BMW of North America, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: BMW X3
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Claude H. Harris
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
December 17, 2013
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 17, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76408-76410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29990]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2012-0074; Notice 2]
BMW of North America, 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: BMW North America, LLC,\1\ a subsidiary of BMW AG
(collectively referred to as BMW),\2\ has determined that certain model
year (MY) 2012 BMW X3 SAV multipurpose passenger vehicles (MPV)
manufactured between April 1, 2011 and March 14, 2012, do not fully
comply with paragraph S4.3.3 of 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. BMW has filed
an appropriate report dated March 28, 2012, pursuant to 49 CFR part
573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.
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\1\ BMW North America, LLC is a U.S. company that manufactures
and imports motor vehicles.
\2\ BMW AG is a German company that manufactures motor vehicles.
ADDRESSES: For further information on this decision contact Ms. Amina
Fisher, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-1018,
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facsimile (202) 366-5930.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. BMW's Petition: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and
the rule implementing those provisions at 49 CFR part 556, BMW 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 October 16, 2012 in the Federal Register (77
FR 63415). One comment was received from Anne K. Mayer which supported
granting BMW's petition. To view the petition, the comment 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-2012-0074.''
II. Vehicles Involved: Affected are approximately 1,409 MY 2012 BMW
X3 SAV MPVs manufactured between April 1, 2011 through March 14, 2012.
III. Rule Text: Section S4.3.3 of FMVSS No. 110 specifically
states:
S4.3.3 Additional labeling information for vehicles other than
passenger cars. Each vehicle shall show the size designation and, if
applicable, the type designation of rims (not necessarily those on
the vehicle) appropriate for the tire appropriate for use on that
vehicle, including the tire installed as original equipment on the
certification label required by part 567.4 or part 567.5 of this
chapter. This information shall be in the English language, lettered
in block capitals and numerals not less than 2.4 millimeters high
and in the following format:
GVWR: 2,441 kilograms (5381 pounds).
GAWR: Front--1,299 kilograms (2,864 pounds) with P265/70R16 tires,
16 x 8.0 rims at 248 kPa (36 psi) cold single.
GAWR: Rear--1,299 kilograms (2,864 pounds) with P265/70R16 tires, 16
x 8.00 rims, at 248 kPa (36 psi) cold single.
[[Page 76409]]
IV. Summary of BMW's Analyses: BMW explained that the noncompliance
is that the certification label required by 49 CFR part 567 does not
list rim information for the tires installed on the vehicles as
original equipment as required by paragraph S4.3.3 of FMVSS No. 110.
BMW states that while the certification label required by 49 CFR
part 567 does not contain tire and rim information for tires and rims
that were installed as original equipment, the information pertains to
tires and rims that are appropriate for use on the vehicles. BMW also
argues that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle
safety for the following reasons:
1. If a driver only checks the certification label (which indicates
either 17-inch tires or 18-inch tires) or if the driver checks the
certification label and the FMVSS No. 110 tire and loading information
Vehicle Placard (which shows the size of the tires originally installed
on the vehicle), and is unsure as to the proper inflation pressure and
the size of the tires installed on the vehicle, there are a number of
information sources and services available which can be used to inform
the driver of the correct tire size and tire pressure.
a. A driver could check the specific tires installed on the
vehicle. The information that is stamped onto the sidewall of those
tires corresponds to the information contained on the FMVSS No. 110
tire and loading information Vehicle Placard. A driver would be able to
determine that the tires installed on the vehicle correspond to the
tires indicated on the FMVSS No. 110 tire and loading information
Vehicle Placard. Therefore, a driver would be able to add the correct
amount of air pressure to the tires in order to achieve the proper
inflation level.
b. If the driver were to use the tire size shown on the
certification label in order to look up the associated tire pressure in
the owner's manual and then pressurize the tires to that pressure the
Tire Pressure Monitoring System would not need to initiate.
c. The driver will also be able to refer to the vehicle's Owner's
Manual which contains information pertaining to the various tire sizes
and tire pressures for the affected vehicles.
d. BMW also offers Roadside Assistance and BMW AssistTM
(only included with Premium Package and as a stand-alone option) which
are available 24 hours/day with representatives that are available to
provide drivers with all of the available tires sizes and
specifications for the affected vehicles.
BMW has received no customer complaints and are unaware of any
accidents or injuries regarding this noncompliance of the affected
vehicles.
BMW has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected future
production and that all other required markings are present and
correct.
BMW also explains that NHTSA has previously granted similar
petitions.
In summation, BMW 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.
V. NHTSA Analysis and Reasoning: The affected vehicles, 1,409 2012
BMW X3/SAVs (MPVs), comply with FMVSS No. 110, paragraph S4.3(c) and
(d), identifying the recommended cold inflation pressures for the
front, rear and spare tires and the tire size designations,
respectively. The vehicles do not comply with paragraph S4.3.3, which
requires additional information for vehicles other than passenger cars:
the tires and rims must be identified on the 49 CFR part 567
certification label. BMW's certification label listed the tire and rim
size for the front and rear axles as 245/50R18, which is different from
the tires installed on affected vehicles, 245/45R19. Note: Information
for these vehicles states they were sold with either 18-inch or 19-inch
diameter tires.
BMW's FMVSS No. 110 vehicle placard listed size 245/45R19 for the
front and rear tires with recommended inflation pressures 220 kPa/32
psi and 260 kPa/38 psi, respectively). The load ratings from the Tire
and Rim Association Handbook at those pressures are 675 kg/1,488 lb
(front) and 750 kg/1673 lb (rear). Paragraph S4.2.2.2 specifies that
the load rating for a passenger car tire used on an MPV be divided by
1.1. The sum of the front axle tire ratings are 1,227 kg/2,705 lb and
the rear axle tires are 1,364 kg/3,007 lb. Tire size 245/50R18 at 220
kPa/32 psi (front) and 240 kPa/35 psi (rear--the maximum pressure
listed) are rated at 745 kg/1,642 lb (front) and 775 kg/1,709 lb
(rear). The resulting sums are 1,355 kg/2,987 lb (front) and 1,409 kg/
3,106 lb (rear). In both cases, the sums of the tire load ratings
exceed BMW's GAWRs of 1,110 kg/2447 lb (front) and 1,290 kg/2,844 lb
(rear).
Two additional factors were considered: the difference between the
maximum inflation pressures of the two tire sizes and the effect of
those pressures on the vehicle's tire pressure monitoring system,
required by FMVSS No. 138.
The non-installed tires listed on the certification label have a
maximum inflation pressure which is lower than the inflation pressure
listed on the vehicle placard. If a consumer purchased replacement
tires based on the 18-inch size listed on the certification label, he
would also need to purchase rims of the same diameter. Even if the 18-
inch diameter tires and rims were installed, each tire's maximum
inflation pressure is still specified on the sidewall and listed in
other documents available to tire dealers.
Regarding the TPMS, there is no adverse effect for either size
front tires at 220 kPa/32 psi. The higher recommended inflation
pressure of the installed 19-inch diameter rear tires corresponds to a
required warning at 25 percent below the recommended pressure, i.e., at
195 kPa/28 psi. If the 19-inch diameter tires are replaced with 18-inch
tires, the warning would be required at 180 kPa/26 psi, which is equal
to a 19 percent under-inflation condition for those tires, exceeding
the FMVSS No. 138 requirement.
VI. NHTSA Decision: Thus, NHTSA has determined that BMW has met its
burden of persuasion that the FMVSS No. 110 noncompliance of the tire
size labeling on the subject vehicles' certification label is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, BMW's petition is
hereby granted, and BMW is exempted from the obligation of providing
notification of, and a remedy for, the subject 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 1,409 vehicles that BMW no longer controlled at the
time it determined that a noncompliance existed. However, the granting
of this petition does not relieve 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 BMW notified them that the subject
noncompliance existed.
[[Page 76410]]
Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at
49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8)
Issued on: December 11, 2013.
Claude H. Harris,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2013-29990 Filed 12-16-13; 8:45 am]
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