15 occurring while the vehicle was being driven. The injury incidents noted were due to complainants who alleged minor cuts or abrasions from fallen glass. Sunroof glass shattering while operating the vehicle poses a risk of personal injury or a vehicle crash.
In response to ODI's information request (IR), Hyundai provided 23 consumer complaints related to the alleged problem and 46 warranty claims for sunroof shatter and/or replacement.
On December 6, 2012 Hyundai notified ODI that it would conduct a safety recall on model year 2012 Veloster vehicles equipped with panoramic sunroofs manufactured from November 1, 2011 through April 17, 2012. The panoramic sunroof assembly may have weakened during installation at the factory. An intermittent malfunction of a limit switch for the panoramic sunroof assembly's unloading station robot may have occurred, allowing forced contact between the mechanism and the sunroof glass. This contact could have caused damage to the sunroof glass, and lead to subsequent shattering of the glass in the field. The loading station robot was repaired in April 2012. The initial point in time for the malfunction of the station robot was not clearly defined through technical reasoning, therefore ODI challenged the proposed production scope for the safety recall. On February 14, 2013 Hyundai responded that they will conduct safety recall 13V-051 which expands the covered vehicles to those produced from the start of MY2012 production (July 4, 2011) through April 17, 2012. This investigation is closed on the basis of Hyundai's announcement of safety recalls 12V-568 and 13V-051.
The reports cited above can be reviewed online at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) numbers: 10462857, 10463570, 10465757, 10468816, 10468854, 10469144, 10471972, 10472742, 10473062, 10473640, 10477212, 10478075, 10478735, 10479487, 10479931, 10482027, 10482056, 10482561, 10482760, 10482933, 10483765, 10483770, 10484048, 10485802, 10487399, 10490171
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE12-027. 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.
Hyundai
Hyundai Veloster
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.
Hyundai VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE12-027
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.