NHTSA Defect Investigation List for the 2002 Mazda Tribute
The Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) is an office within the NHTSA which investigates serious safety problems in the design, construction or performance of vehicles. The NHTSA is authorized to order manufacturers to recall and repair vehicles, if the ODI finds a safety issue. NHTSA investigations for the 2002 Mazda Tribute, both ongoing and closed, are listed below:
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ENGINE STALLING NHTSA Defect Investigation #EA02027
Component: Engine And Engine Cooling*
Summary: Ford's and Mazda's letters to NHTSA dated April 5 and April 9, 2004, state that they will recall model year 2001-03 Ford escape and Mazda tribute vehicles with the V6 engine built thru September 11, 2002. Dealers will adjust engine calibration in the programmable control module (pcm), which in its current setting, can cause the engine to shut down if the vehicle is decelerating at speeds below 40 mph. The engine shuts down due to "excessively rich air-fuel mixtures being sent to the engine."when the engine shuts down, drivers may notice a loss of power assist for their steering and brakes. The majority of the complainants have indicated to the Agency that the stall is intermittent and can happen more than once.
NHTSA: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #EA02027 »
* This defect investigation is filed under 2 related vehicle components.
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ENGINE STALLING NHTSA Defect Investigation #PE01043
Component: Engine And Engine Cooling
Summary: Allege that the engine stalls without warning while driving
NHTSA: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #PE01043 »
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ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE NHTSA Defect Investigation #PE06048
Component: Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock*
Summary: In letters dated March 30, 2007, Ford and Mazda notified NHTSA that they will conduct safety recalls to remedy a safety defect that may result in fire in a wiring connector used in certain model year (MY) 2001-2004 Ford escape and Mazda tribute sport utility vehicles equipped with ABS. Recall 07V-156 involves approximately 446,450 MY 2001-2004 escape vehicles manufactured from October 22, 1999 through January 23, 2004. Recall 07V-157 involves approximately 95,300 MY 2001-2004 tribute vehicles manufactured from April 17, 2000 through December 19, 2003. According to the manufacturers, the electrical wiring connectors to the ABS electronic control module were manufactured with wire seals missing or improperly installed in some wiring harnesses used in the recall populations. This may allow environmental contaminants such as water or brake fluid to enter the ABS electrical connector interface and cause corrosion of the electrical terminals. Such corrosion may result in an illuminated ABS telltale, an open circuit, and/or an engine compartment fire originating at the electrical connector. To remedy the defect, the manufacturers will inspect the connectors for seal integrity. If a seal integrity issue is identified the vehicle will be repaired as necessary. All vehicles will have dielectric grease applied to the connectors to further reduce the possibility of contaminants entering the electrical connectors. To date, ODI is aware of 120 non-crash related fire incidents alleged to have originated in the engine compartment at or near the ABS electronic control module in the subject vehicles, which represent approximately 80 percent of the recall population. Of the 120 alleged fires, 6 are alleged to have occurred when the vehicle was parked inside a garage structure. In 4 incidents, complainants alleged the structure or adjoining structure(s) suffered smoke damage, while in 2 incidents, the alleged fires caused more extensive damage totaling approximately $50,000 each. There are no known injuries or fatalities related to the alleged defect. Based on the Ford and Mazda recalls, this investigation is closed.
NHTSA: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #PE06048 »
* This defect investigation is filed under 8 related vehicle components.
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ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE NHTSA Defect Investigation #EA10002
Component: Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock:Control Unit/Module *
Summary: In letters dated March 30, 2007, Ford Motor Company (Ford) and Mazda North american operations (Mazda) notified the Agency that they will conduct recalls 07V-156 and 07V-157, respectively, to remedy a safety defect that may result in fire in a wiring connector used in certain model year (MY) 2001-2004 Ford escape and Mazda tribute vehicles equipped with ABS. The recall campaign prescribes an inspection of the subject components, which shall be repaired or replaced only if necessary. If the subject vehicle passes the visual inspection then the recall instructs the technician to apply electrical grease (Ford part number xg-12) to the ABS module connector and verify system operation. To date, approximately 388,500 subject vehicles (71.7% of the total recall population) have been serviced under the recall campaign, the vast majority of which (373,985) passed the visual inspection and received only the electrical grease applied to the ABS module connector. The Agency is aware of at least 86 unique subject vehicles that have reportedly experienced non-crash fire incidents originating in the engine compartment at or near the ABS control module some time after the vehicle was serviced under the subject recall. The manufacturer has provided some information that indicates certain vehicles were improperly serviced under the subject recall as evidenced by the factory wire tie-wrap not being removed from the wiring harness (which indicates a proper inspection could not have been performed) and by incorrect grease being applied, incorrect amounts of grease, and even instances where no grease was applied to the ABS module connector. Also, there remain some questions regarding the severity of the reported fire incidents. The manufacturer contends that most reported fires were actually non-fire thermal events with damage limited to the subject components and that most vehicles are repaired and returned to service. However, the trend appears to be ongoing with 5 reported incidents having occurred in the past 6 months. Accordingly, this engineering analysis has been opened to further assess the effectiveness of the recall remedy.
NHTSA: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #EA10002 »
* This defect investigation is filed under 2 related vehicle components.
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ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE NHTSA Defect Investigation #RQ09002
Component: Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock:Control Unit/Module *
Summary: In letters dated March 30, 2007, Ford Motor Company (Ford) and Mazda North american operations (Mazda) notified the Agency that they will conduct recalls 07V-156 and 07V-157, respectively, to remedy a safety defect that may result in fire in a wiring connector used in certain model year (MY) 2001-2004 Ford escape and Mazda tribute vehicles equipped with ABS. The recall campaign prescribes an inspection of the subject components, which shall be repaired or replaced only if necessary. If the subject vehicle passes the visual inspection then the recall instructs the technician to apply electrical grease (Ford part number xg-12) to the ABS module connector and verify system operation. To date, approximately 388,500 subject vehicles (71.7% of the total recall population) have been serviced under the recall campaign, the vast majority of which (373,985) passed the visual inspection and received only the electrical grease applied to the ABS module connector. The Agency is aware of at least 86 unique subject vehicles that have reportedly experienced non-crash fire incidents originating in the engine compartment at or near the ABS control module some time after the vehicle was serviced under the subject recall. The manufacturer has provided some information that indicates certain vehicles were improperly serviced under the subject recall as evidenced by the factory wire tie-wrap not being removed from the wiring harness (which indicates a proper inspection could not have been performed) and by incorrect grease being applied, incorrect amounts of grease, and even instances where no grease was applied to the ABS module connector. Also, there remain some questions regarding the severity of the reported fire incidents. The manufacturer contends that most reported fires were actually non-fire thermal events with damage limited to the subject components and that most vehicles are repaired and returned to service. However, the trend appears to be ongoing with 5 reported incidents having occurred in the past 6 months. Accordingly, this recall query has been upgraded to an engineering analysis to further assess the effectiveness of the recall remedy.
NHTSA: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #RQ09002 »
* This defect investigation is filed under 2 related vehicle components.
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ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE NHTSA Defect Investigation #DP09003
Component: Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Antilock:Control Unit/Module *
Summary: The Office Of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a defect petition dated March 5, 2009 alleging that the petitioner never received the recall remedy for 07V-156 and that, as a result, the petitioner's MY2003 Ford escape caught fire at the ABS control module. In response to ODI follow-up, the manufacturer verified that the petitioner's vehicle had in fact received service related to safety recall 07V156 - a fact later corroborated by the petitioner. Circumstances of the fire experienced in the petitioner's remedied vehicle indicate that the remedy was ineffective. Additional review by ODI identified an additional 6 similar (alleged to have originated in the engine compartment at or near the ABS control module ) non-crash fire incidents in subject vehicles known to have received the recall remedy. Accordingly, a recall query (RQ09-002) has been opened to assess the effectiveness of the recall remedy.
NHTSA: For detailed information & supporting documents, see the official NHTSA page concerning investigation #DP09003 »
* This defect investigation is filed under 2 related vehicle components.