Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Topics:  Cooper Tires

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
August 19, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 160 (Tuesday, August 19, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 49155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19602]



[[Page 49155]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0001; Notice 2]


Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 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: Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (Cooper), has determined that 
certain Cooper light truck tires do not fully comply with paragraph 
S6.4 of Federal Motor Tire Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 119, New 
Pneumatic Tires for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of more than 4,536 
kilograms (10,000 pounds) and Motorcycles. Cooper has filed an 
appropriate report dated December 6, 2013 pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, 
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

ADDRESSES: For further information on this decision contact Abraham 
Diaz, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-5310, facsimile 
(202) 366-7002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Cooper's Petition: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) 
and the rule implementing those provisions at 49 CFR part 556, Cooper 
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 May 22, 2014 in the Federal Register (79 FR 
29502). 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-2014-0001.''
    II. Tires Involved: Affected are approximately 83,343 Mickey 
Thompson Baja MTZ brand LT315/70R17 Load Range D Tubeless tires 
manufactured from January 28, 2006 through October 31, 2013.
    III. Noncompliance: Cooper explains that the noncompliance is that, 
due to a molding error, the subject tires were manufactured with only 
five of the six treadwear indicators required by paragraph S6.4 of 
FMVSS No. 119.
    IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S6.4 of FMVSS No. 119 requires in 
pertinent part:

    S6.4 Treadwear Indicators. Except as specified in this 
paragraph, each tire shall have at least six treadwear indicators 
spaced approximately equally around the circumference of the tire 
that enable a person inspecting the tire to determine visually 
whether the tire has worn to a tread depth of 1.6 mm (one-sixteenth 
of an inch). . . .

    V. Summary of Cooper's Analyses: Cooper believes that the subject 
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety because the 
absence of a single treadwear indicator has no practical effect on 
motor vehicle safety. Cooper supported this belief by stating that the 
presence of five of the six treadwear indicators provides ample 
coverage over the surface of the tire because consumers or technicians 
who attempt to inspect tread depth by relying on the treadwear 
indicators can easily see several of the indicators. In fact, when the 
vehicle is parked, only a small portion of the tread surface is not 
visible.
    Therefore, Cooper believes that five treadwear indicators have an 
equivalent functionality of six indicators whether the tire is mounted 
on a vehicle or not.
    Cooper also points out that NHTSA has previously granted other 
petitions that Cooper believes were similar to the subject petition.
    Cooper has informed NHTSA that it has corrected the noncompliance 
so that all future production of these tires will comply with FMVSS No. 
119.
    In summation, Cooper believes that the described noncompliance of 
the subject tires is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that 
its petition, to exempt Cooper 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 Decision:
    NHTSA Analysis: The purpose for tire treadwear indicators is to 
serve as a means for a person to visually inspect a tire's tread depth 
and readily determine if a tire has worn to the extent that tread depth 
is 1.6 mm (one-sixteenth of an inch) or less.
    Cooper stated that while the subject tires were molded with only 
five treadwear indicators that it believes that those indicators still 
provide ample coverage over the surface of the tire.
    NHTSA agrees with Cooper that in this case the subject 
noncompliance will have no significant effect on the safety of the 
vehicles on which the subject tires are mounted. The subject tires have 
five indicators; 4 indicators spaced at 60 degrees and one indicator 
spaced at 120 degrees. NHTSA believes that in this case the absence of 
a single indicator does not significantly affect a person's ability to 
visually inspect a tire and readily recognize when a significant 
portion of the tire's tread is warn to the point that a tire should be 
replaced.
    NHTSA Decision: In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has 
decided that Cooper has met its burden of persuasion that the Cooper 
FMVSS No. 119 noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. 
Accordingly, Cooper's petition is hereby granted and Cooper 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 noncompliant tires that Cooper 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 tires under their control after Cooper 
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. 2014-19602 Filed 8-18-14; 8:45 am]
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