NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE20-017: The steering arm may fall onto roadway
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE20-017 on October 9, 2020 and closed it on May 6, 2021. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Dexter D20 and D28 for it and links recall 21E-019 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE20-017 (also written PE20017)
- 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 May 6, 2021
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- DEXTER AXLE
- Component
- Suspension — Multiple Axle
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 21E-019 (NHTSA record)
- Vehicles and equipment
- Dexter D20 and D28
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE20-017.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) on October 9, 2020 to investigate a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB #10168802) submitted by Dexter Axles (Dexter) in December 2019 regarding the failure of Smart-Steer 2.0 steering arm mounting bolts. The failure of these steering arm mounting bolts allows the steering arm assembly to detach and fall into the roadway.
In response to an Information Request (IR) letter, Dexter submitted additional information regarding these failures, including warranty claim data and pictures of tie rods with lost clamps and steering arms. Through data analysis, ODI identified a trend of warranty claims with multiple occurrences of steering arm mounting bolts failing on Dexter Smart-Steer 2.0 axle assemblies. ODI was also aware of a comparable defect being addressed by recall 20E-055 on other steering axles that may have a similar configuration to Smart-Steer 2.0 Dexter Axles.
Discussions and analysis of the data between ODI and Dexter resulted in Dexter submitting recall 21E-019 on March 15, 2021. This recall includes and provides a remedy for the entire U.S. population of axles that were the subject of this PE20-017.
ODI is closing this PE with Dexter?s safety recall 21E-019.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE20-017. 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.
Dexter
Dexter D20
- model year not given
Dexter D28
- model year not given
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 PE20-017
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.