Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Topics:  Mitsubishi Outlander Sport

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
November 19, 2015

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 223 (Thursday, November 19, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72482-72483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29472]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2015-0066; Notice 2]


Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., 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: Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA), has determined 
that certain model year (MY) 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport 
multipurpose passenger vehicles (MPV) do not fully comply with 
paragraph S6 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 205, 
Glazing Materials. MMNA has filed an appropriate report dated June 4, 
2015, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance 
Responsibility and Reports.

ADDRESSES: For further information on this decision contact Luis 
Figueroa, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-5298, 
facsimile (202) 366-3081.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Overview: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see 
implementing rule at 49 CFR part 556), MMNA 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 the petition was published, with a 30-day 
public comment period, on September 8, 2015 in the Federal Register (80 
FR 53911). 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-2015-0066.''
    II. Vehicles Involved: Affected are approximately 300 MY 2015 
Mitsubishi Outlander Sport multipurpose passenger vehicles manufactured 
between December 8, 2014 and December 22, 2014.
    III. Noncompliance: MMNA explains that the quarter panel window 
glazing installed in the subject vehicles was labeled with the 
manufacturer's model number ``M-66,'' indicating a tempered glass 
construction and ``AS2,'' incorrectly indicating the glass has light 
transmission properties of at least 70%. The correct manufacturer's 
model number, which should have been affixed to the quarter panel glass 
window, is ``M-131'' (which corresponds to a tempered ``privacy'' glass 
construction and a light transmission of 25%) and the correct item of 
glazing number should have been ``AS-3'' (which corresponds to glazing 
with less than 70% light transmittance).
    IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S6 of FMVSS No. 205 requires in pertinent 
part:

    S6. Certification and marking.
    . . .
    S6.2 A prime glazing manufacturer certifies its glazing by 
adding to the marks required by section 7 of ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996, . 
. .
    [Note that ANSI Z26.1-1996 and other industry standards are 
incorporated by reference in paragraph S5.1 of FMVSS No. 205. 
Specifically, Section 7 (Marking of Safety Glazing Materials) of 
ANSI Z26.1-1996 requires that:
    ``In addition, to any other markings required by law, ordinance, 
or regulation, all safety glazing materials manufactured for use in 
accordance with this standard shall be legibly and permanently 
marked . . . with the words American National Standard or the 
characters AS, in addition with a model number \38\ that will 
identify the type of construction of the glazing material. They 
shall also be marked with . . .
    \38\ The model number shall be assigned by the manufacturer of 
the safety glazing material and shall be related by the manufacturer 
to a detailed description of a specific glazing material.'']

    V. Summary of MMNA's Arguments: MMNA stated its belief that the 
subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for 
the following reasons:
    (A) MMNA stated that the quarter panel glass windows otherwise meet 
all other marking and performance requirements of FMVSS No. 205.
    (B) MMNA believes that because the affected glazing fully meets all 
of the applicable performance requirements, the absence of the correct 
``M'' number in their monogram has no effect upon the degree of driver 
visibility or the possibility of occupants being thrown through the 
vehicle windows in a collision.
    (C) MMNA stated its belief that NHTSA has previously granted 
inconsequential noncompliance petitions regarding what it believes are 
similar noncompliances.
    (D) MMNA is not aware of any crashes, injuries, customer complaints 
or field reports associated with this condition.
    In summation, MMNA believes that the described FMVSS No. 205 
noncompliance of the subject vehicles is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety, and that its petition, to exempt MMNA 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's Decision

    NHTSA's Analysis: MMNA indicated that as many as 142 \1\ 
incorrectly labeled quarter panel windows were mounted on the subject 
300 vehicles during production of those vehicles. MMNA also stated that 
the installed windows meet or exceed all other labeling and performance 
requirements of FMVSS No. 205, and the remaining noncompliant windows 
produced by its supplier Pilkington North America, Inc., have been 
destroyed or exported.
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    \1\ Pilkinson North America (PNA) determined that they had 
manufactured 8927 quarter panel glass windows with the incorrect 
model number and item of glazing number (AS). Of these 8927 windows, 
PNA scrapped all but 1139 windows that had been shipped to MMNA. 
MMNA retrieved and returned to PNA 997 noncomplying windows, but 142 
were installed in a suspect population of 349 vehicles that were 
shipped to the USA (300 vehicles) and to Mexico and Canada (49 
vehicles).
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    NHTSA therefore believes there is no effect of the noncompliance on 
the operational safety of the subject vehicles and that none of the 
subject noncompliant windows will be installed on any additional new 
production vehicles or delivered as replacement parts for existing 
vehicles.
    NHTSA's Decision: In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has 
decided that MMNA has met its burden of persuasion that the FMVSS No. 
205 noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. 
Accordingly, MMNA's petition is hereby granted and MMNA 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

[[Page 72483]]

decision only applies to the subject vehicles that MMNA 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 MMNA 
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. 2015-29472 Filed 11-18-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P