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Daimler Vans USA, LLC, Denial of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance Publication: Federal Register Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Byline: Anne L. Collins Date: 27 June 2022 Subjects: American Government  , Safety, Tires
Topic: Mercedes-Benz Metris |
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 122 (Monday, June 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38254-38256]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13598]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2018-0106; Notice 2]
Daimler Vans USA, LLC, Denial of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of petition denial.
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SUMMARY: Daimler Vans USA, LLC, (Daimler Vans) on behalf of Daimler AG,
has determined that certain model year (MY) 2016-2018 Mercedes-Benz
Metris vans do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/
Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor
Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or Less.
Daimler Vans filed a noncompliance report dated October 24, 2018, and
later amended it on November 9, 2018. Daimler Vans also petitioned
NHTSA on November 9, 2018, for a decision that the subject
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
This document announces and explains the denial of Daimler Vans'
petition.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ahmad Barnes, Office of Vehicle Safety
Compliance, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
(202) 366-7236.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview: Daimler Vans has determined that certain MY 2016-2018
Mercedes-Benz Metris vans do not fully comply with paragraphs S4.2.2.2
of FMVSS No. 110, Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation
Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles
with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or Less (49 CFR
571.110). Daimler Vans filed a noncompliance report dated October 24,
2018, and later amended it on November 9, 2018, pursuant to 49 CFR part
573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Daimler Vans
also petitioned NHTSA on November 9, 2018, for an exemption from the
notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the
basis that this noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR
part 556, Exemption for Inconsequential Defect or Noncompliance.
Notice of receipt of Daimler Vans' petition was published with a
30-day public comment period, on September 16, 2019, in the Federal
Register (84 FR 48702). No comments were received. To view the petition
and all supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management
System (FDMS) website at https://www.regulations.gov. Then follow the
online search instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2018-0106.''
II. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 24,438 MY 2016-2018 Mercedes
Benz-Metris vans, manufactured between June 1, 2016, and September 28,
2018, are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance: Manufacturers are permitted to install
passenger car tires on a multipurpose passenger vehicle (MPV), truck,
bus, or trailer. However, when passenger car tires are used in one of
these other light vehicle applications, paragraph S4.2.2.2 of FMVSS No.
110, provides that each tire's maximum load rating is to be reduced by
dividing it by a factor of 1.10 before the manufacturer determines the
maximum load ratings of the tires fitted to each axle. For the equipped
tires on the Daimler Vans, the pre S4.2.2.2 adjustment tire
specifications (based on a tire load rating with a load index of 101)
yields a load capacity of 825 kg (1,818 pounds) per tire and 1,650 kg
(3,637 pounds) per axle. Specifically, the subject vehicles were
certified with a maximum load rating of 775 kg (1,708 pounds) per tire
or 1,550 kg (3,417 pounds) combined per axle. However, after dividing
each tire specification tire capacity value by 1.1 and thereby reducing
the maximum load rating, the tires on the subject vehicles have an
adjusted maximum load rating of 750 kg (1,653pounds) per tire and 1,500
kg (3,307 pounds) per axle--values below the certified GAWR (Gross Axle
Weight Rating) for the front and rear axles.
IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraphs S4.2.2.1 and S4.2.2.2 of FMVSS
No. 110 include the requirements relevant to this petition. Section
S4.2.2.1 requires the sum of the maximum load ratings of the tires
fitted to an axle shall not be less than the GAWR of the axle system as
specified on the vehicle's certification label required by 49 CFR part
567. Section S4.2.2.2, further requires that when passenger car tires
are installed on an MPV, truck, bus, or trailer, each tire's load
rating is reduced by dividing it by 1.10 before determining, under
paragraph S4.2.2.1, the sum of the maximum load ratings of the tires
fitted to an axle.
V. Summary of Daimler Van's Petition: The following views and
arguments presented in this section, ``V. Summary of Daimler Vans'
Petition,'' are the views and arguments provided by Daimler Vans and do
not reflect the views of the Agency. In its petition, Daimler Vans
describes the subject noncompliance and contends that the noncompliance
is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety for the
following reasons:
1. There is no safety risk posed with this noncompliance because
the tires are designed to carry significantly more than the GAWR listed
on the certification label.
[[Page 38255]]
2. The Metris vans also have installed the same tire size as the
Metris vans sold in Europe that have the same axle weight ratings and
those vehicles have performed without incident for years.
3. Despite the discrepancy in calculating the maximum load rating,
the Metris vans are more than able to accommodate additional weight
loaded onto the vehicle. Per the specifications provided by the tire
supplier, based on the tire's load index rating of 101, each tire, in
fact, has a maximum load rating of 825 kg (1,818 pounds) per tire and a
combined maximum load rating of 1,650 kg (3,637 pounds) per axle. Thus,
the tires were designed and manufactured to safely and effectively
manage weights that are well beyond the GAWR for each axle.
4. The GAWR listed on the vehicle certification label is accurate
so that a consumer relying on and following the values for the front
and rear GAWR, for purposes of vehicle loading, would not be at risk of
overloading the axles.
5. The tires on the Metris vans have a payload reserve of 6.5
percent at a load of 1,550 kg per axle, which is slightly below the
payload reserve of 10 percent specified by FMVSS No. 110. Moreover, the
tire pressure specified for each tire on the Metris Van is at least 11%
higher (tire pressure reserve) then the ETRTO (European Tyre and Rim
Technical Organisation) recommended tire pressure. This tire pressure
reserve reduces the stress on the tire, due to reduced deflection of
the tire under load.
6. Further, the Metris vans are equipped with a standard tire
pressure monitoring system (TPMS) that is compliant with FMVSS No. 138.
Depending on the severity of the loss of tire pressure, the Metris vans
display one of three specialized TPMS warnings in the instrument panel
advising the operator of the loss of pressure and how quickly the
operator should take corrective action. If the tires were to experience
a loss of tire pressure, the driver would be alerted to this condition
and could take appropriate measures. Thus, if there were to be a loss
of tire pressure, consistent with the standard, the TPMS system would
warn the operator.
7. After identifying the discrepancy in the values listed on the
tire and loading information placard, Daimler Vans reviewed what, if
any, impact there could be on various vehicle systems that could
potentially be affected by the discrepancy. This review considered the
effect on steering, braking, axle strength, and crashworthiness if the
operator loaded the vehicle to the maximum amount listed on the tire
and loading information placard. As a result of the review, Daimler
Vans was able to confirm that the discrepancy will not adversely impact
any of these systems or otherwise diminish the performance or
crashworthiness of the Metris vans.
8. Daimler Vans states that it is not aware of any consumer
complaints or reports of accidents or injuries related to overloading
the vehicles that could reasonably be related to not derating the
reinforced passenger car tires prior to certification. In addition,
Metris vans sold in Europe are equipped with tires that are the same
size and the vehicles have the same axle weight ratings. The European
vehicles have similarly performed without incident.
9. The Agency has previously granted petitions for inconsequential
noncompliance involving similar inconsistencies involving tire maximum
load ratings. In 2017, the Agency granted a petition for
inconsequential noncompliance where a manufacturer had incorrectly
overstated the maximum occupant and cargo weight on the tire and
loading information placard, by a total of 30 kg. Although on its face,
this discrepancy would have appeared to have led consumers to
potentially overload the vehicle, the Agency concluded that when the
vehicle was loaded to the value listed on the placard, the specific
tires installed on the vehicles were nonetheless technically capable of
handling the overstated weight and cargo. In this instance, for one
vehicle variation, the maximum loads were below the GAWR and gross
vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and for another vehicle variation, the
maximum loads were ``essentially at the certified GAWR and GVWR
values.'' The Agency concluded that the tires were ``more than
adequate'' to manage the additional vehicle and cargo weight and that
the vehicles could safely manage the additional weight without overload
concerns. See 82 FR 33547 (July 20, 2017) (Grant of Petition for
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance by Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC).
10. The noncompliance at issue here is similar to the above
petition. In this case, there is also little concern of vehicle
overloading because the specifications for the tires installed on the
Metris vans are technically capable of managing the additional weight
even without the reinforced passenger car tires having been derated.
Daimler Vans concluded by expressing the belief that the subject
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety,
and that its petition to be exempted from providing notification of the
noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and a remedy for the
noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120, should be granted.
Daimler Vans' complete petition and all supporting documents are
available by logging onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS)
website at https://www.regulations.gov and following the online search
instructions to locate the docket number listed in the title of this
notice.
VI. NHTSA's Analysis: The burden of establishing the
inconsequentiality of a failure to comply with a performance
requirement in a standard--as opposed to a labeling requirement--is
more substantial and difficult to meet. Accordingly, the Agency has not
found many such noncompliances inconsequential.\1\
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\1\ Cf. Gen. Motors Corporation; Ruling on Petition for
Determination of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 69 FR 19897, 19899
(Apr. 14, 2004) (citing prior cases where noncompliance was expected
to be imperceptible, or nearly so, to vehicle occupants or
approaching drivers).
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An important issue to consider in determining inconsequentiality
based upon NHTSA's prior decisions on noncompliance issues was the
safety risk to individuals who experience the type of event against
which the recall would otherwise protect.\2\ NHTSA also does not
consider the absence of complaints or injuries to show that the issue
is inconsequential to safety. ``Most importantly, the absence of a
complaint does not mean there have not been any safety issues, nor does
it mean that there will not be safety issues in the future.'' \3\
``[T]he fact that in past reported cases good luck and swift reaction
have prevented many serious injuries does not mean that good luck will
continue to work.'' \4\
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\2\ See Gen. Motors, LLC; Grant of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance, 78 FR 35355 (June 12, 2013) (finding
noncompliance had no effect on occupant safety because it had no
effect on the proper operation of the occupant classification system
and the correct deployment of an air bag); Osram Sylvania Prods.
Inc.; Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential
Noncompliance, 78 FR 46000 (July 30, 2013) (finding occupant using
noncompliant light source would not be exposed to significantly
greater risk than occupant using similar compliant light source).
\3\ Morgan 3 Wheeler Limited; Denial of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance, 81 FR 21663, 21666 (Apr. 12, 2016).
\4\ United States v. Gen. Motors Corp., 565 F.2d 754, 759 (D.C.
Cir. 1977) (finding defect poses an unreasonable risk when it
``results in hazards as potentially dangerous as sudden engine fire,
and where there is no dispute that at least some such hazards, in
this case fires, can definitely be expected to occur in the
future'').
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The intent of FMVSS No. 110 is to ensure that vehicles are equipped
with tires appropriate to handle maximum vehicle loads and prevent
overloading.
[[Page 38256]]
Daimler Vans explains that due to an oversight, a 1.10 reduction on
each tire's maximum load rating was not applied before the overall
maximum load rating of the tires for each axle was set. As a result,
the sum of the maximum load ratings of the tires fitted to each axle
(after being divided by 1.10) are less than the GAWR for the axle as
specified on the vehicle certification label by 110 lbs. The 1.10
factor reduction due to the use of passenger tires on a van-truck,
results effectively in the tires, per FMVSS 110 S4.2.2.2, falling short
of covering the vehicle's GAWR which results in a 96.8% coverage rate
(3307 lbs/3417 lbs) of covering the vehicle's GAWR.
Daimler Vans additionally notated that the Agency has previously
granted petitions for inconsequential noncompliance involving similar
inconsistencies involving tire maximum load ratings. The referenced
granted petition involves passenger vehicles where the vehicle
manufacturer had incorrectly overstated the maximum occupant and cargo
weight on the Tire and Loading Information Label. In short, the Agency
concluded that when the vehicle was loaded to the value listed on the
placard, the specific tires installed on the vehicles were nonetheless
technically capable of handling the overstated weight and cargo. It
should, however, be noted that in the ``similar granted petition,'' the
maximum load values were either at or below the GAWR/GVWR for the
subject vehicles.
VII. NHTSA's Decision: In consideration of the foregoing analysis,
NHTSA finds that Daimler Vans has not met its burden of persuasion that
the subject FMVSS No. 110 noncompliance at issue is inconsequential to
motor vehicle safety.
Accordingly, Daimler Vans' petition is hereby denied and Daimler
Vans is consequently obligated of providing notification of, and a free
remedy for, that noncompliance under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120.
Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at 49
CFR 1.95 and 501.8)
Anne L. Collins,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2022-13598 Filed 6-24-22; 8:45 am]
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