Investigations
SUDDEN ACCELERATION
NHTSA Engineering Analysis EA87012 - closed, opened 1987-03-06.
NHTSA investigation EA87012 is a Engineering Analysis opened on 1987-03-06 and currently closed. The subject is tracked inside the Office of Defects Investigation queue. Latest activity on this investigation was logged on 1987-09-10 - NHTSA updates that field whenever an Information Request goes out, a supplement is filed, or a status change is recorded in the public docket.
An Engineering Analysis like EA87012 is the deeper technical phase that follows a PE. NHTSA requests design, warranty, and field-failure data from the manufacturer, conducts its own testing when needed, and determines whether the evidence supports a safety defect finding that would compel a recall.
Investigators summarized the matter as follows: "SUMMARY OF INFORMATION FROM MANUFACTURER: MANUFACTURER PROVIDED FAILUREDATA REGARDING THE EXTENT AND NATURE OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT. NO RELEVANTSERVICE BULLETINS HAVE BEEN ISSUED NOR SERVICE CAMPAIGNS UNDERTAKEN WHICHRELAT..." Investigations are the early-warning layer of the federal auto-safety system, sitting upstream of formal recalls and defect orders. Whether this one closes without action or escalates into an Engineering Analysis, the full history stays in the ODI archive so researchers, litigators, and buyers can pull the paper trail at any time.
Investigation Summary
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION FROM MANUFACTURER: MANUFACTURER PROVIDED FAILUREDATA REGARDING THE EXTENT AND NATURE OF THE ALLEGED DEFECT. NO RELEVANTSERVICE BULLETINS HAVE BEEN ISSUED NOR SERVICE CAMPAIGNS UNDERTAKEN WHICHRELATE TO THE ALLEGED PROBLEM. NO TRENDS WERE FOUND WHICH RELATE TO DATEOR PLANT OF VEHICLE MANUFACTURE, GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION, OR DATE OF THEALLEGED INCIDENT. INFORMATION WAS PROVIDED TO DOCUMENT MAXIMUM ENGINESPEEDS AS A RESULT OF MALFUNCTION OF VARIOUS COMPONENTS, AND COMBINATIONSOF COMPONENTS, IN THE FUEL SUPPLY, EMISSIONS CONTROL, IGNITION CONTROL,AND ENGINE IDLE SPEED CONTROL SYSTEMS, WITH THE TRANSMISSION IN "PARK", ANDWHEN SHIFTED INTO "DRIVE" OR "REVERSE". DATA WERE ALSO PROVIDED REGARDINGENGINE NOISE LEVELS AT HIGHER THAN NORMAL IDLE SPEEDS.ANALYSIS: NO SPECIFIC MODE OF COMPONENT OR SYSTEM FAILURE OR MALFUNCTIONWAS IDENTIFIED AS CAUSAL TO THE ALLEGED INCIDENTS. THE MANUFACTURER'SATTEMPTS TO REPLICATE EACH OF THE ALLEGED INCIDENTS WERE UNSUCCESSFUL, ANDNO PHYSICAL MALFUNCTIONS WERE DISCOVERED IN ANY OF THE VEHICLES INSPECTED.MALFUNCTIONS OF COMPONENTS AND SUBSYSTEMS WHICH MIGHT AFFECT ENGINE SPEEDWERE FOUND TO RESULT IN SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN NORMAL ENGINE SPEEDS WHILE IN"PARK", BUT THESE CONSISTENTLY RETURNED TO NORMAL WHEN THE TRANSMISSIONWAS SHIFTED INTO FORWARD OR REVERSE GEAR. NO SYSTEMATIC MECHANICAL ORELECTRICAL FAILURE INHERENT TO THE DESIGN OR MANUFACTURE OF THE VEHICLEWAS IDENTIFIED AS CAUSAL TO A SELF-ACTUATING, SUSTAINED INCREASE IN ENGINESPEED THAT WOULD RESULT IN UNINTENDED VEHICLE ACCELERATION.===
About This Investigation Type
An Engineering Analysis (EA) is the in-depth phase following a Preliminary Evaluation. NHTSA engineers conduct testing, collect data from manufacturers, and perform detailed technical analysis to determine whether a safety defect exists. An EA may lead to a voluntary recall by the manufacturer or, in rare cases, a mandatory recall order.
Data from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Cross-references: NHTSA recall campaign API and NHTSA FARS where fatality records overlap. PlainCars does not rate or recommend vehicles. about how PlainCars sources NHTSA data.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.