NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE14-033: Electric Power Steering Failure
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE14-033 on November 4, 2014 and closed it on October 6, 2015. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2013 Honda Accord for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE14-033 (also written PE14033)
- 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 6, 2015
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)
- Component
- Steering — Electric Power Assist System
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2013 Honda Accord
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 PE14-033.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-033 to investigate 24 complaints alleging loss of power steering while driving in model year (MY) 2013 Honda Accord vehicles equipped with electric power steering (EPS).
Analysis of service data for the original 24 complaints and 33 additional complaints received after PE14-033 was opened found that 85 percent of the vehicles with diagnostic trouble codes available to identify the faulty component had a code indicating torque sensor failure (DTC 53).
In its response to ODI's information request letter for PE14-033, Honda identified two manufacturing process conditions that may have affected the quality of some early production torque sensors.
Analysis of warranty returns and manufacturing processes determined that a relatively small number of torque sensors were potentially affected by the conditions, which were corrected by the supplier (Bourns) relatively early in production.
Analysis of warranty data indicates that both conditions were early-life failure concerns and most of the affected sensors have already failed, resulting in a cumulative failure rate of less than 0.2 percent.
Of the 20 VOQ's that appear to be related to torque sensor failure, 6 reported failure dates in 2013, 12 in 2014, and just 2 to date in 2015.
ODI's analysis identified 2 minor crashes with no injuries that may have been related to torque sensor failure in the subject vehicles.
This investigation is closed because the low failure rate and a declining trend indicate that failures are rare.
The closing of this preliminary evaluation does not constitute a determination that no defect exists or that power steering failures do not present an unreasonable risk to safety. The VOQ's referenced in this resume are:10515618, 10515696, 10537336, 10542360, 10545177, 10563724, 10588425, 10595068, 10605909, 10627926, 10629629, 10630852, 10644762, 10654768, 10661240, 10664234, 10667364, 10672452, 10676256, and 10695191
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE14-033. 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.
Honda
Honda Accord
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.
Honda VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE14-033
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.