NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE17-006: Seat belt latch failure
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE17-006 on September 25, 2017 and closed it on April 4, 2018. NHTSA's investigations file lists 6 Van Hool models for it and links recall 18V-209 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE17-006 (also written PE17006)
- 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 April 4, 2018
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Van Hool N.V.
- Component
- Seat Belts
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 18V-209: Seat Belt Buckle Casings may Fail, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 6 Van Hool models, including the CX35 and CX45
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE17-006.
Through Early Warning Reporting (EWR) data review of 2016 Q1-Q3, several field reports were found that identified failures of seat belt latch casings on MY 2016 Van Hool motorcoaches.
While reviewing the EWR data related to the latch issue, ODI was contacted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) regarding seat belt latch issues they discovered while investigating a crash between a train and a 2016 Van Hool bus in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Through inspections of buses similar to the bus involved in the crash, the NTSB found that casing failures were occurring on seat belt latches manufactured by Fasching Salzburg.
These concerns were forwarded to ODI suggesting the latch casing failures may be a wide spread problem found on MY 2016 Van Hool buses.
As a result of the information provided by the NTSB along with the related EWR field reports, ODI opened a defect investigation (PE17-006) on the subject vehicles. The intent of the investigation was to better understand if there was a safety related defect involving the latches.
During the investigation ODI reviewed warranty claims submitted by VAN Hool and found that many identified situations where passengers could not get the seat belt buckles to latch or in some case unlatch.
This presented a situation where passengers were either unrestrained during a potential crash or could not get out of their seats to exit the vehicle in a potential emergency.
With recall action 18V-209 taken by Van Hool this investigation is closed.
Further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.
The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exists on other model or MY vehicles outside of the recall scope. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE17-006. 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 PE17-006
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.