NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE22-014: Automated Driving System (ADS)
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE22-014 on December 12, 2022 and closed it on August 20, 2024. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Cruise LLC ADS Software for it and links recall 24E-067 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE22-014 (also written PE22014)
- 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 August 20, 2024
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Cruise LLC
- Components
- Electrical System — ADAS — Autonomous/Self Driving; Electrical System — ADAS — Autonomous/Self Driving — Software
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 24E-067 (NHTSA record)
- Vehicles and equipment
- Cruise LLC ADS Software
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE22-014.
On December 12, 2022, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Preliminary Evaluation (PE22-014) to assess reports of inappropriately hard braking as well as immobilizations in vehicles operated by Cruise LLC (Cruise) and equipped with its Automated Driving System (ADS). Both inappropriately hard braking and vehicle immobilizations can increase the risk of a crash. To assess these risks, ODI collected information from Cruise, as well as from five peer ADS-equipped vehicle operators. Based on ODI’s analysis of immobilization data, the potential safety risk is heavily dependent on the context of the immobilized vehicle’s location, detectability of the vehicle due to hazard lights automatically engaging, and none of the immobilization incidents reviewed resulted in a crash or injuries. ODI also analyzed hard braking data which included 7,632 hard braking events commanded by the Cruise ADS. These events were determined by certain thresholds, including rate of deceleration, without regard to the appropriateness of the braking. ODI determined that Cruise vehicles contributed to 10 crashes that were reported under the Standing General Order 2021-01 (SGO), 4 of which involved a vulnerable road user and resulted in injury. On August 9, 2024, Cruise filed a safety recall (NHTSA Recall No. 24E-067) for “unexpected braking maneuvers [that] could occur if the ADS inaccurately predicts the immediate future path of the close-following actors, experiences diminished sensor precision from the close proximity of the close-following actors, or erroneously responds to a perceived risk ahead of the AV unrelated to the rear actor.” The recalled software versions affected all Cruise ADS-equipped vehicles within the US fleet. The Cruise ADS has been remedied through software updates that are intended to reduce the risk of unexpected braking maneuvers, including by improvements to perception, prediction, and planning. In view of the recall action taken by Cruise and ODI’s analysis of the available data, including data presented by Cruise demonstrating a reduced occurrence of hard braking incidents after the software updates, ODI is closing this Preliminary Evaluation. NHTSA reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances. To review the SGO reports cited above, go to NHTSA.gov/laws-regulations/standing-general-order-crash-reporting. The SGO report ID numbers are provided below: 30412-2216 30412-2588 30412-2885 30412-3801 30412-3748 30412-5430 30412-6020 30412-6271 30412-6281 30412-6242
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE22-014. 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.
Cruise LLC
Cruise LLC ADS Software
- 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 PE22-014
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.