Nitto Tire U.S.A, Inc., Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Topics:  Nitto

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
30 March 2016

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 61 (Wednesday, March 30, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17764-17765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-07142]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2015-0113; Notice 2]


Nitto Tire U.S.A, 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: 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. 
Nitto then petitioned NHTSA under 49 CFR part 556 requesting a decision 
that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle 
safety.
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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.

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 
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(202) 366-5930.

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.

[[Page 17765]]

    Notice of receipt of the petition was published, with a 30-day 
public comment period, on December 14, 2015 in the Federal Register (80 
FR 77415). 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-2015-0113.''

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'S Decision

    NHTSA'S Analysis: The agency agrees with Nitto that the 
noncompliances are inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. The agency 
believes that the true measure of inconsequentiality to motor vehicle 
safety in this case is that there is no effect of the noncompliances on 
the operational safety of vehicles on which these tires are mounted.
    Although tire construction affects the strength and durability, 
neither the agency nor the tire industry provides information relating 
tire strength and durability to the ply cord material in the tread and 
sidewall. Therefore, tire dealers and customers should consider the 
tire construction information along with other information such as load 
capacity, maximum inflation pressure, and tread wear, temperature, and 
traction ratings, to assess performance capabilities of various tires.
    In the agency's judgement, the incorrect labeling of the tire 
construction information will have an inconsequential effect on motor 
vehicle safety because most consumers do not base tire purchases or 
vehicle operation parameters on the ply material in a tire.
    NHTSA'S Decision: In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA finds 
that Nitto has met its burden of persuasion that the subject FMVSS No. 
139 noncompliance in the affected tires is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety. Accordingly, Nitto's petition is hereby granted and 
Nitto is consequently exempted from the obligation of providing 
notification of, and a free 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 tires that Nitto no longer controlled at 
the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, the 
granting of 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. 2016-07142 Filed 3-29-16; 8:45 am]
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