Hino Motors, Ltd., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Hino
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Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
22 February 2018
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 36 (Thursday, February 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7846-7847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03678]
[[Page 7846]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2018-0005; Notice 1]
Hino Motors, Ltd., 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: Hino Motors Sales USA, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hino
Motors, Ltd. (collectively referred to as ``Hino''), has determined
that certain model year (MY) 2014-2018 Hino heavy duty trucks do not
fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No.
101, Controls and Displays. Hino filed a noncompliance report dated
December 11, 2017, and subsequently petitioned NHTSA on December 21,
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 March 26, 2018.
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) website 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: Hino has determined that certain MY 2014-2018 Hino
heavy duty trucks do not fully comply with the requirements of Table 2
of FMVSS No. 101, Controls and Displays (49 CFR 571.101). Hino filed a
noncompliance report dated December 11, 2017, pursuant to CFR part 573,
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports, and subsequently
petitioned NHTSA on December 21, 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 their 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: Approximately 30,025 MY 2014-2018 Hino NJ8J,
NV8J, and NH8J heavy duty trucks, manufactured between September 1,
2013, and October 30, 2017, are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance: Hino describes the noncompliance as the
omission of the words ``Brake Air'' for the Low Brake Air Pressure
telltale as required in Table 2 of FMVSS No. 101.
IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraphs S5 and S5.2.1 as well as Table 2
of FMVSS No. 101, include the requirements relevant to this petition:
Each passenger car, multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck
and bus that is fitted with a control, a telltale, or an indicator must
meet the requirements listed in Table 1 or Table 2 of FMVSS No. 101 for
the location, identification, color, and illumination of that control,
telltale or indicator.
Each control, telltale and indicator that is listed in
column 1 of Table 1 or Table 2 of FMVSS No. 101 must be identified by
the symbol specified for it in column 2 or the word or abbreviation
specified for it in column 3 of Table 1 or Table 2.
V. Summary of Petition: Hino 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, Hino submitted the following reasoning:
1. Hino notes that the purpose of the low brake air pressure
telltale is to alert the driver to a low air condition, consistent with
the requirements of FMVSS No. 121, S5.1.5 (warning signal). The ISO
symbol for brake system malfunction together with an audible alert that
occurs in the subject vehicles would alert the driver to an air issue
with the brake system. Once alerted, the driver can check the actual
air pressure by reading the front and rear air gauges and seeing the
red contrasting color on the gauges indicating low pressure.
2. When the air pressure drops below 79 psi, the ISO symbol
illuminates and the audible alert sounds, both of which are described
in the Driver's/Owner's Manual of the subject vehicles. Therefore, even
if the telltale is not ``BRAKE AIR,'' it is possible for the driver to
be alerted that the air pressure is low.
3. There are two scenarios when a low brake air pressure condition
could exist: A parked vehicle and a moving vehicle. In both conditions,
the driver would be alerted to a low-air condition by the following
means:
Red contrasting color of the ISO symbol
Audible alert to the driver as long as the vehicle has low
air (and park brake is released)
Air pressure gauges for the front and rear air reservoirs
clearly indicating the level of air pressure in the system
[[Page 7847]]
Red contrasting color on the air gauges indicating low air
pressure
The functionality of both the parking brake system and the service
brake system remains unaffected by using the ISO symbol for brake
malfunction instead of ``Brake Air'' for the telltale in the subject
vehicles.
4. NHTSA Precedents--Hino notes that NHTSA has previously granted
petitions for decisions of inconsequential noncompliance for similar
brake telltale issues:
(a) Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0011, 82 FR 33551 (July 20, 2017), grant
of petition for Daimler Trucks North America, LLC.
(b) Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0046, 79 FR 78559 (December 30, 2014),
grant of petition for Chrysler Group, LLC
(c) Docket No. NHTSA-2012-0004, 78 FR 69931 (November 21, 2013),
grant of petition for Ford Motor Company.
In these instances, the vehicles displayed an ISO symbol for the
brake telltale instead of the wording required under FMVSS No. 101. The
ISO symbol in combination with other available warnings was deemed
sufficient to provide the necessary driver warnings.
Hino 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.
To view Hino's petition analyses in their entirety you can visit
https://www.regulations.gov by following the online instructions for
accessing the dockets and by using the docket ID number for this
petition shown in the heading of this notice.
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 Hino 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 Hino
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,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2018-03678 Filed 2-21-18; 8:45 am]
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