BMW of North America, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: BMW 6 Series, BMW 7 Series
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Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
October 14, 2015
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 198 (Wednesday, October 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61884-61886]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-26062]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2013-0146; 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 of North America, LLC, (BMW) a subsidiary of BMW AG in
Munich, Germany, has determined that certain model year (MY) 2014 BMW 7
series and 6 series vehicles do not fully comply with paragraph S5.2.1
of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 101, Controls and
Displays. BMW has filed an appropriate report dated December 5, 2013
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility
and Reports.
ADDRESSES: For further information on this decision contact Amina
Fisher, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-5307, 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
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.
Notice of receipt of BMW's petition was published, with a 30-day
public comment period, on June 6, 2014 in the Federal Register (FR
32815). 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-2013-0146.''
II. Vehicles Involved: Affected are approximately 5,806 of the
following MY 2014 BMW vehicles:
2014 BMW 7 Series manufactured between July 1, 2013 and November 4,
2013;
2014 BMW 6 Series Coupe M Sport Edition manufactured between May
15, 2013 and October 29, 2013;
2014 BMW 6 Series Grand Coupe M Sport Edition manufactured between
May 15, 2013 and July 30, 2013; and
2014 BMW 6 Series Convertible M Sport Edition manufactured between
April 2, 2013 and October 29, 2013.
III. Noncompliance: BMW explains that while using in-vehicle
controls and displays, there is a possibility for the vehicle operator
or front seat passenger to enable the speedometer to display vehicle
speed in units of either only miles-per-hour (mph) or only kilometers-
per-hour (km/h). Since all vehicles sold in the U.S. must display
vehicle speeds in mph, or mph and km/h these vehicles fail to fully
meet the requirements set forth in paragraph S5.2.1 of FMVSS No. 101.
IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S5.2.1 of FMVSS No. 101 requires in
pertinent part:
S5.2.1 Except for the Low Tire Pressure Telltale, each control,
telltale and indicator that is listed in column 1 of Table 1 or
Table 2 must be identified by the symbol specified for it in column
2 or the word or abbreviation specified for it in column 3 of Table
1 or Table 2 . . .
Table 1--Controls, Telltales, and Indicators With Illumination or Color Requirements
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Column 5
Column 1 item Column 2 symbol Column 3 words or abbreviations Column 4 function illumination Column 6 color
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* * * * * * *
Speedometer............. ........................ MPH, or MPH and km/h \14\ Indicator Yes .......................
* * * * * * *
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Notes:
* * * * * * *
14. If the speedometer is graduated in both miles per hour and in kilometers per hour, the scales must be identified ``MPH'' and ``km/h'', respectively,
in any combination of upper- and lowercase letters. . . .
[[Page 61885]]
V. Summary of BMW's Analyses: BMW stated its belief that the
subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for
the following reasons:
1. BMW states that vehicles are initially delivered for first-sale
in a compliant state (speed display in miles-per-hour) and that it is
only through driver (or passenger) interaction within the Settings menu
that the display can be changed from miles-per-hour to kilometers-per-
hour. BMW believes that this adjustment cannot be accomplished
inadvertently.
2. BMW states that the two speedometer scales are noticeably
different, and that if a previous driver changed the units, a
subsequent driver would be able to tell at a glance that the scale is
not in miles-per-hour.
3. BMW states that the indicated vehicle speed in km/h is 1.6 times
greater than speed in mph. BMW believes that if a vehicle operator
changes the display to indicate km/h and later forgets that the change
had been made, the operator will clearly recognize that the vehicle is
moving at a lower speed than intended and adjust the vehicle speed to
match road and traffic conditions. This should signal the operator (at
the next appropriate opportunity) to perform the necessary steps to
adjust the speedometer.
4. BMW also states that the vehicle's Owner Manual contains
information pertaining to the use of the iDrive\TM\ controller to
change the units displayed within the ``Settings'' menu. Therefore, if
a vehicle operator needs to reconfigure the display to indicate mph,
instructions are available.
5. BMW further states that the vehicle's Owner Manual and Service
and Warranty Book contain the toll-free telephone number for BMW
Customer Relations. Additionally, the in-vehicle iDrive\TM\ system
offers the vehicle operator a BMW Customer Relations menu option to
directly contact BMW Customer Relations via the embedded wireless
communications module. Therefore, if a vehicle operator notices that
the speed is incorrectly displayed in km/h and does not know how to
reset the speed to display in mph, e.g., as set by a prior operator,
the vehicle operator can easily contact BMW Customer Relations for
assistance.
6. BMW is not aware of any contacts from vehicle operators
regarding this issue.
7. BMW is also not aware of any accidents or injuries that have
occurred as a result of this issue.
BMW has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the
noncompliance so that all future production vehicles will comply with
FMVSS No. 101.
In summation, BMW believes that the described noncompliance of the
subject vehicles is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that
its petition, to exempt BMW 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: NHTSA has reviewed BMW's justification for an
inconsequential noncompliance determination and agrees that the subject
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
BMW explained that the affected vehicles are delivered in a
compliant state with the speedometer displaying miles-per-hour (mph)
and that switching the display to kilometers-per-hour (km/h) could not
be done inadvertently because the driver (or passenger) would have to
complete multiple interactions within the vehicle's settings menu to
make the change. NHTSA agrees with BMW that it is unlikely that the
switch from mph to km/h could be done inadvertently because several
physical actions are required by the operator to make the change. We
believe that if an operator were to make this change it would be done
intentionally and with some understanding of the implications, and that
such a change would not cause any impact to vehicle safety.
Furthermore, we believe that the vast majority of the owners of these
vehicles will continue to operate these vehicles as purchased (with the
speed identified in mph) and never attempt to change to the metric
units.
Next, BMW stated that the speedometer scales are noticeably
different and provided figures showing the speedometer appearance with
each different unit of measure. BMW explained that if a previous driver
changed the units being displayed a subsequent driver would be able to
tell at a glance which scale is being used. The agency reviewed the
speedometer figures provided by BMW indicating the different units of
measure. We agree that it is easy to identify the units of measure
being used because the abbreviated units are clearly labeled in the top
center of the speedometer. We believe that the act of a driver
realizing the vehicle is indicating speed in km/h instead of mph would
not cause any unintended or unsafe actions by the driver and would thus
be inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. In this case, once a driver
realized the speedometer was indicating in km/h, we anticipate the
driver would want to change the speedometer back to mph, and would
refer to the owner's manual or BMW's customer assistance for guidance.
Lastly, BMW stated its belief that because indicated vehicle speed
in km/h is 1.6 times greater than the same speed in mph, a driver who
does not initially notice that a vehicle's speed indication is in km/h
would soon recognize that the vehicle is moving at a speed much slower
than the surrounding traffic and will adjust accordingly to match road
and traffic conditions. With some caution, we agree with BMW's
assessment. While a vehicle traveling as much as 1.6 times slower could
hamper the natural flow of traffic, we believe that affected drivers
would in-fact adjust their speed to the surrounding traffic and then,
at the next appropriate opportunity, perform the necessary steps to
adjust the speedometer back to mph.
NHTSA Decision: In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has
decided that BMW has met its burden of persuasion that the FMVSS No.
101 noncompliance 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, 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 vehicles that BMW 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 vehicles under their control after BMW
notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.
[[Page 61886]]
Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at
49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8).
Jeffrey M. Giuseppe,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2015-26062 Filed 10-13-15; 8:45 am]
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