Nitto Tire U.S.A, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Nitto
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Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
December 14, 2015
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 239 (Monday, December 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77415-77416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31349]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2015-0113; Notice 1]
Nitto Tire U.S.A, Inc., 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: Nitto Tire U.S.A., Inc. (Nitto), has determined that certain
Nitto NT05 passenger car tires manufactured between December 14, 2014
and August 1, 2015, do not fully comply with paragraph S5.5(e) of
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New Pneumatic
Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Nitto filed a report \1\ pursuant to
49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.
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\1\ Originally dated September 15, 2015 under the name of its
parent company Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc., and refiled
under its own name on November 5, 2015).
DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is January 13,
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2016.
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
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 above 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. Overview
Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see implementing rule
at 49 CFR part 556), Nitto 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 Nitto'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. Tires Involved
Affected are approximately 1,059 Nitto NT05 size 295/35ZR18 99W
passenger car tires manufactured between December 14, 2014 and August
1, 2015.
III. Noncompliance
Nitto explains that the noncompliance is that the sidewall markings
on the subject tires do not include the correct generic name for the
plies in the tread and sidewall area of the tires as required by
paragraph S5.5(e) of FMVSS No. 139. Specifically, the subject tires are
marked with ``Tread 2 Steel 2 Rayon 1 Nylon; Sidewall 3 Rayon.'' The
correct marking should be ``Tread 2 Steel 2 Polyester 1 Nylon; Sidewall
3 Polyester.''
IV. Rule Text
Paragraph S5.5(e) of FMVSS No. 139 requires in pertinent part:
S5.5 Tire markings. Except as specified in paragraphs (a)
through (i) of S5.5, each tire must be marked on each sidewall with
the information specified in S5.5(a) through (d) and on one sidewall
with the information specified in S5.5(e) through (i) according to
the phase-in schedule specified in S7 of this standard. . . .
(e) The generic name of each cord material used in the plies
(both sidewall and tread area) of the tire; . . .
V. Summary of Nitto's Analyses
Nitto stated its belief that the subject noncompliance is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for the following reasons:
(1) Nitto believes that in the Safety Act Congress acknowledged
that there are cases where a vehicle or equipment may fail to comply
with a safety standard, but that the impact on motor vehicle safety is
so slight that an exemption from the notice and remedy requirements of
the Safety Act is justified.
(2) Nitto states that the subject tires meet all other performance
and regulatory requirements of FMVSS No. 139.
(3) Nitto has not received any complaints, claims, or warranty
adjustments related to this noncompliance.
(4) Nitto believes that NHTSA has previously granted
inconsequential noncompliance petitions for noncompliances that it
believes are similar to the subject noncompliance.
Nitto has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the
noncompliance so that future production of the subject tires will
comply with all applicable labeling requirements of FMVSS No. 139.
In summation, Nitto believes that the described noncompliance of
the subject tires is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that
its petition, to exempt Nitto 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
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the subject tires that Nitto no longer controlled at the time it
determined that the noncompliance existed. However, any decision on
this petition does not relieve equipment 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 Nitto 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,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2015-31349 Filed 12-11-15; 8:45 am]
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