NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Recall Query RQ17-006: Step rivets may shear
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Recall Query RQ17-006 on August 9, 2017 and closed it on April 18, 2018. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Hickory Springs RV Quad Step for it and links recall 17V-785 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- RQ17-006 (also written RQ17006)
- Investigation type
- Recall Query An investigation into whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or whether its remedy works, run much like a Preliminary Evaluation.
- Status
- Closed April 18, 2018
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- Hickory Springs Manufacturing Company
- Component
- Equipment
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 17V-785: Quad Step Rivet Failure, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- Hickory Springs RV Quad Step
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Recall Query RQ17-006.
RMD opened RQ17-006 on September 8, 2017, to investigate the adequacy of the scope and remedy of safety recall 15E-013. RMD issued an Information Request (IR) to Hickory Spring Manufacturing (HSM), the recalling manufacturer, on August 22, 2017 requesting, among other things, an explanation of the how HSM determined which stair steps to recall, and information concerning the integrity and adequacy of the remedy which involved a newly designed rivet.
RMD reviewed the IR response and its accompanying data which included production data, purchaser and distribution information, notification letters, rivet kit samples, testing information and field failure information. Through this examination RMD discovered HSM had incorrectly reported the recalled step manufacturing dates, and had overlooked identifying six affected models in its-recall information report. These mistakes did not impact the recall's overall population figures.
RMD reviewed the design specifications, together with complaints and early warning reporting (EWR) data, to verify the remedy's adequacy. RMD also reviewed the various follow-on recall campaigns being conducted through several recreational vehicle (RVs).
This work resulted in finding that KZRV, a RV manufacturer, had overlooked 312 sets of steps in its follow-on-recall 15V-173.
As a result, KZRV filed an amended recall information report to recall those steps and notified the impacted RV owners in December 2017.
At this time RMD is satisfied that the scope and remedy of the HSM recall is sufficient.
Accordingly, this RQ is closed.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Recall Query RQ17-006. 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.
Hickory Springs
Hickory Springs RV Quad Step
- 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 RQ17-006
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.