General Motors, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Topics:  Cadillac CT6, Cadillac CTS, Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac XTS

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
29 September 2016

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 189 (Thursday, September 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67057-67058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-23560]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0093; 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) 2016-2017 Cadillac CTS, CT6, XTS and Escalade motor vehicles 
do not fully comply with paragraph S5.5.5(a) of Federal Motor Vehicle 
Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 135, Light Vehicle Brake Systems. GM filed 
a report dated August 17, 2016, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and 
Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. GM then petitioned NHTSA 
under 49 CFR part 556 for a decision that the subject noncompliance is 
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is October 31, 
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 in the title of this notice and be 
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 https://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 comments you have submitted by mail were 
received, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the 
comments. Note that all comments received will be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.
    The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received 
before the close of business on the closing date indicated above will 
be filed in the docket 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 
also be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority 
indicated at the end of this notice.
    All documents submitted to the docket may be viewed by anyone at 
the address and times given above. The documents may also be viewed on 
the Internet at https://www.regulations.gov by following the online 
instructions for accessing the dockets. The docket ID number for this 
petition is shown in the heading of this notice.
    DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement is available for review in a 
Federal Register notice published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    I. Overview: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and their 
implementing regulations 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 as it relates 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 46,205 of the following MY 
2016-2017 Cadillac motor vehicles manufactured between March 10, 2015, 
and June 13, 2016:

 Cadillac CT6
 Cadillac CTS
 Cadillac Escalade
 Cadillac Escalade ESV
 Cadillac XTS

    III. Noncompliance: GM explains that the noncompliance is that when 
the parking brake is applied on the subject vehicles the telltale light 
that illuminates within the cluster does not meet the lettering height 
requirements as specified in paragraph S5.5.5(a) of FMVSS No. 135 and 
also referenced in table 1; column 1, of FMVSS No. 101. Specifically, 
the lettering height for the telltale on the subject vehicles is 2.44 
mm when it should be a minimum height of 3.2 mm.
    IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S5.5.5(a) of FMVSS No. 135 states, in 
pertinent part:

    S5.5.5 Labeling. (a) Each visual indicator shall display a word 
or words in accordance with the requirements of Standard No. 101 (49 
CFR 571.101) and this section, which shall be legible to the driver 
under all daytime and nighttime conditions when activated. Unless 
otherwise specified, the words shall have letters not less than 3.2 
mm (\1/8\ inch) high and the letters and background shall be of 
contrasting colors, one of which is red . . .

    V. Summary of GM's Petition: GM described the subject noncompliance 
and stated its belief that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it 
relates to motor vehicle safety.
    In support of its petition, GM submitted the following reasoning:
    (a) The park brake applied telltale (identified by the word 
``PARK'') is red in color contrasted against a black screen, as 
required by S5.5.5(a) and (d)(4), conspicuously located and readily 
visible at the top left-of-center position of the instrument panel 
cluster. Additionally, the four letters of the word ``PARK'' are all 
capitalized such

[[Page 67058]]

that the 2.44 mm height is preserved across the width of the word.
    (b) In addition to the park brake applied telltale required by 
FMVSS No. 135, all of the affected vehicles also have a driver 
information center (DIC) message ``Park Brake Set'' that illuminates 
when the parking brake is applied. The lettering height of this DIC 
message is 3.24 mm, greater than the 3.2 mm minimum specified for 
visual indicators in FMVSS No. 135. The DIC message is also 
substantially wider than the typical width of the telltale required by 
the standard. The redundant telltale and the DIC message, assure ample 
communication to the driver that the parking brake is applied.
    (c) The operation and performance of the park brake itself is 
unaffected by this telltale condition. The park brake complies with all 
applicable requirements of FMVSS No. 135.
    (d) The NHTSA has previously granted inconsequential treatment for 
labeling issues across various motor vehicle safety standards, 
including for discrepancies involving lettering height, missing 
information, incorrect information, and misplaced or obscured 
information. For example, two comparable petitions for inconsequential 
treatment involving brake telltale lettering height were granted to Kia 
and Hyundai (reference Docket numbers ``NHTSA-2004-17439'', Notice 2 
and ``NHTSA-2004-17439'' (sic), Notice 2, published in the Federal 
Register on July 8, 2004, and July 9, 2004, respectively). The Kia 
petition cited multiple previous petitions for inconsequential 
treatment for brake telltale noncompliance granted by NHTSA, and we ask 
to incorporate them here by reference.
    (e) After searching VOQ, TREAD and internal GM databases, GM is not 
aware of any crashes, injuries, or customer complaints associated with 
this condition.
    (f) GM has corrected this condition in production. All vehicles 
produced after June 13, 2016, comply with the telltale lettering height 
specified in FMVSS No. 135.
    GM concluded by expressing the belief that the subject 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety, 
and that its petition to be exempted from providing notification of the 
noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and a remedy for the 
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 M. Giuseppe,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2016-23560 Filed 9-28-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P