NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE96-020: AIR BAG INFLATOR FAILURE
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE96-020 on March 8, 1996 and closed it on October 29, 1996. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Dodge Ram and TRW Air Bag Inflator for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE96-020 (also written PE96020)
- 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 October 29, 1996
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturers
- Chrysler (FCA US, LLC); TRW, INCORPORATED
- Component
- Air Bags — Frontal — Driver Side — Inflator Module
- Vehicles and equipment
- Dodge Ram and TRW Air Bag Inflator
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE96-020. 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.
Dodge
Dodge Ram
TRW
TRW Air Bag Inflator
- 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 PE96-020
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.