NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE12-029: Steering Shaft Universal Joint Failure
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE12-029 on October 9, 2012 and closed it on June 26, 2013. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2011 Hyundai Santa FE for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE12-029 (also written PE12029)
- 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 June 26, 2013
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Hyundai Motor America
- Component
- Steering — Column
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2011 Hyundai Santa FE
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 PE12-029.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE12-029 based on one complaint alleging that a fastener became loose in the steering shaft of a model year (MY) 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe vehicle and related Early Warning Reporting field report data.
In it's response to ODI's information request letter for PE12-029, Hyundai identified a total of four incidents of steering shaft universal joint failure in early production MY 2011 Santa Fe vehicles, including the incidents that had been identified by ODI. Two of the failures occurred at low mileage early in 2011, shortly after vehicle sale, leading to Hyundai's initial investigation.
Hyundai attributed the failures to operator error at the vehicle assembly plant in failing to fully assemble the universal joint to the steering column shaft before tightening the universal pinch bolt.
The company inspected 680 vehicles at the assembly plant as part of its initial investigation and found no additional indications of improper steering shaft assembly. Hyundai implemented changes in the assembly process to ensure proper steering shaft assembly, including the use of a go/no go Gap Gauge to ensure that the universal joint knuckle is fully assembled to the steering column shaft before being fastened.
Hyundai believes that the improper assembly affected only a few vehicles and that joints that were not properly assembled should have already failed and the likelihood of additional failures is remote.
None of the failures involved vehicles produced after the Gap Gauge implementation on April 27, 2011 and no additional failures have been reported since October 2012.
Hyundai will notify ODI if any additional failures are reported to the company through the end of 2013.
A safety-related defect trend 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 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 PE12-029. 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 Santa FE
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 PE12-029
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.