Denial of Motor Vehicle Defect Petition and Petition for a Hearing |
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Topics: Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute
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David Strickland
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
July 24, 2012
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 142 (Tuesday, July 24, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43216-43218]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18060]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 552; 557
Denial of Motor Vehicle Defect Petition and Petition for a
Hearing
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.
ACTION: Denial of petition.
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SUMMARY: The Center for Auto Safety has petitioned NHTSA to open defect
investigations on Model Year (MY) 2002-2004 Ford Escape and 2001-2004
Mazda Tribute vehicles with certain cruise control cables. The Center
for Auto Safety has also petitioned for a hearing to address whether
Ford Motor Company (Ford) and Mazda North American Operations (Mazda)
met their obligations to notify owners and correct a defect in certain
Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute vehicles. The petitions to open
investigations are denied as moot and the petitions to conduct hearings
are denied.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Derek Rinehardt, National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington,
DC 20590 (Telephone: 202-366-3642).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Center for Auto Safety, in letters dated July 8, 2012 and July
13, 2012, petitioned for a Defect Order under 49 CFR Part 552 and for a
Hearing on Notification and Remedy of Defects under 49 CFR Part 577.
The petitions relate to Ford's recall of MY 2002-2004 Ford Escape
vehicles (Recall 04V-574) and Mazda's recall of MY 2002-2004 Mazda
Tribute vehicles (Recall 04V-583).
In 49 CFR Part 573 Defect and Information Reports (Part 573 Report)
filed in December 2004, Ford and Mazda both informed NHTSA that the
inner liner of the accelerator cable in certain Ford Escape and Mazda
Tribute vehicles could migrate out of place during vehicle operation,
and prevent the throttle body from returning to the idle position. Ford
and Mazda said that the safety consequence of a throttle body not
returning to the idle position was a progressive, and in some cases
sudden increase in speed. Ford and
[[Page 43217]]
Mazda notified vehicle owners of the recalls (Recall 04V-574 and 04V-
583) in January 2005. Thereafter, on October 6, 2005, Ford released a
recall update to dealers. In that update, Ford provided supplemental
instructions on how to remove the accelerator cable. The instructions
indicate that damage to the speed (or cruise) control cable can result
if the accelerator cable is not properly removed. Mazda, however, did
not issue a recall update.
The Center for Auto Safety (CAS) asserts that Ford and Mazda failed
to notify about 319,500 Ford Escape owners and 84,700 Mazda Tribute
owners that their vehicles' speed (or cruise) control cables may have
been damaged during the accelerator cable replacements conducted in
Recall 04V-574 and Recall 04V-583. According to CAS, these vehicles
were repaired prior to September 30, 2005. Related to this potential
damage, CAS states that Ford and Mazda did not file Part 573 Reports
with NHTSA which would have initiated a second recall. CAS adds that
Ford and Mazda did not file Part 573 Reports and recall the cruise
control cables. CAS claims that the cruise control cable can fail
independently of being damaged in the course of repairs conducted
pursuant to Recall 04V-574 and Recall 04V-583.
In its July 8 petition, CAS refers to a crash involving a MY 2002
Ford Escape which occurred in January 2012 in Payson, Arizona. The
driver of the Ford Escape was killed in the crash. CAS states that the
driver's vehicle had been repaired in January 2005, after Recall 04V-
574 was announced but before the October 2005 recall update was
released.
NHTSA has been gathering information on the Arizona crash since
early 2012 when it first learned of it. NHTSA obtained the police
report when it became available. In June 2012, NHTSA contacted counsel
representing the driver's family to obtain more information on the
crash. Independent of CAS's petition, NHTSA opened a preliminary
investigation (PE 12-019) on July 17, 2012 that among other things will
encompass issues raised by the Center for Auto Safety's petition.
II. CAS's Petition That NHTSA Open a Defect Investigation Is Denied as
Moot
CAS requests that NHTSA open a defect investigation into MY 2002-
2004 Ford Escapes and MY 2001-2004 Mazda Tributes with cruise control
cables of the same design as in Recall 04V-574, Recall 04V-583, and in
the Arizona vehicle. Pursuant to 49 CFR 552.3, any interested person
may file a petition requesting that the Administrator commence a
proceeding to decide whether to issue an order concerning the
notification and remedy of a failure of a motor vehicle or item of
replacement equipment to comply with an applicable motor vehicle safety
standard or a defect in such vehicle or equipment that relates to motor
vehicle safety. If NHTSA grants the petition, NHTSA opens an
investigation.
Based on the information obtained by NHTSA prior to the filing of
the CAS petition, NHTSA opened an investigation on July 17, 2012 that
will, among other issues, assess the scope and remedy of Recall 04V-574
(involving certain model year 2002-2004 Ford Escape vehicles) and
Recall 04V-583 (involving certain model year 2002-2004 Mazda Tribute
vehicles). In view of the fact that NHTSA has opened an investigation
that will examine the issues on the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute speed
control cables, including claims raised by CAS, the agency denies this
portion of CAS's petition as moot.
III. CAS's Petition for a Hearing on Notification and Remedy of Defects
Is Denied
CAS's petition for a hearing on notification and remedy of defects
pursuant to 49 CFR Part 557 requests that NHTSA hold a hearing to
determine whether Ford and Mazda reasonably met their obligations to
notify owners and correct the defects at issue in Recall 04V-574 and
Recall 04V-583. In determining whether to hold a hearing, the agency
considers (1) The nature of the complaint; (2) the seriousness of the
alleged breach of obligation to remedy; (3) the existence of similar
complaints; (4) the ability of the NHTSA to resolve the problem without
holding a hearing; and (5) other pertinent matters. 49 CFR 557.6.
We first consider the nature of the complaint. CAS claims that Ford
did not notify owners of about 319,500 vehicles of potential damage to
speed control cables caused by a faulty recall repair in Recall 04V-
574. CAS claims that Mazda did not notify owners of about 84,700
vehicles of potential damage to speed control cables caused by a faulty
recall repair in Recall 04V-583. CAS also claims that Ford and Mazda
did not file Reports pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573 with NHTSA which would
have initiated a second recall. Finally, CAS claims that Ford and Mazda
did not file Part 573 Reports and recall the cruise control cable.
Federal regulations require vehicle manufacturers to submit reports to
NHTSA for each defect that the manufacturer or the Administrator of
NHTSA determines to be related to motor vehicle safety. 49 CFR 573.6.
Issues of the nature raised by CAS will be addressed in PE 12-019.
Second, we consider the seriousness of the alleged breach of
obligation to remedy. If CAS's claims are true, they are serious. NHTSA
will consider them in PE 12-019.
Third, we consider the existence of similar complaints. NHTSA
received complaints from consumers by way of Vehicle Owner
Questionnaires (VOQ's) regarding accelerator cable failure, cruise
control cable failure, and/or stuck throttles. These are identified in
the PE 12-019 Opening Resume in certain MY 2002-2004 Ford Escape and
Mazda Tribute vehicles. NHTSA takes these complaints seriously.
Considering the VOQ complaints in the context of the 2012 crash in
Arizona, NHTSA opened a preliminary evaluation to investigate the
safety consequence broadly including the scope and adequacy of Recall
04V-574 and Recall 04V-583. However, aside from the petition from CAS,
NHTSA has not received any other complaints that Ford and Mazda failed
to notify owners of vehicles that had been repaired pursuant to Recall
04V-574 or Recall 04V-583 of a faulty recall repair, file a Part 573
Report with NHTSA and initiate a second Ford Escape or Mazda Tribute
recall, or file a Part 573 Report reporting the cruise control cable
defect and recalling the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute cruise control
cables. Nor has NHTSA received any other requests that the Agency
conduct a hearing to assess whether Ford and Mazda have met their
statutory and regulatory obligations to notify owners and correct the
defects at issue in Recall 04V-574 and Recall 04V-583.
Fourth, we consider the likelihood that NHTSA can resolve this
alleged problem without a hearing. NHTSA believes that it can obtain
the information it needs to resolve this matter by directly using its
information gathering authorities with respect to Ford and Mazda,
contacting Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute owners and otherwise
conducting an agency investigation. We do not believe that there would
be benefits to holding a hearing. In fact, the time taken to plan for
and hold a hearing would detract from the investigation.
Finally, the Agency will consider other pertinent factors. The
Agency has opened PE 12-019 to assess the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute
recalls and broader issues that may not be related to those recalls. We
believe that an investigation is a more efficient way of obtaining the
information necessary to evaluate the issues presented in CAS's
petition than holding a hearing.
[[Page 43218]]
CAS's petition for a hearing is denied.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118-30120, 30162; delegation of authority
at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8.
Issued on: July 17, 2012.
David Strickland,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2012-18060 Filed 7-23-12; 8:45 am]
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