NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE13-004: Coolant Leak Resulting in Occupant Burns
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE13-004 on March 5, 2013 and closed it on July 12, 2013. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2011–2012 Orion VII for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE13-004 (also written PE13004)
- 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 12, 2013
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Daimler Commercial Buses NA
- Component
- Engine and Engine Cooling — Cooling System — Hoses/Lines/Piping/Fittings
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2011–2012 Orion VII
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 PE13-004.
ODI is aware of three (3) incidents of heater hose failures on the delivery circuit (high temperature) of the engine coolant system on the subject transit buses.
The failure occurs in the vicinity of the air ducts above the street-side passenger compartment.
The air ducts may quickly fill with engine temperature fluids that are expelled without warning onto the seats below.
ODI is aware of no injuries at this time.
The heater hose in question was only installed as original equipment on fifty-two (52) buses in a single fleet.
At this time all 52 hoses have had the hose replaced with a standard higher working pressure hose.
Daimler Buses NA, the manufacturer of the buses, has gone out of business.
Therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize NHTSA's limited resources to accomplish the agency's safety mission, ODI is closing this investigation.
The ODI report cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification (ODI) number: 10500221
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE13-004. 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.
Orion
All Orion 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.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE13-004
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.