General Motors, LLC; Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Chevrolet Sonic
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Jeffrey Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
May 12, 2015
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27229-27230]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-11395]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2015-0035; Notice 1]
General Motors, LLC; Receipt of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation, DOT.
ACTION: Receipt of petition.
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SUMMARY: General Motors, LLC, (GM) has determined that certain Model
Year (MY) 2012-2015 Chevrolet Sonic passenger vehicles do not fully
comply with paragraph S6.5.3.4.1 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated
Equipment. GM has filed an appropriate report dated March 2, 2015,
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility
and Reports.
DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is June 11, 2015.
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
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 Deliver: 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.
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
[[Page 27230]]
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 310,243 MY 2012-
2015 Chevrolet Sonic passenger cars manufactured between May 5, 2011
and February 4, 2015.
III. Noncompliance: GM explains that the noncompliance is that the
high-beam headlamp lenses on the subject vehicles are not marked with
``HB3'' (the HB bulb type) as required by paragraph S6.5.3.4.1 of FMVSS
No. 108.
IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S6.5.3.4.1 of FMVSS No. 108 requires in
pertinent part:
S6.5.3.4.1 The lens of each replaceable bulb headlamp must bear
permanent marking in front of each replaceable light source with
which it is equipped that states either: The HB Type, if the light
source conforms to S11 of this standard for filament light sources,
. . .
V. Summary of GM's Analyses: GM stated its belief that the subject
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for the
following reasons:
(A) The high-beam headlamp lenses in question are clearly marked
``9005'' (the ANSI designation), which GM believes to be a well-known
alternative designation recognized throughout the automotive industry
and used by lighting manufacturers interchangeably with HB3 the lamp's
HB type. GM also verified that the vehicle owner's manuals identify the
high beam replacement bulb as 9005.
(B) That the mismarked high-beam headlamps are the correct
headlamps for the subject vehicles and that they conform to all other
requirements including photometric as required by FMVSS No. 108.
(C) The risk of customer confusion when selecting a correct
replacement bulb is remote. Both the HB3 type and the 9005 ANSI
designation are marked on the vehicles' headlamp bulb sockets, and
packaging for replacement bulbs is commonly marked with both the HB
type and the ANSI designation. GM searched a number of national
automotive parts stores (Autozone, O'Reilly, Advanced Auto Parts, and
Pep Boys), and found that all HB3 replacement bulbs in these stores
were marked with the 9005 ANSI designation. Should a consumer attempt
to install an incorrect bulb into the headlamp sockets, the bulb could
not be successfully installed because of the unique nature of the
socket hardware.
(D) GM also cited several previous petitions that NHTSA has granted
dealing with noncompliances that GM believes are similar to the
noncompliance that is the subject of its petition. Based on these
decisions, GM believes that there is also precedent to support granting
its petition.
GM is not aware of any VOQ or field data in which a consumer has
complained of not being able to identify the proper replacement
headlamp bulb for the affected vehicles, which GM believes to be
evidence that this noncompliance is not impacting consumers.
GM has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the
noncompliance by adding the HB3 designation bulb type to the high-beam
headlamp lens in all vehicles produced on or after February 21, 2015.
In summation, GM believes that the described noncompliance of the
subject vehicles is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that
its petition, to exempt GM 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, any decision on
this petition only applies to the subject 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 or delivery for 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.
Jeffrey Giuseppe,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2015-11395 Filed 5-11-15; 8:45 am]
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