NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE14-020: CNG Fuel System Integrity
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE14-020 on July 7, 2014 and closed it on February 5, 2016. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2014 Freightliner Business Class M2 for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE14-020 (also written PE14020)
- 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 5, 2016
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Daimler Trucks North America, LLC
- Components
- Fuel System, Other; Fuel System, Other — Storage; Fuel System, Other — Storage — Tank Assembly; Fuel System, Other — Storage — Tank Assembly — Mounting
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2014 Freightliner Business Class M2
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 PE14-020.
On April 3, 2014 in Howard, Wisconsin, a model year 2014 Freightliner Business Class M2 truck manufactured by Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DNTA) experienced a catastrophic CNG fuel container burst when it was struck by an unsecured forklift being transported inside the truck's cargo compartment.
A contractor working for the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) Special Crash Investigations (SCI) Program conducted a field examination of the incident vehicle and the incident scene (SCI Case Number: IN14016). The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) subsequently sent an information request letter to DTNA and received two responses dated January 23, 2015 and June 24, 2015, respectively.
ODI continues to evaluate the CNG fuel system integrity on the subject vehicles and other medium- & heavy-duty CNG vehicles.
ODI also continues to investigate CNG fuel system integrity related incidents as they arise. ODI has engaged industry on this subject at various meetings, seminars and conferences, and through involvement in committees hosted by industry and standards development organizations including the Natural Gas Vehicles for America (NGVAmerica) national trade association and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/ CSA Group.
This Preliminary Evaluation has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA16-001) so that ODI may gather additional information about CNG fuel system integrity from additional vehicle manufacturers, fuel system integrators and component suppliers and continue to engage with stakeholders to better understand the industry state of the art and the hazard potential.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE14-020. 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.
Freightliner
Freightliner Business Class M2
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.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE14-020
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.