Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Cooper Tires
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Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
5 June 2017
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 106 (Monday, June 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25909-25911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11526]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0027; Notice 1]
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Receipt of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Receipt of petition.
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SUMMARY: Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (Cooper), has determined that
certain Cooper Mastercraft Courser HSX Tour brand tubeless radial tires
do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
No. 139, New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Cooper filed a
[[Page 25910]]
noncompliance report dated April 12, 2017. Cooper also petitioned NHTSA
on April 12, 2017, 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 July 5, 2017.
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
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 Delivery: 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.
All comments and supporting materials 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 fullest 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 comments, background documentation, and supporting materials
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: Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (Cooper), has determined
that certain Cooper Mastercraft Courser HSX Tour brand tubeless radial
tires do not fully comply with paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139,
New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Cooper filed a
noncompliance report dated April 12, 2017, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573,
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Cooper also
petitioned NHTSA on April 12, 2017, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and
30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, 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 Cooper'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: Approximately 484 Cooper Mastercraft Courser
HSX Tour brand tubeless radial tires, size 275/55R20, manufactured
between March 6, 2017, and March 15, 2017, are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance: Cooper explains that the noncompliance is that
the inboard sidewalls of the subject tires are labeled with an
incorrect manufacturer's identification mark, and therefore do not
fully meet all applicable requirements of paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS
No. 139. Specially, the tires are labeled with the manufacturer's
identification mark ``UP'' instead of ``UT.''
IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S5.5.1 of FMVSS No. 139 states, in
pertinent part:
S5.5.1 Tire Identification Number.
. . .
(b) Tires manufactured on or after September 1, 2009. Each tire
must be labeled with the tire identification number required by 49
CFR part 574 on the intended outboard sidewall of the tire. Except
for retreaded tires, either the tire identification number or a
partial tire identification number, containing all characters in the
tire identification number, except for the date code and, at the
discretion of the manufacturer, any optional code, must be labeled
on the other sidewall of the tire. Except for retreaded tires, if a
tire does not have an intended outboard sidewall, the tire must be
labeled with the tire identification number required by 49 CFR part
574 on one sidewall and with either the tire identification number
or a partial tire identification number, containing all characters
in the tire identification number except for the date code and, at
the discretion of the manufacturer, any optional code, on the other
side wall.
V. Summary of Cooper's Petition: Cooper 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, Cooper submitted the following
reasoning:
a) While the 484 tires in the subject population contain an
improper plant code on the inboard side of the tire, they are in all
other respects properly labeled and meet all performance requirements
under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Plant code
identification has no bearing on the performance or operation of a tire
and does not create a safety concern to either the operator of the
vehicle on which the tires are mounted, or the safety of personnel in
the tire repair, retread and recycle industry.
b) Tire registration and traceability could be a concern in some
instances where there are plant code errors; however, in this instance,
the incorrect plant code is still tied to a Cooper Tire manufacturing
facility. Consumers will be able to accurately identify the responsible
manufacturer and there will be no issues with registering the tires.
Cooper Tire has modified its internal registration systems to allow for
the proper registration of the affected tires. Cooper Tire accepts tire
registration in a number of ways including electronically via the
company's Web site. Cooper Tire's online database has been modified to
accept registrations from consumers which include an incorrectly listed
UP plant code when the other identifying information (brand, serial
week) are accurately reported. Cooper Tire also accepts hard copy tire
registration cards, which it processes manually. As long as the
remaining identifying information (brand, serial and week) are listed
accurately on the registration card, Cooper Tire will process the
registration. All internal personnel responsible for manual processing
of tire registration cards have been made aware of the plant code error
and have been trained on how to accurately process and register tires
with the
[[Page 25911]]
incorrect plant code information. Lastly, Cooper Tire receives some
registration cards through Computerized Information and Management
Services, Inc. (``CIMS''), a third-party vendor that collects and
provides tire registration cards to a number of manufacturers,
including Cooper Tire. CIMS has been made aware of the plant code
error. CIMS has informed Cooper Tire that they will provide all
registration cards to Cooper Tire that have a Cooper Tire plant code
listed.
c) In the event Cooper Tire has to conduct a safety related recall
in connection with the 484 subject tires, Cooper Tire will include TINs
UT Yl FXJ 1017 to 1117 and UP Yl FXJ 1017 to 1117 in its recall
universe, so that there will be no issues with regard to identifying
the recall population. Should Cooper Tire receive any affected tires in
its service facilities for adjustments, the service technician will
record the proper TIN number to accurately record the data.
d) Cooper Tire has taken steps over the last year to add additional
checks in its processes to prevent TIN errors. One of those checks
includes implementing software that only allows for the plant to choose
the plant code from a drop down menu that includes only its specific
plant code. In this instance, however, the molds were transferred from
one Cooper Tire facility (Findlay) to another (Texarkana). The
Texarkana employee responsible for preparing the mold for use in the
Texarkana facility only modified the mold on one side and the error
went undetected. The mold containing the error was in production from
March 6th through March 15th and when the error was detected on March
30th, the plug error was corrected in the mold to prevent future
issues. Responsible Cooper Tire personnel will receive additional
training on these processes.
Cooper 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 tires that Cooper 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 Cooper
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. 2017-11526 Filed 6-2-17; 8:45 am]
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