NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE99-052: ENGINE COOLING FAN FIRES
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE99-052 on August 18, 1999 and closed it on February 23, 2000. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE99-052 (also written PE99052)
- 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 February 23, 2000
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Ford Motor Company
- Component
- Engine and Engine Cooling
- Vehicles and equipment
- Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE99-052.
ODI OPENED THIS INVESTIGATION ON AUGUST 18, 1999, BASED ON FOUR REPORTS OF FIRE INVOLVING THE ENGINE COOLING FAN.THE REPORTS ALLEGE THE ELECTRONIC COOLING FAN CAUGHT FIRE WITH RESULTANT DAMAGE TO THE FAN AND WIRE HARNESS AND/OR THE HARNESS CONNECTOR.IN ITS PE RESPONSE, FORD PROVIDED INFORMATION RELEVANT TO 46 ADDITIONAL ALLEGED FIRE INCIDENTS AND 47 ALLEGED FAILURES OF THE COOLING FAN INVOLVING THERMAL DAMAGE TO THE FAN.THIS INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO FURTHER STUDY THE ISSUE.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE99-052. 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.
Ford
Ford Contour
Mercury
Mercury Mystique
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 PE99-052
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.