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NHTSA investigation

A federal probe into a suspected defect, often the step before a recall.

An NHTSA investigation is the agency's formal look into a suspected safety defect, usually opened after a pattern of owner complaints or crash reports. It moves from a preliminary evaluation to a deeper engineering analysis.

Investigations often precede recalls, so an open one on a model you are considering is worth watching. Many close without action; the docket on nhtsa.gov shows the scope and status of each.