Investigations
Fire In Grote LED Clearance/Marker Lamps
NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation PE10013 - closed, opened 2010-04-30.
NHTSA investigation PE10013 is a Preliminary Evaluation opened on 2010-04-30 and currently closed. The subject is tracked inside the Office of Defects Investigation queue. Latest activity on this investigation was logged on 2010-09-02 - NHTSA updates that field whenever an Information Request goes out, a supplement is filed, or a status change is recorded in the public docket.
A Preliminary Evaluation like PE10013 is the entry point of the federal defect-investigation process. NHTSA engineers scan complaint databases, field reports, and manufacturer data to decide whether an Engineering Analysis is warranted, whether a voluntary recall is already sufficient, or whether the pattern does not rise to a defect finding.
Investigators summarized the matter as follows: "The subject Grote Clearance / Marker lamps have not demonstrated that they represent an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety. In the past five years of operational exposure ODI is only aware of 124 failures represen..." 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
The subject Grote Clearance / Marker lamps have not demonstrated that they represent an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety. In the past five years of operational exposure ODI is only aware of 124 failures representing a failure rate of less than .02%. In the year leading up to this investigation ODI is only aware of 13 failures of the subject lamps. Of 124 failures ODI is not aware of any where the burning lamp resulted in damage to the vehicle beyond just the lamp. These lamps are often mounted on aluminum surfaces that help prevent the burning lamp from causing damage to the vehicle. At a very early stage in the subject lamps exposure life Grote took steps to address the potential failures modes of the subject lamps. Grote made the necessary design changes to the lamps to prevent lamps from being susceptible to water intrusion. With these design changes Grote appears to have acted responsibly in proactively identifying and remedying potential design issues with the subject lamps even when the failure rates were very low. In light of these findings, a safety-related defect trend has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that no safety-related defect exists. The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances. For more detailed information, please see the attached closing report.
About This Investigation Type
A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is the first phase of NHTSA's investigation process. It is opened when the agency identifies a potential safety defect pattern, usually triggered by consumer complaints, manufacturer reports, or field monitoring. During a PE, NHTSA gathers information to determine whether a formal engineering analysis is warranted.
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.