NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE14-009: Front Lower Control Arm Failing
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE14-009 on March 26, 2014 and closed it on October 29, 2014. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2010–2011 Pierce Arrow XT for it and links recall 14V-660 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE14-009 (also written PE14009)
- 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 October 29, 2014
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Pierce Manufacturing
- Components
- Steering; Steering — Linkages — Knuckle — Spindle — Arm; Suspension; Suspension — Front; Suspension — Front — Control Arm; Suspension — Front — Control Arm — Lower Arm; Suspension — Front — Control Arm — Lower Ball Joint
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 14V-660: Lower Control Arm may Fracture, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2010–2011 Pierce Arrow XT
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE14-009.
On March 26, 2014 the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE14-009) to investigate alleged wheel separation events on model year (MY)2010 thru MY 2011 Pierce Arrow Fire Trucks equipped with TAK-4 Front Suspensions.
ODI discovered media reports regarding the loss of left front wheels on two aerial fire trucks responding to emergency calls.
The failures occurred in Edmonds, Oklahoma and Portland, Oregon.
Pierce took possession of the two failed lower control arms in an effort to better understand the failure mechanism.
During the course of the investigation Pierce made ODI aware of a third failure that occurred in Milwaukee, WI on the passenger side of a MY 2011 subject vehicle.
Pierce was also in possession of the third failed control arm.
During the course of the investigation, ODI interviewed drivers, fire fighters and deputy chiefs to better understand the details surrounding the failure mechanism and its severity.
The personnel interviewed indicated that they had driven over what should have been normal bumps for a fire truck and the truck suddenly dropped, losing steering control.
This failure resulted in the front end impacting with the road and the wheel separating from the vehicle. ODI met with Pierce on August 12, 2014 to discuss details concerning testing they were conducting to determine if they had a defect in the control arm design of the subject vehicles.
During this meeting Pierce outlined the testing they had conducted to date and the plans for future testing.
After contracting with an expert metallurgist and conducting additional testing, Pierce was able to identify a defect in the lower control arms that had occurred at the time of production.
Once the defect was identified, Pierce was able to determine and identify the effected population as production from November 18, 2009 - May 11, 2011 involving 135 vehicles.
Of the vehicle affected by the issue, 105 of them were MY 2010 - MY 2011 vehicles and were subject of this investigation.
A recall (14V-660) was announced by Pierce on 10/21/2014 stating that they would inspect the lower control arms on each of the 135 suspect vehicles and replace any that were found to contain the potential defect.
Based on the recall action taken by Pierce, this investigation is closed.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE14-009. 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.
Pierce
All Pierce 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 PE14-009
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.