NHTSA safety investigation
NHTSA Investigation PE02079
Preliminary Evaluation · Toyota Motor Corporation · ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
An investigation is not a finding that a defect exists.
NHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
What NHTSA is examining
The agency's own description of the inquiry, quoted as published
ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE
ODI'S DATA ANALYSIS FOUND THE FIRES RATES TO BE CONSISTENTLY LOW AND EVENLY DISTRIBUTED AMONG SIX MODEL YEARS AND SIX DIFFERENT ENGINE CONFIGURATIONS.ODI EXAMINED A VARIETY OF ROOT CAUSES, THOSE BEING DETONATION (RESULTING IN OIL PAN PUNCTURE FROM CONNECTING ROD), STARTER FIRES, VARIOUS FUEL RELATED FIRES, LEAKING OIL FILTERS, WIRING ISSUES, IMPROPER REPAIRS AND BRAKE FLUID LEAKS.NONE OF THE ISSUES EXAMINED HAD REPORTS THAT INDICATED A TREND WHEN NORMALIZED FOR POPULATON AND EXPOSURE.SEE ATTACHED REPORT FOR FULL DETAILS.
An investigation is a separate record from a recall and from a manufacturer communication. A manufacturer campaign to repair a safety defect or a failure to meet a federal safety standard.
Investigation details
Identifiers, dates and outcome as recorded by NHTSA
- Action number
- PE02079
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation (PE)
- Status
- Closed
- Manufacturer
- Toyota Motor Corporation
- Component
- ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
- Opened
- Oct 22, 2002
- Closed
- Mar 18, 2003
- Associated recall campaign
- None recorded
Vehicles named in this investigation
6 model years across 1 model
Being named here means NHTSA included the vehicle in the scope of its inquiry. It is not a statement that these vehicles have a defect.