NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation

Recall Query RQ19-004: Fuel Tank Flange Leak

  • Closed

NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Recall Query RQ19-004 on June 28, 2019 and closed it on November 5, 2020, the day it opened Preliminary Evaluation PE20-018, whose summary cites it. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2010–2012 Jaguar XF for it and links recall 20V-081 to it.

Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file

Key facts

NHTSA number
RQ19-004 (also written RQ19004)
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 November 5, 2020
Opened
Closed
Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
Jaguar Cars, Ltd.
Component
Fuel System, Gasoline — Storage — Tank Assembly
Recall linked by NHTSA
  • 20V-081: Fuel Tank Outlet Flange May Leak, reported
Vehicles and equipment
2010–2012 Jaguar XF

NHTSA's summary

As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Recall Query RQ19-004.

In October 2012, Jaguar Land Rover LLC (JLR) submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) to NHTSA describing a defect condition that could result in pressurized fuel leaks around the fuel supply line connection on the upper surface of the fuel tank assemblies of approximately 4,152 model year (MY) 2010 Jaguar XF vehicles equipped with 5.0L engines and manufactured between April 2009 and January 2010 (Recall 12V-521). The DIR indicated that the fuel system operating pressures of 5.0L gasoline engine XF vehicles may exceed the design specification under certain conditions, which may result in cracks in the fuel tank outlet flange. In January 2010, JLR changed the design of the tank outlet flange from the original version with no internal ribs, part number 9X23-9A309-AC (?AC flange?), to a revised part with internal ribbing reinforcing the area of the flange at the base of the fuel supply port where the cracks were occurring (?AD flange?). The scope of 12V-521 included 43 MY 2011-2012 XF vehicles with 5.0L engines that were equipped with the AC flanges as service replacement parts. In addition, in March 2016, JLR recalled 28 additional MY 2010 XF vehicles built with 5.0L engines and AC flanges that were inadvertently excluded from 12V-521 (Recall 16V-187). The AD flange was later replaced in production by the AE flange, which had internal ribbing like the AD flange and was used by JLR as the remedy part for 12V-521 and 16V-187. All the subject fuel tank flanges (AC, AD & AE) were supplied to JLR by Continental AG (now Vitesco Technologies). By October 2019, JLR had completed the recall remedies for 12V-521 and 16V-187 in 4,080 vehicles, resulting in an overall completion rate of 97 percent.

On June 28, 2019, ODI opened RQ19-004 to investigate the scope and remedy for recalls 12V-521 and 16V-187, based on 30 complaints alleging fuel odor or leakage from the tank flange, including 19 in MY 2010 XF 4.2L vehicles equipped with the AC flange and 11 in MY 2010 through 2012 XF 5.0L vehicles equipped with revised flanges (AD/AE flanges) either as original equipment or as remedy parts under the subject recalls.

ODI?s analysis of field data gathered under RQ19-004 identified a total of 51 complaints and field reports and 272 warranty claims related to fuel leakage from cracked flanges in the subject vehicles. Thirty-three (33) of the complaints and field reports and 200 of the warranty claims involved MY 2010 XF 4.2L equipped with the unreinforced AC flange, resulting in a complaint rate of 11.4 incidents per thousand vehicles (IPTV) and a claim rate of 6.9 percent. Twelve (12) of the complaints and field reports and 61 of the warranty claims involved MY 2010 ? 2012 XF 5.0L vehicles equipped with AD/AE flanges as original equipment parts, resulting in a complaint rate of 0.8 IPTV and a claim rate of 0.4 percent. Six (6) of the complaints and 11 of the warranty claims involved vehicles remedied under 12V-521 or 16V-187, resulting in a complaint rate of 1.5 IPTV and a claim rate of 0.3 percent.

On February 13, 2020, JLR notified NHTSA that it was recalling approximately 2,907 model year MY 2010 Jaguar XF vehicles equipped with 4.2L engines and the AC flange to remedy a fuel tank flange cracking defect (Recall 20V-081). With this recall, there are no remaining products equipped with the unreinforced AC flange that are not under recall. Like the prior recalls, the remedy for 20V-081 involves replacing the AC flange with a modified part with the internal ribbing reinforcement (AE flange).

ODI's analysis indicates that Recall 20V-081 addresses the scope concerns with tank flange cracking in the subject vehicles. Based on this analysis, this invest

Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation

NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Recall Query RQ19-004. 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.

Jaguar VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.

Sources

NHTSA's investigation record for RQ19-004

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.