Investigations
Front Tire Overload
NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation PE15035 - closed, opened 2015-11-16.
NHTSA investigation PE15035 is a Preliminary Evaluation opened on 2015-11-16 and currently closed. The subject is tracked inside the Office of Defects Investigation queue. Latest activity on this investigation was logged on 2016-03-02 - 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 PE15035 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: "As detailed in the opening resume for this investigation dated November 16, 2015, Blue Bird Corporation (BBC) conducted recall 07V-586 with two subsequent amendments to address overloaded front axles and tires on the sub..." 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
As detailed in the opening resume for this investigation dated November 16, 2015, Blue Bird Corporation (BBC) conducted recall 07V-586 with two subsequent amendments to address overloaded front axles and tires on the subject vehicles. Following the remedy installations, NHTSA received nine petitions and seven consumer complaints (many from the same owners who had filed petitions) alleging the remedial actions taken by BBC were inadequate. At the time, NHTSA was aware of two consumer complaints and three crashes of vehicles that received the 07V-586 recall remedy. One of the complaints was similar to the petitions in that it focused on utility loss and not safety issues. The second complaint (received May 2014) described a crash that occurred in May 2013 that was also identified in media reports. The second and third crashes occurred in August 2013 and January 2015. All three crashes allegedly resulted from failure of one of the front tires. During this investigation, NHTSA requested information from BBC including details about the three referenced crashes and if they were aware of any additional failures. BBC responded that they were not aware of any other failures and had only received crash information on one of the incidents from sources other than NHTSA. In order to understand why the tires failed prior to or during each of the three crashes, NHTSA attempted to collect as much information about each incident as possible. This included insurance documents, photographs, police accident reports, vehicle weights, maintenance history, and the failed tires. In the case of two of the crashes, not enough information could be obtained to determine the exact cause of the tire failure and crash. In the case of the third crash, the tire was collected and analyzed. This analysis found that the tire failed as a result of impact damage and not overloading. In October 2015, BBC initiated a customer service campaign (S15YF) where owners would be notified that BBC would replace t
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.