NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE16-016: Engine Compartment Fire
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE16-016 on December 16, 2016 and closed it on November 20, 2017. NHTSA's investigations file lists 3 Smart models for it and links recall 18V-273 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE16-016 (also written PE16016)
- 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, 2017
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- SMART USA DISTRIBUTOR LLC
- Component
- Engine
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 18V-273: Insulation Mat may Deform and cause Fire, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 3 Smart models, including the Fortwo and Fortwo Cabrio
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE16-016.
On December 16, 2016, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Preliminary Evaluation PE16-016 to investigate eight complaints alleging incidents of engine compartment fire while driving or shortly after engine shutdown in model year (MY) 2008 through 2009 Smart Fortwo vehicles.
The complaints appeared to indicate an increasing trend, with all eight fires occurring since January 2015.
As part of PE16-016, ODI analyzed information related to incidents reported to the Office by consumers, analyzed field data and technical information submitted by Mercedes-Benz USA (Mercedes) in response to the PE16-016 information request letter, and analyzed non-crash vehicle fire claim data provided by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).
To date, ODI's analysis of incidents reported by consumers and provided by Mercedes has identified 27 incidents of open flame fires originating in the engine compartments of the subject vehicles, 14 of which were reported to ODI by Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQs) and 18 involving complaints or field reports to Mercedes (5 of the incidents were reported to both ODI and Mercedes).
One incident reported to Mercedes includes an allegation of an injury from smoke inhalation.
Nineteen (19) of the incidents occurred since January 2015.
Mercedes has only investigated 2 of the 27 fire incidents, and the company was unable to identify a vehicle-based cause for either incident.
To further assess incident rates and trends, ODI requested fire claim data for the subject vehicles and eight peer vehicles from the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).
HLDI collects insurance claim data from companies representing over 80 percent of the market for private passenger vehicle insurance in the United States.
ODI?s analysis of the HLDI data, which covered the period from 2010 through late-2016, found that the MY 2008 Fortwo vehicles had a significantly higher claim frequency than its peers and, similar to ODI?s complaint trend, experienced a sharp increase in claims in 2015.
This investigation has been upgraded to an Engineering Analysis (EA17-003) to continue to investigate the high frequency and increasing trend of non-crash engine compartment fire incidents in the subject vehicles.
The VOQs associated with the opening of this investigation were:10676359, 10780222, 10790017, 10820891, 10872656, 10944676, 10916505, 10924311, 10924637, 10939504, 10945296, 10993895, 11011100, 11011565.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE16-016. 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 PE16-016
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.