Investigations
FAILED TAG AXLE SWING ARMS
NHTSA Recall Query RQ06008 - closed, opened 2006-09-05.
NHTSA investigation RQ06008 is a Recall Query opened on 2006-09-05 and currently closed. The subject is tracked inside the Office of Defects Investigation queue. Latest activity on this investigation was logged on 2007-01-17 - 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 Recall Query like RQ06008 evaluates whether a previously issued recall is actually fixing the problem. NHTSA opens an RQ when owners continue to report the original defect after the recall remedy is installed, or when completion rates fall short of the agency's expectations for that risk tier.
Investigators summarized the matter as follows: "MCI ORIGINALLY FILED A DEFECT NOTIFICATION ON OCTOBER 20, 2003, (03V-411) TO ADDRESS CRACKS LOCATED ON THE TAG AXLE SWING ARM AT THE CONNECTION TO THE PIVOT SPINDLE TUBE. FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY-THREE (493) MCI G4500 200..." 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
MCI ORIGINALLY FILED A DEFECT NOTIFICATION ON OCTOBER 20, 2003, (03V-411) TO ADDRESS CRACKS LOCATED ON THE TAG AXLE SWING ARM AT THE CONNECTION TO THE PIVOT SPINDLE TUBE. FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY-THREE (493) MCI G4500 2000-2003 MOTOR COACHES WERE INVOLVED. MCI¿S ENGINEERING ANALYSIS DETERMINED THAT INSUFFICIENT WELD METAL AND /OR WELD PENETRATION ON THE FAILED COMPONENTS COULD RESULT IN EARLY STRESS AND FATIGUE CRACKS AT A WELD JOINING THE TAG AXLE TO THE PIVOT TUBE ASSEMBLY. MCI'S FIELD REPAIR CONSISTED OF INSPECTING AND RE-WELDING THE TAG AXLE SWING ARM. A SMALL PERCENTAGE WERE NOT REPAIRABLE AND REQUIRED A FULL REPLACEMENT OF THE SWING ARM. ON JULY 18, 2006, ODI WAS CONTACTED BY A FLEET ALLEGING THAT THEY HAD THREE TAG AXLE ARMS CRACK AND SUBSEQUENTLY BREAK IN THE SAME AREA REPAIRED BY MCI DURING THE SAFETY RECALL. AS A RESULT, ODI OPENED THIS RQ. MCI CONDUCTED FURTHER ANALYSIS AND DETERMINED THAT SOME OF THE PREVIOUSLY REPAIRED SWING ARMS, REPAIRED DURING RECALL 03V-411 MAY HAVE BEEN REPAIRED WITH EXISTING UNIDENTIFIED MICRO-FRACTURES AND/OR WELDS WITH INSUFFICIENT PENETRATION. THIS COULD LEAD TO FURTHER CRACKING AND RESULT IN A PARTIAL OR TOTAL SEPARATION OR THE TAG ARM. AS A RESULT OF THIS INVESTIGATION, MCI HAS ANNOUNCED A NEW SAFETY RECALL IN WHICH THEY WILL REPLACE ALL THE TAG ARMS WITH A NEWLY DESIGNED TAG AXLE SWING ARM. MCI'S NEW RECALL ACTION RESOLVES THIS INVESTIGATION. THEREFORE, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED. ODI WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE PROGRESSION OF THE NEW RECALL BEING CONDUCTED BY MCI.
About This Investigation Type
A Recall Query (RQ) evaluates the effectiveness of a previously issued recall. NHTSA opens an RQ when consumer complaints suggest that a recall remedy may not be adequately addressing the safety issue, or when the recall completion rate appears insufficient.
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.