NHTSA Investigation PE07036

FUEL PUMP FAILURE

THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION (ODI) OPENED PRELIMINARY EVALUATION PE07-036 ON JULY 17, 2007, BASED ON THREE CONSUMER COMPLAINTS ALLEGING INCIDENTS OF SUDDEN ENGINE STALL WHILE DRIVING DUE TO FUEL PUMP FAILURE IN MODEL YEAR (MY) 2003 LAND ROVER FREELANDER VEHICLES.IN EACH INCIDENT THE VEHICLE COULD NOT BE RESTARTED AND HAD TO BE TOWED FOR REPAIRS. IN RESPONSE TO ODI'S INFORMATION REQUEST LETTER, FORD PROVIDED OWNER COMPLAINT INFORMATION, FIELD REPORTS AND WARRANTY CLAIM DATA FOR APPROXIMATELY 9,985 SUBJECT VEHICLES SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES.THE BASE WARRANTY FOR THE SUBJECT VEHICLES IS 48 MONTHS OR 50,000 MILES, WHICHEVER OCCURS FIRST.FORD CATEGORIZED THE DATA BY ENGINE STALLS THAT OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING, ENGINE STALLS WITH AN UNKNOWN DRIVING CONDITION, NO START CONDITIONS AND OTHER DRIVEABILITY CONDITIONS. ODI'S ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT THE SUBJECT VEHICLES HAVE EXPERIENCED A 6.7% FUEL PUMP WARRANTY CLAIM RATE FOR ALL CONDITIONS AFTER APPROXIMATELY 4 TO 5 YEARS OF SERVICE, INCLUDING 1.4% CATEGORIZED AS A STALL WHILE DRIVING EVENT AND 2.1% CATEGORIZED AS A STALL WITH AN UNKNOWN DRIVING CONDITION.THIS INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA07-018) TO FURTHER ASSESS THE FREQUENCY AND SAFETY CONSEQUENCES OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT.

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.