On June 24, 2014, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE14-018 to investigate allegations that the tunnel carpet cover trim panel on model year (MY) 2012 through 2014 Nissan Versa, Versa Sedan and Versa Note vehicles has, in certain situations, interfered with the driver's ability to promptly release the accelerator pedal and transition to the brake pedal. This may result in delayed brake application or brief incidents of unwanted acceleration.At the opening of PE14-018, ODI had identified one complaint, VOQ 10597004, alleging that the driver's foot became caught by the subject trim panel to the extent that the driver decided that it was necessary to pull on their leg to get the foot free of the interference, almost causing a crash. The trim panel in question (Figure 1) is located next to the accelerator pedal and the lower corner is positioned such that it is near the right outer edge of the driver's shoe. The complainant supplied a photograph (Figure 2) showing how the edge of the panel wedged itself in the driver's shoe.An additional complainant, 10573057, alleged that when attempting to remove their foot from the accelerator pedal to apply the brake, their shoe was caught by the trim panel which delayed braking ability several times. During the investigation ODI received a VOQ, 10614957, that alleged that the driver's foot was interfered with by the trim panel, delaying the driver's ability to apply the brakes, resulting in a crash and minor injuries to the driver.In addition, during PE14-018, ODI has received VOQs alleging that the HVAC relay actuator/duct, (Figures 3 and 4) can also interfere with the driver's ability to react quickly to apply the brakes, which has been added to the scope of Engineering Analysis EA15-003. MY 2015 Versa Sedan and Note vehicles have been added to EA15-003 as they are believed to have the same panel design and actuator/duct placement as the subject vehicles.MY 2012 vehicles were found to be of a different design and not included in the scope of EA15-003.This Preliminary Evaluation PE14-018 is hereby closed and upgraded to Engineering Analysis EA15-003.
