General Motors, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Cadillac XTS
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Claude H. Harris
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
November 1, 2013
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 212 (Friday, November 1, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65761-65762]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-26078]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2013-0081; Notice 1]
General Motors, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Receipt of Petition.
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SUMMARY: General Motors, LLC (GM) has determined that certain model
year 2013 Cadillac XTS passenger cars do not fully comply with
paragraph S9.1.1 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No.
108, Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment. GM has filed
an appropriate report dated May 16, 2013, pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573,
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.
DATES: December 2, 2013.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data,
views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the
docket and notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and be
submitted by any of the following methods:
Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to: U.S. Department
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
Hand Delivery: Deliver comments by hand to: U.S.
Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC
20590. The Docket Section is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
except Federal Holidays.
Electronically: Submit comments electronically by: logging
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at http://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Comments may also be faxed to (202) 493-2251.
[[Page 65762]]
Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater
than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of
necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in
hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish
to receive confirmation that your comments were received, please
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the comments. Note that
all comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
Documents submitted to a docket may be viewed by anyone at the
address and times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov by following the online
instructions for accessing the dockets. DOT's complete Privacy Act
Statement is available for review in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78).
The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received
before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will
be filed and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be
considered to the extent possible. When the petition is granted or
denied, notice of the decision will be published in the Federal
Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. GM's Petition: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see
implementing rule at 49 CFR Part 556), GM submitted a petition 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.
This notice of receipt of GM's petition is published under 49
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or
other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
II. Vehicles Involved: Affected are approximately 24,139 model year
2013 Cadillac XTS passenger cars manufactured from February 2, 2012 to
May 2, 2013.
III. Noncompliance: GM has determined that the turn signal in the
subject vehicles does not fully comply with paragraph S9.1.1 of FMVSS
No. 108, which requires an active turn signal to cancel when the
steering wheel is rotated. On some of the vehicles, the turn signal may
occasionally not self-cancel by steering wheel rotation. The turn
signal can be cancelled manually.
IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S9.1.1 of FMVSS No. 108 specifically
states:
S9.1 Turn signal operating unit.
S9.1.1 The turn signal operating unit installed on passenger
cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses less than
2032 mm in overall width must be self-canceling by steering wheel
rotation and capable of cancellation by a manually operated control.
V. Summary of GM's Analyses: GM stated its belief that the subject
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for the
following reasons:
This condition is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for the
following reasons:
1. Manual operation of the turn signal is unaffected. The driver
can manually cancel the turn signal in the rare event the self-
cancelling feature does not work.
2. If the turn signal does not self-cancel, the driver is alerted
to the fact that the turn signal remains on through multiple means:
a. The turn signal telltale continues to flash;
b. The audible turn signal indicator persists as long as the turn
signal is active;
c. The redundant turn signals (mounted on the outer edge of both
outboard mirrors) that are visible to the driver continue to flash as
long as the turn signal is active;
d. After traveling 3/4 of mile with the turn signal active, a
Driver Information Center message, ``TURN SIGNAL ON,'' is displayed
indicating a turn signal has been left on; and
e. The DIC message is accompanied by a single chime to alert the
driver to the DIC message indicating the turn signal is still active.
3. GM records as of the week of 13 May 2013 indicate the condition
declares itself early and is nearly always repaired within the first
few months of service.
a. GM does not have a specific labor code for the subject
condition. Through a search of all possibly related labor codes, GM
found nineteen repairs that might possibly be associated with subject
condition. Even conservatively including all nineteen repairs as
related to the subject condition, the resulting warranty rate is
projected very low at 1.8 IPTV in 36 Month in Service.
b. Of the nineteen repairs, five were repaired prior to customer
delivery and nine were repaired in the first 2 months in service.
4. NHTSA has previously granted petitions for inconsequential that
are similar to the subject noncompliance.
GM has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the
noncompliance so that all future production vehicles will comply with
FMVSS No. 108.
In summation, GM believes that the described noncompliance of the
subject 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.
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, these provisions
only apply to the subject 24,139 vehicles that GM no longer controlled
at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, any
decision on this petition does not relieve vehicle distributors and
dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, or
introduction for delivery or 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)
Issued on: October 29, 2013.
Claude H. Harris,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2013-26078 Filed 10-31-13; 8:45 am]
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