NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE15-008: Front suspension ball joint failure
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE15-008 on February 27, 2015 and closed it on November 20, 2015. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2004–2013 Pierce Arrow XT for it and links recall 15V-615 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE15-008 (also written PE15008)
- 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 November 20, 2015
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Pierce Manufacturing
- Components
- Suspension — Front — Control Arm — Lower Ball Joint; Suspension — Front — Control Arm — Upper Ball Joint
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 15V-615: Ball Joint Contamination Causing Premature Wear, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2004–2013 Pierce Arrow XT
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE15-008.
On February 27th 2015, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE15-008 to investigate front steer wheel separations on 2004 model year Pierce fire trucks (manufactured with TAK-4 independent front suspensions ) caused byball joint failures.
The investigation was based on one steering related consumer complaint, three media reports alleging front steer wheel separation incidents, and a service bulletin outlining the maintenance requirements for the ball joints used in the TAK4 suspension.
The consumer complaint (ODI #10671053), received on January 8th 2015, alleged a 2007 Pierce TAK-4 equipped fire truck was not steering correctly.
The three media reports of Pierce TAK-4 equipped fire trucks that experienced front steer wheel separation events included two in Baltimore, MD (July and August 2014) and a third in Anne Arundel County, MD (December 2014).
The technical service bulletin (#355 issued 12/15/2014) was intended to be a reminder for subject vehicle owners to inspect their TAK-4 suspension and ball joints pursuant to Pierce?s published maintenance schedule.
The bulletin outlined how improperly maintained subject ball joints could wear or become damaged during normal use and then potentially separate.
A diagram of the TAK-4 front suspension (Figure 1) illustrates the location of both ball-joint assemblies on the suspension that connect the wheel spindles to the A-arm assemblies.(Continued on page 2)
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE15-008. 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.
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 PE15-008
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.