Pierce Custom Contender 2007

Model Custom Contender made in 2007 by Pierce got 18 investigations as well as 2 recalls. The car had some investigations: engine and engine cooling and fuel system, diesel. There were some recalls concerningelectrical system and structure.

Model 2007

Recalls


CampaignManufacturerManufacturing dateType# of units affectedDate Owner notified MfgRecall Initiated byManufacturers of recalled vehicles/productsReport Recieved DateRecord Creation DateRegulation Part NumberFMVSS Number
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - SOFTWARE
12V523000PIERCE MANUFACTURINGfrom 12/26/2006 to 03/28/2008V (Vehicle)9ODIPierce Manufacturing10/31/201211/05/2012
Defect SummaryPierce is recalling certain model year 2006-2008 contender fire trucks manufactured from december 26, 2006, through march 28, 2008, equipped with a caterpillar c9 engine due to an engine software problem which can cause the engine's rpm's to surge while in pump mode.
Consequence SummaryThe surge can cause a fluctuation in water pressure from the fire hose and could result in personal injury.
Corrective SummaryPierce has already remedied all of the affected vehicles by updating the engine software, therefore, owner notifications will not be sent. owners may contact pierce at 1-920-832-3000.
NotesThis is pierce recall number 74b235.owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
STRUCTURE - BODY - BUMPERS
10V300000PIERCE MANUFACTURINGfrom 02/20/2003 to 03/27/2009V (Vehicle)2509/30/2010MFRPIERCE MANUFACTURING06/28/201006/30/2010
Defect SummaryPierce is recalling certain model year 2003 through 2009 custom contender, dash, enforcer, impel, lance saber, and velocity fire trucks manufactured from february 20, 2003, through march 27, 2009. these trucks may be equipped with drop-down fire hose trays mounted under the front bumper. the hose tray latch may accidentally open while the vehicle is in motion.
Consequence SummaryIf this occurs the fire hose may drop to the roadway without warning. potential injury to people and property may occur. the sudden hose deployment may also distract drivers trying to avoid the hose and a crash may occur.
Corrective SummaryA new and improved latch design has been developed and a new hose box incorporating the new latch will be installed free of charge. the safety recall is expected to begin during september 2010. owner may contact pierce at 1-920-832-3000.
NotesPierce safety recall no. 39-0139830.owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov .

Investigations


NHTSA IDManufacturerDate openDate closeSubjectRecall campaign
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM
EA11008Pierce Manufacturing06/27/201111/09/2012Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb #10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the pip was intended to address engine rpms that could surge while the fire fighting vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause significant fluctuations in water pressure being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.caterpillar's pip provided information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on june 27, 2011 odi upgraded its investigation to an engineering analysis.no information request (ir) letter was sent to pierce, instead a field inspection of a pierce fire truck was conducted.in august 2011 representatives from odi, the vehicle research and test center and pierce conducted an on-site fire truck performance inspection of a complaint vehicle in sherwood, arizona.the purpose was to jointly inspect a complaint vehicle that was recently outfitted with updated engine software.the sherwood fire truck engine was started and remained idling while the fire truck was set in water pumping mode.the representatives were able to witness the effects of the new software with regards to engine surge and verified that the alleged defect did not exist during this vehicle examination.the new engine software corrected the problem of fire hose pressure fluctuations in water being directed onto a fire.it was determined during the course of this investigation that the pip released by caterpillar and conducted on pierce vehicles should be submitted to nhtsa as a safety recall.during discussions with nhtsa, pierce was informed that nhtsa had authority over the safety of vehicles even when not in highway use.following these discussions, pierce agreed the pip should be released as a safety recall.this engineering analysis is closed with a safety recall (12v-523).
EA11008PIERCE MANUFACTURING06/27/2011Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb # 10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the (pip) was for engine rpm's that could surge while the vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause fluctuations in water pressure that is being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.the caterpillar's product improvement program released information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on april 11, 2011 odi received pierce's response to odi's information request (ir) letter.based on the information received, an odi investigator contacted several fleets and complainants regarding this defect and all parties contacted expressed concern related to the inherent danger involved with pressure oscillations in a fire hose.several fire fighters stated that the failures are continuing even after proposed software fixes have been performed per the pip. in a supplemental (ir) letter dated may 27, 2011 pierce identified a total population of 241 vehicles with the c9 engine from my 2006 - 2008. pierce also specified that they had identified 15 unique complaints coupled with 2 complaints from caterpillar; totaling 17 consumer complaints.these consumer complaints were for my 2006 through 2008 fire trucks.pierce had 2 warranty claims while caterpillar had 19 warranty claims, totaling 21 warranty claims for this investigation.odi notes that the complaints applied to 5 vehicles and the warranty claims applied to 5 different vehicles (based on vin).there were multiple complaints or claims on one vehicle in some cases.an odi investigator spoke with a fire chief in sherwood, ar who alleged a caterpillar representative, on several occasions, came to his fire house to fix the problem of engine surge while in water pumping mode.the caterpillar tech installed several updates to modify the software which communicates with the engine and its fueling strategies (i.e. idle function).allegedly, after each attempt to fix the problem, a fire fighter would alert the fire chief that the problem still existed in spite of constant updates.the result of this malfunction puts fire fighters at risk. odi believes that when firemen are working to extinguish a fire and in the effort to save lives, there is zero tolerance for a defective, pressure surging and improperly functional fire hose.pierce claims that this alleged safety defect can have the potential to cause injury and may even result in the death of the firefighter.odi deems it is vital to the mission of all emergency response vehicles that the intended equipment must work as designed, without compromise.further investigation is warranted to ascertain the scope of this alleged safety defect.this engineering analysis is opened.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE
PE11001PIERCE MANUFACTURING01/10/201107/20/2011RPM's surging during pump mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigation (odi) opened preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb # 10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010. the pip was for engine rpm's that could surge while in a water pumping mode on 2005 through 2009 pierce fire trucks equipped with a caterpillar c9 engine.this engine surge could cause a fluctuation in water pressure that is being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.caterpillar's product improvement program released information involving the installation of new engine software on the subject vehicles.on april 11, 2011 odi received pierce's response to odi's information request (ir) letter.based on the information received, an odi investigator contacted several fleets and complainants regarding this defect phenomena and everyone contacted expressedconcern related to the inherent danger involved with pressure oscillations in a fire hose.several fire fighters stated that the frequency of failure even after software fixes have been performed per the pip are still happening.in a supplemental ir letter dated may 27, 2011 pierce identified a total population of 241 vehicles with the c9 engine from my 2005 - 2008. pierce also specified that they had 15 unique complaints coupled with 2 complaints from caterpillar; totaling 17 consumer complaints.these consumer complaints were for my 2006 through 2008 fire trucks.pierce had 2 warranty claims while caterpillar had 19 warranty claims, totaling 21 warranty claims for this investigation.odi notes that the complaints applied to 5 vehicles and the warranty claims applied to 5 different vehicles (based on vin).there were multiple complaints or claims on one vehicle in some cases.an odi investigator spoke with a fire chief in sherwood, ar who alleged a caterpillar representative, on several occasions, came to his fire house to fix the problem of engine surge while in water pumping mode.the caterpillar technician installed several updates to modify the software which communicates with the engine and its fueling strategies (i.e. idle function).allegedly, after each attempt to fix the problem a fire fighter would alert the fire chief that the problem persisted in spite of constant updates.the result of this malfunction puts fire fighters at risk. odi is concerned that a fire hose that does nor function properly has safety ramifications to the user of the fire hose and others dependent on its performance.this preliminary evaluation is being closed and upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea11-008).
PE11001PIERCE MANUFACTURING01/10/2011RPM's surging during pump mode
 On august 18, 2010 caterpillar submitted a product improvement program (pip) for installing new engine software on certain c9 engines. the office of defects investigations was made aware of this communication upon receipt of caterpillar's september 579.5 communications which identified a product improvement program for certain fire trucks with the c9 engine.the subject of the pip was engine rpm's which could surge while the vehicle was in a water pumping mode which could cause a fluctuation in water pressure that is being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.odi contacted pierce to acquire fleets that may have experienced this condition and to obtain additional information.according to one fleet, one of their fireman had the hose jerked out of his hand and the fire hose became unmanageable to control.they have been dealing with this engine surge since purchasing the truck 3 years ago and on many occasions it has compromised their ability to control their fire hose and its efficiency.odi is concerned that the inherent nature of a non-properly functional fire hose (as a result of engine surge) has safety ramifications.this preliminary evaluation is opened to gather more information.
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - DIESEL
PE11001PIERCE MANUFACTURING01/10/201107/20/2011RPM's surging during pump mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigation (odi) opened preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb # 10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010. the pip was for engine rpm's that could surge while in a water pumping mode on 2005 through 2009 pierce fire trucks equipped with a caterpillar c9 engine.this engine surge could cause a fluctuation in water pressure that is being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.caterpillar's product improvement program released information involving the installation of new engine software on the subject vehicles.on april 11, 2011 odi received pierce's response to odi's information request (ir) letter.based on the information received, an odi investigator contacted several fleets and complainants regarding this defect phenomena and everyone contacted expressedconcern related to the inherent danger involved with pressure oscillations in a fire hose.several fire fighters stated that the frequency of failure even after software fixes have been performed per the pip are still happening.in a supplemental ir letter dated may 27, 2011 pierce identified a total population of 241 vehicles with the c9 engine from my 2005 - 2008. pierce also specified that they had 15 unique complaints coupled with 2 complaints from caterpillar; totaling 17 consumer complaints.these consumer complaints were for my 2006 through 2008 fire trucks.pierce had 2 warranty claims while caterpillar had 19 warranty claims, totaling 21 warranty claims for this investigation.odi notes that the complaints applied to 5 vehicles and the warranty claims applied to 5 different vehicles (based on vin).there were multiple complaints or claims on one vehicle in some cases.an odi investigator spoke with a fire chief in sherwood, ar who alleged a caterpillar representative, on several occasions, came to his fire house to fix the problem of engine surge while in water pumping mode.the caterpillar technician installed several updates to modify the software which communicates with the engine and its fueling strategies (i.e. idle function).allegedly, after each attempt to fix the problem a fire fighter would alert the fire chief that the problem persisted in spite of constant updates.the result of this malfunction puts fire fighters at risk. odi is concerned that a fire hose that does nor function properly has safety ramifications to the user of the fire hose and others dependent on its performance.this preliminary evaluation is being closed and upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea11-008).
PE11001PIERCE MANUFACTURING01/10/2011RPM's surging during pump mode
 On august 18, 2010 caterpillar submitted a product improvement program (pip) for installing new engine software on certain c9 engines. the office of defects investigations was made aware of this communication upon receipt of caterpillar's september 579.5 communications which identified a product improvement program for certain fire trucks with the c9 engine.the subject of the pip was engine rpm's which could surge while the vehicle was in a water pumping mode which could cause a fluctuation in water pressure that is being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.odi contacted pierce to acquire fleets that may have experienced this condition and to obtain additional information.according to one fleet, one of their fireman had the hose jerked out of his hand and the fire hose became unmanageable to control.they have been dealing with this engine surge since purchasing the truck 3 years ago and on many occasions it has compromised their ability to control their fire hose and its efficiency.odi is concerned that the inherent nature of a non-properly functional fire hose (as a result of engine surge) has safety ramifications.this preliminary evaluation is opened to gather more information.
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
EA11008Pierce Manufacturing06/27/201111/09/2012Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb #10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the pip was intended to address engine rpms that could surge while the fire fighting vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause significant fluctuations in water pressure being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.caterpillar's pip provided information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on june 27, 2011 odi upgraded its investigation to an engineering analysis.no information request (ir) letter was sent to pierce, instead a field inspection of a pierce fire truck was conducted.in august 2011 representatives from odi, the vehicle research and test center and pierce conducted an on-site fire truck performance inspection of a complaint vehicle in sherwood, arizona.the purpose was to jointly inspect a complaint vehicle that was recently outfitted with updated engine software.the sherwood fire truck engine was started and remained idling while the fire truck was set in water pumping mode.the representatives were able to witness the effects of the new software with regards to engine surge and verified that the alleged defect did not exist during this vehicle examination.the new engine software corrected the problem of fire hose pressure fluctuations in water being directed onto a fire.it was determined during the course of this investigation that the pip released by caterpillar and conducted on pierce vehicles should be submitted to nhtsa as a safety recall.during discussions with nhtsa, pierce was informed that nhtsa had authority over the safety of vehicles even when not in highway use.following these discussions, pierce agreed the pip should be released as a safety recall.this engineering analysis is closed with a safety recall (12v-523).
EA11008PIERCE MANUFACTURING06/27/2011Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb # 10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the (pip) was for engine rpm's that could surge while the vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause fluctuations in water pressure that is being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.the caterpillar's product improvement program released information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on april 11, 2011 odi received pierce's response to odi's information request (ir) letter.based on the information received, an odi investigator contacted several fleets and complainants regarding this defect and all parties contacted expressed concern related to the inherent danger involved with pressure oscillations in a fire hose.several fire fighters stated that the failures are continuing even after proposed software fixes have been performed per the pip. in a supplemental (ir) letter dated may 27, 2011 pierce identified a total population of 241 vehicles with the c9 engine from my 2006 - 2008. pierce also specified that they had identified 15 unique complaints coupled with 2 complaints from caterpillar; totaling 17 consumer complaints.these consumer complaints were for my 2006 through 2008 fire trucks.pierce had 2 warranty claims while caterpillar had 19 warranty claims, totaling 21 warranty claims for this investigation.odi notes that the complaints applied to 5 vehicles and the warranty claims applied to 5 different vehicles (based on vin).there were multiple complaints or claims on one vehicle in some cases.an odi investigator spoke with a fire chief in sherwood, ar who alleged a caterpillar representative, on several occasions, came to his fire house to fix the problem of engine surge while in water pumping mode.the caterpillar tech installed several updates to modify the software which communicates with the engine and its fueling strategies (i.e. idle function).allegedly, after each attempt to fix the problem, a fire fighter would alert the fire chief that the problem still existed in spite of constant updates.the result of this malfunction puts fire fighters at risk. odi believes that when firemen are working to extinguish a fire and in the effort to save lives, there is zero tolerance for a defective, pressure surging and improperly functional fire hose.pierce claims that this alleged safety defect can have the potential to cause injury and may even result in the death of the firefighter.odi deems it is vital to the mission of all emergency response vehicles that the intended equipment must work as designed, without compromise.further investigation is warranted to ascertain the scope of this alleged safety defect.this engineering analysis is opened.
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER - DELIVERY
EA11008Pierce Manufacturing06/27/201111/09/2012Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb #10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the pip was intended to address engine rpms that could surge while the fire fighting vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause significant fluctuations in water pressure being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.caterpillar's pip provided information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on june 27, 2011 odi upgraded its investigation to an engineering analysis.no information request (ir) letter was sent to pierce, instead a field inspection of a pierce fire truck was conducted.in august 2011 representatives from odi, the vehicle research and test center and pierce conducted an on-site fire truck performance inspection of a complaint vehicle in sherwood, arizona.the purpose was to jointly inspect a complaint vehicle that was recently outfitted with updated engine software.the sherwood fire truck engine was started and remained idling while the fire truck was set in water pumping mode.the representatives were able to witness the effects of the new software with regards to engine surge and verified that the alleged defect did not exist during this vehicle examination.the new engine software corrected the problem of fire hose pressure fluctuations in water being directed onto a fire.it was determined during the course of this investigation that the pip released by caterpillar and conducted on pierce vehicles should be submitted to nhtsa as a safety recall.during discussions with nhtsa, pierce was informed that nhtsa had authority over the safety of vehicles even when not in highway use.following these discussions, pierce agreed the pip should be released as a safety recall.this engineering analysis is closed with a safety recall (12v-523).
EA11008PIERCE MANUFACTURING06/27/2011Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb # 10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the (pip) was for engine rpm's that could surge while the vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause fluctuations in water pressure that is being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.the caterpillar's product improvement program released information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on april 11, 2011 odi received pierce's response to odi's information request (ir) letter.based on the information received, an odi investigator contacted several fleets and complainants regarding this defect and all parties contacted expressed concern related to the inherent danger involved with pressure oscillations in a fire hose.several fire fighters stated that the failures are continuing even after proposed software fixes have been performed per the pip. in a supplemental (ir) letter dated may 27, 2011 pierce identified a total population of 241 vehicles with the c9 engine from my 2006 - 2008. pierce also specified that they had identified 15 unique complaints coupled with 2 complaints from caterpillar; totaling 17 consumer complaints.these consumer complaints were for my 2006 through 2008 fire trucks.pierce had 2 warranty claims while caterpillar had 19 warranty claims, totaling 21 warranty claims for this investigation.odi notes that the complaints applied to 5 vehicles and the warranty claims applied to 5 different vehicles (based on vin).there were multiple complaints or claims on one vehicle in some cases.an odi investigator spoke with a fire chief in sherwood, ar who alleged a caterpillar representative, on several occasions, came to his fire house to fix the problem of engine surge while in water pumping mode.the caterpillar tech installed several updates to modify the software which communicates with the engine and its fueling strategies (i.e. idle function).allegedly, after each attempt to fix the problem, a fire fighter would alert the fire chief that the problem still existed in spite of constant updates.the result of this malfunction puts fire fighters at risk. odi believes that when firemen are working to extinguish a fire and in the effort to save lives, there is zero tolerance for a defective, pressure surging and improperly functional fire hose.pierce claims that this alleged safety defect can have the potential to cause injury and may even result in the death of the firefighter.odi deems it is vital to the mission of all emergency response vehicles that the intended equipment must work as designed, without compromise.further investigation is warranted to ascertain the scope of this alleged safety defect.this engineering analysis is opened.
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER - DELIVERY - FUEL PUMP
EA11008Pierce Manufacturing06/27/201111/09/2012Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb #10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the pip was intended to address engine rpms that could surge while the fire fighting vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause significant fluctuations in water pressure being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.caterpillar's pip provided information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on june 27, 2011 odi upgraded its investigation to an engineering analysis.no information request (ir) letter was sent to pierce, instead a field inspection of a pierce fire truck was conducted.in august 2011 representatives from odi, the vehicle research and test center and pierce conducted an on-site fire truck performance inspection of a complaint vehicle in sherwood, arizona.the purpose was to jointly inspect a complaint vehicle that was recently outfitted with updated engine software.the sherwood fire truck engine was started and remained idling while the fire truck was set in water pumping mode.the representatives were able to witness the effects of the new software with regards to engine surge and verified that the alleged defect did not exist during this vehicle examination.the new engine software corrected the problem of fire hose pressure fluctuations in water being directed onto a fire.it was determined during the course of this investigation that the pip released by caterpillar and conducted on pierce vehicles should be submitted to nhtsa as a safety recall.during discussions with nhtsa, pierce was informed that nhtsa had authority over the safety of vehicles even when not in highway use.following these discussions, pierce agreed the pip should be released as a safety recall.this engineering analysis is closed with a safety recall (12v-523).
EA11008PIERCE MANUFACTURING06/27/2011Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb # 10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the (pip) was for engine rpm's that could surge while the vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause fluctuations in water pressure that is being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.the caterpillar's product improvement program released information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on april 11, 2011 odi received pierce's response to odi's information request (ir) letter.based on the information received, an odi investigator contacted several fleets and complainants regarding this defect and all parties contacted expressed concern related to the inherent danger involved with pressure oscillations in a fire hose.several fire fighters stated that the failures are continuing even after proposed software fixes have been performed per the pip. in a supplemental (ir) letter dated may 27, 2011 pierce identified a total population of 241 vehicles with the c9 engine from my 2006 - 2008. pierce also specified that they had identified 15 unique complaints coupled with 2 complaints from caterpillar; totaling 17 consumer complaints.these consumer complaints were for my 2006 through 2008 fire trucks.pierce had 2 warranty claims while caterpillar had 19 warranty claims, totaling 21 warranty claims for this investigation.odi notes that the complaints applied to 5 vehicles and the warranty claims applied to 5 different vehicles (based on vin).there were multiple complaints or claims on one vehicle in some cases.an odi investigator spoke with a fire chief in sherwood, ar who alleged a caterpillar representative, on several occasions, came to his fire house to fix the problem of engine surge while in water pumping mode.the caterpillar tech installed several updates to modify the software which communicates with the engine and its fueling strategies (i.e. idle function).allegedly, after each attempt to fix the problem, a fire fighter would alert the fire chief that the problem still existed in spite of constant updates.the result of this malfunction puts fire fighters at risk. odi believes that when firemen are working to extinguish a fire and in the effort to save lives, there is zero tolerance for a defective, pressure surging and improperly functional fire hose.pierce claims that this alleged safety defect can have the potential to cause injury and may even result in the death of the firefighter.odi deems it is vital to the mission of all emergency response vehicles that the intended equipment must work as designed, without compromise.further investigation is warranted to ascertain the scope of this alleged safety defect.this engineering analysis is opened.
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER - DELIVERY - HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
EA11008Pierce Manufacturing06/27/201111/09/2012Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb #10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the pip was intended to address engine rpms that could surge while the fire fighting vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause significant fluctuations in water pressure being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.caterpillar's pip provided information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on june 27, 2011 odi upgraded its investigation to an engineering analysis.no information request (ir) letter was sent to pierce, instead a field inspection of a pierce fire truck was conducted.in august 2011 representatives from odi, the vehicle research and test center and pierce conducted an on-site fire truck performance inspection of a complaint vehicle in sherwood, arizona.the purpose was to jointly inspect a complaint vehicle that was recently outfitted with updated engine software.the sherwood fire truck engine was started and remained idling while the fire truck was set in water pumping mode.the representatives were able to witness the effects of the new software with regards to engine surge and verified that the alleged defect did not exist during this vehicle examination.the new engine software corrected the problem of fire hose pressure fluctuations in water being directed onto a fire.it was determined during the course of this investigation that the pip released by caterpillar and conducted on pierce vehicles should be submitted to nhtsa as a safety recall.during discussions with nhtsa, pierce was informed that nhtsa had authority over the safety of vehicles even when not in highway use.following these discussions, pierce agreed the pip should be released as a safety recall.this engineering analysis is closed with a safety recall (12v-523).
EA11008PIERCE MANUFACTURING06/27/2011Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb # 10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the (pip) was for engine rpm's that could surge while the vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause fluctuations in water pressure that is being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.the caterpillar's product improvement program released information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on april 11, 2011 odi received pierce's response to odi's information request (ir) letter.based on the information received, an odi investigator contacted several fleets and complainants regarding this defect and all parties contacted expressed concern related to the inherent danger involved with pressure oscillations in a fire hose.several fire fighters stated that the failures are continuing even after proposed software fixes have been performed per the pip. in a supplemental (ir) letter dated may 27, 2011 pierce identified a total population of 241 vehicles with the c9 engine from my 2006 - 2008. pierce also specified that they had identified 15 unique complaints coupled with 2 complaints from caterpillar; totaling 17 consumer complaints.these consumer complaints were for my 2006 through 2008 fire trucks.pierce had 2 warranty claims while caterpillar had 19 warranty claims, totaling 21 warranty claims for this investigation.odi notes that the complaints applied to 5 vehicles and the warranty claims applied to 5 different vehicles (based on vin).there were multiple complaints or claims on one vehicle in some cases.an odi investigator spoke with a fire chief in sherwood, ar who alleged a caterpillar representative, on several occasions, came to his fire house to fix the problem of engine surge while in water pumping mode.the caterpillar tech installed several updates to modify the software which communicates with the engine and its fueling strategies (i.e. idle function).allegedly, after each attempt to fix the problem, a fire fighter would alert the fire chief that the problem still existed in spite of constant updates.the result of this malfunction puts fire fighters at risk. odi believes that when firemen are working to extinguish a fire and in the effort to save lives, there is zero tolerance for a defective, pressure surging and improperly functional fire hose.pierce claims that this alleged safety defect can have the potential to cause injury and may even result in the death of the firefighter.odi deems it is vital to the mission of all emergency response vehicles that the intended equipment must work as designed, without compromise.further investigation is warranted to ascertain the scope of this alleged safety defect.this engineering analysis is opened.
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER - FUEL FILTER
EA11008Pierce Manufacturing06/27/201111/09/2012Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb #10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the pip was intended to address engine rpms that could surge while the fire fighting vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause significant fluctuations in water pressure being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.caterpillar's pip provided information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on june 27, 2011 odi upgraded its investigation to an engineering analysis.no information request (ir) letter was sent to pierce, instead a field inspection of a pierce fire truck was conducted.in august 2011 representatives from odi, the vehicle research and test center and pierce conducted an on-site fire truck performance inspection of a complaint vehicle in sherwood, arizona.the purpose was to jointly inspect a complaint vehicle that was recently outfitted with updated engine software.the sherwood fire truck engine was started and remained idling while the fire truck was set in water pumping mode.the representatives were able to witness the effects of the new software with regards to engine surge and verified that the alleged defect did not exist during this vehicle examination.the new engine software corrected the problem of fire hose pressure fluctuations in water being directed onto a fire.it was determined during the course of this investigation that the pip released by caterpillar and conducted on pierce vehicles should be submitted to nhtsa as a safety recall.during discussions with nhtsa, pierce was informed that nhtsa had authority over the safety of vehicles even when not in highway use.following these discussions, pierce agreed the pip should be released as a safety recall.this engineering analysis is closed with a safety recall (12v-523).
EA11008PIERCE MANUFACTURING06/27/2011Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb # 10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the (pip) was for engine rpm's that could surge while the vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause fluctuations in water pressure that is being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.the caterpillar's product improvement program released information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on april 11, 2011 odi received pierce's response to odi's information request (ir) letter.based on the information received, an odi investigator contacted several fleets and complainants regarding this defect and all parties contacted expressed concern related to the inherent danger involved with pressure oscillations in a fire hose.several fire fighters stated that the failures are continuing even after proposed software fixes have been performed per the pip. in a supplemental (ir) letter dated may 27, 2011 pierce identified a total population of 241 vehicles with the c9 engine from my 2006 - 2008. pierce also specified that they had identified 15 unique complaints coupled with 2 complaints from caterpillar; totaling 17 consumer complaints.these consumer complaints were for my 2006 through 2008 fire trucks.pierce had 2 warranty claims while caterpillar had 19 warranty claims, totaling 21 warranty claims for this investigation.odi notes that the complaints applied to 5 vehicles and the warranty claims applied to 5 different vehicles (based on vin).there were multiple complaints or claims on one vehicle in some cases.an odi investigator spoke with a fire chief in sherwood, ar who alleged a caterpillar representative, on several occasions, came to his fire house to fix the problem of engine surge while in water pumping mode.the caterpillar tech installed several updates to modify the software which communicates with the engine and its fueling strategies (i.e. idle function).allegedly, after each attempt to fix the problem, a fire fighter would alert the fire chief that the problem still existed in spite of constant updates.the result of this malfunction puts fire fighters at risk. odi believes that when firemen are working to extinguish a fire and in the effort to save lives, there is zero tolerance for a defective, pressure surging and improperly functional fire hose.pierce claims that this alleged safety defect can have the potential to cause injury and may even result in the death of the firefighter.odi deems it is vital to the mission of all emergency response vehicles that the intended equipment must work as designed, without compromise.further investigation is warranted to ascertain the scope of this alleged safety defect.this engineering analysis is opened.
FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER - FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM
EA11008Pierce Manufacturing06/27/201111/09/2012Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb #10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the pip was intended to address engine rpms that could surge while the fire fighting vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause significant fluctuations in water pressure being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.caterpillar's pip provided information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on june 27, 2011 odi upgraded its investigation to an engineering analysis.no information request (ir) letter was sent to pierce, instead a field inspection of a pierce fire truck was conducted.in august 2011 representatives from odi, the vehicle research and test center and pierce conducted an on-site fire truck performance inspection of a complaint vehicle in sherwood, arizona.the purpose was to jointly inspect a complaint vehicle that was recently outfitted with updated engine software.the sherwood fire truck engine was started and remained idling while the fire truck was set in water pumping mode.the representatives were able to witness the effects of the new software with regards to engine surge and verified that the alleged defect did not exist during this vehicle examination.the new engine software corrected the problem of fire hose pressure fluctuations in water being directed onto a fire.it was determined during the course of this investigation that the pip released by caterpillar and conducted on pierce vehicles should be submitted to nhtsa as a safety recall.during discussions with nhtsa, pierce was informed that nhtsa had authority over the safety of vehicles even when not in highway use.following these discussions, pierce agreed the pip should be released as a safety recall.this engineering analysis is closed with a safety recall (12v-523).
EA11008PIERCE MANUFACTURING06/27/2011Engine RPM's surging during pumping mode
 On january 10, 2011 the office of defects investigations (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe11-001) based on a product improvement program (pip) (odi tsb # 10036912) submitted by caterpillar dated august 18, 2010.the (pip) was for engine rpm's that could surge while the vehicle was in a water pumping mode.this engine surge could cause fluctuations in water pressure that is being directed onto a fire through a hose.the bulletin states that this condition in conjunction with other factors or circumstances could result in a risk of personal injury or death.the caterpillar's product improvement program released information involving the installation of new engine software on certain fire trucks with c9 engines.on april 11, 2011 odi received pierce's response to odi's information request (ir) letter.based on the information received, an odi investigator contacted several fleets and complainants regarding this defect and all parties contacted expressed concern related to the inherent danger involved with pressure oscillations in a fire hose.several fire fighters stated that the failures are continuing even after proposed software fixes have been performed per the pip. in a supplemental (ir) letter dated may 27, 2011 pierce identified a total population of 241 vehicles with the c9 engine from my 2006 - 2008. pierce also specified that they had identified 15 unique complaints coupled with 2 complaints from caterpillar; totaling 17 consumer complaints.these consumer complaints were for my 2006 through 2008 fire trucks.pierce had 2 warranty claims while caterpillar had 19 warranty claims, totaling 21 warranty claims for this investigation.odi notes that the complaints applied to 5 vehicles and the warranty claims applied to 5 different vehicles (based on vin).there were multiple complaints or claims on one vehicle in some cases.an odi investigator spoke with a fire chief in sherwood, ar who alleged a caterpillar representative, on several occasions, came to his fire house to fix the problem of engine surge while in water pumping mode.the caterpillar tech installed several updates to modify the software which communicates with the engine and its fueling strategies (i.e. idle function).allegedly, after each attempt to fix the problem, a fire fighter would alert the fire chief that the problem still existed in spite of constant updates.the result of this malfunction puts fire fighters at risk. odi believes that when firemen are working to extinguish a fire and in the effort to save lives, there is zero tolerance for a defective, pressure surging and improperly functional fire hose.pierce claims that this alleged safety defect can have the potential to cause injury and may even result in the death of the firefighter.odi deems it is vital to the mission of all emergency response vehicles that the intended equipment must work as designed, without compromise.further investigation is warranted to ascertain the scope of this alleged safety defect.this engineering analysis is opened.