NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE20-019: Rear Toe Link Adjuster Separation
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE20-019 on November 6, 2020 and closed it on December 23, 2021. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2010–2015 Cadillac SRX for it and links recall 21V-473 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE20-019 (also written PE20019)
- 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 December 23, 2021
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- General Motors, LLC
- Components
- Suspension; Suspension — Rear
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 21V-473: Rear Suspension Toe Link May Loosen and Separate, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2010–2015 Cadillac SRX
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE20-019.
try.vin does not copy NHTSA's investigation documents; NHTSA's investigation record lists the ones NHTSA has published.
On November 06, 2020, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE20-019) to assess the remedy and scope of General Motors (GM) recall 14V-571. ODI had received a total of 9 complaints with allegations of rear toe links separating while the vehicle was in motion. There were 4 complainants indicating that the remedy for recall 14V-571 had been performed on their vehicle. The other 5 complaints were outside the original recall scope but exhibited the same failure mode as addressed by recall 14V-571 and reported uncontrolled swaying while driving.
ODI's review focused on all 2010-2015 Cadillac SRX vehicles that experienced a rear toe link failure while the vehicle was in motion under various driving conditions. The failures were the same or similar to those addressed by the remedy associated with recall 14V-571. The remedy for recall 14V-571 was to inspect the rear toe link adjusters and replace them if necessary as well as tighten both jam nuts to a manufacturer specified torque. The remedy can be reversed when the vehicle gets a rear alignment adjustment and the jam nuts are not properly re-torqued to the manufacturer's specification. ODI's data review confirmed a high toe link failure rate in vehicles that either had and had not received the remedy associated with recall 14V-571. On June 24, 2021, GM filed a defect information report recalling all 2010-2016 Cadillac SRX and 2011-2012 Saab 9-4X vehicles to remedy the potential failure of the rear toe link adjuster while driving. The remedy replaces adjustable toe links with non-adjustable toe links. The recall (21V-473) includes vehicles that were remedied under 14V-571. In view of the recall action being taken by GM, ODI is closing this Preliminary Evaluation. NHTSA reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances.
The ODI complaints cited above can be viewed at www.nhtsa.gov.
The ODI identification numbers for the complaints cited above can be found in a separate document attached to this closing resume.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE20-019. 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.
Cadillac VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE20-019
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.