General Motors, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Chevrolet Equinox
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Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
April 28, 2014
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 81 (Monday, April 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23402-23403]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09498]
[[Page 23402]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2013-0039; Notice 2]
General Motors, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Grant of Petition.
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SUMMARY: General Motors, LLC (GM) has determined that certain model
year (MY) 2013 Chevrolet Equinox multipurpose passenger vehicles (MPVs)
manufactured on January 24, 2013 do not fully comply with paragraph S6
of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 205, Glazing
Materials. GM filed an appropriate report dated February 22, 2013,
pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility
and Reports.
ADDRESSES: For further information on this decision contact Luis
Figueroa, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-5298,
facsimile (202) 366-5930.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. GM's Petition
Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and the rule
implementing those provisions at 49 CFR Part 556, GM has petitioned for
an exemption from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C.
Chapter 301 on the basis that this noncompliance is inconsequential to
motor vehicle safety.
Notice of receipt of the petition was published, with a 30-day
public comment period, on November 1, 2013 in the Federal Register (78
FR 65760). No comments were received. To view the petition and all
supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System
(FDMS) Web site at: http://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online
search instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2013-0039.''
II. Vehicles Involved
Affected are approximately 170 MY 2013 Chevrolet Equinox MPVs
manufactured on January 24, 2013.
III. Noncompliance
GM explains that the noncompliance is that the vehicles are
equipped with left-rear quarter windows that do not fully comply with
the marking requirements specified in paragraph S6 of FMVSS No. 205.
GM further explained that the subject vehicles may be purchased
with either solar glazing (having light transmittance greater than 70%)
or privacy glazing (having light transmittance of approximately 22%)
installed rearward of the driver. On the affected vehicles, the left-
rear quarter window is privacy glazing; however it has markings
appropriate for solar glazing. The correct privacy-glass markings and
the markings on the affected quarter windows are as follows:
The specific noncompliance to FMVSS No. 205 on the subject quarter
windows is the AS2 designation (instead of AS3) and the M504 model
designation (instead of M513). The transmissibility value on the
subject windows is also incorrect (70% instead of 22%); however, this
information is not specified by FMVSS No. 205 and therefore is not a
compliance issue.
IV. Rule Text
Paragraph S6 of FMVSS No. 205 specifically states:
S6. Certification and marking.
S6.1 A prime glazing material manufacturer must certify, in
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 30115, each piece of glazing material to
which this standard applies that is designed--
(a) As a component of any specific motor vehicle or camper; or
(b) To be cut into components for use in motor vehicles or items
of motor vehicle equipment.
S6.2 A prime glazing manufacturer certifies its glazing by
adding to the marks required by section 7 of ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996, in
letters and numerals of the same size, the symbol ``DOT'' and a
manufacturer's code mark that NHTSA assigns to the manufacturer.
NHTSA will assign a code mark to a manufacturer after the
manufacturer submits a written request to the Office of Vehicle
Safety Compliance, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. The request must
include the company name, address, and a statement from the
manufacturer certifying its status as a prime glazing manufacturer
as defined in S4.
S6.3 A manufacturer or distributor who cuts a section of glazing
material to which this standard applies, for use in a motor vehicle
or camper, must--
(a) Mark that material in accordance with section 7 of ANSI/SAE
Z26.1-1996; and
(b) Certify that its product complies with this standard in
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 30115.
V. Summary of GM's Analyses
GM stated its belief that this noncompliance is inconsequential to
motor vehicle safety for the following reasons:
1. The subject glazing meets all applicable performance
requirements of FMVSS No. 205. There is no safety performance
implication associated with this technical noncompliance.
2. In addition to meeting all of the component-level performance
requirements of FMVSS No. 205, the subject glazing also fully meets the
vehicle-level installation requirements specified by FMVSS No. 205. The
subject tempered-glass glazing at 22% transmissibility is permitted in
the left-rear quarter window location on the affected vehicles.
3. The actual transmissibility of the subject glazing
(approximately 22%) is consistent with all other glazing rearward of
the driver (i.e., the rear side windows, the back window, and the
right-side rear quarter glazing) on the affected vehicles. Accordingly,
there is no reason for the customer, state inspection authorities,
service personnel, or anyone else to focus on or detect any distinction
involving the subject left-side rear quarter window.
4. None of the subject population of glazing will be available as
service parts. Therefore, if service replacement of the left-rear
quarter window on an affected vehicle is required, the replacement part
would be correct and properly labeled in accordance with all FMVSS No.
205 requirements.
5. Even in the extremely unlikely event that a glazing
corresponding to the incorrect markings (i.e., solar glazing with 70%
transmittance) was installed on an affected vehicle, this would also be
fully compliant to all requirements of FMVSS No. 205, including the
component-level, vehicle-level and marking requirements of the
standard.
GM also stated its belief that NHTSA has previously granted
inconsequential treatment for FMVSS No. 205 marking noncompliances.
GM has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the
noncompliance so that all future production vehicles will comply with
FMVSS No. 205.
In summation, GM believes that the described noncompliance of its
vehicles is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that its
petition, to exempt from providing recall notification of noncompliance
as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and remedying the recall noncompliance
as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120 should be granted.
VI. NHTSA Decision
The agency agrees with GM that the noncompliance is inconsequential
to motor vehicle safety. The agency believes that the true measure of
inconsequentiality to motor vehicle
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safety in this case is that there is no effect of the noncompliance on
the operational safety of the subject vehicles in which the subject
glazing is used. In the agency's judgment, this noncompliance to the
labeling requirements in FMVSS 205 will have an inconsequential effect
on motor vehicle safety because:
The affected vehicles are equipped with solar glazing and privacy
glazing. While the light transmittance value that appears on the
affected glazing was not marked in accordance with GM's requirements,
there is no FMVSS No. 205 labeling requirement for light transmittance
value.
The subject glazing meets the component level and the vehicle-level
installation requirements specified by FMVSS No. 205. The subject
glazing meets all performance requirements specified by FMVSS 205. None
of the subject population of glazing will be available as service
parts. If service replacement of the left-rear quarter window on an
affected vehicle is required, the replacement part would be correct and
properly labeled in accordance with all FMVSS No. 205 requirements.
Therefore, there are no safety implication concerns with this
noncompliance.
In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that GM has
met its burden of persuasion that the FMVSS No. 205 noncompliance is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, GM's petition is
hereby granted and GM is exempted from the obligation of providing
notification of, and a remedy for, that noncompliance under 49 U.S.C.
30118 and 30120.
NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and
30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a
determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers
only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively,
to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance
and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, this decision
only applies to the subject nonconforming vehicles that GM no longer
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed.
However, the granting of this petition does not relieve vehicle
distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for
sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate
commerce of the noncompliant vehicles under their control after GM
notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at
49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8.
Jeffrey M. Giuseppe,
Acting Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2014-09498 Filed 4-25-14; 8:45 am]
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