General Motors LLC, Receipt of Third Petition for Inconsequentiality and Notice of Consolidation |
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Topics: General Motors, Takata
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Jonathan C. Morrison
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
9 April 2018
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 68 (Monday, April 9, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15233-15236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07188]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0124; Notice 3]
General Motors LLC, Receipt of Third Petition for
Inconsequentiality and Notice of Consolidation
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of petition and decision denying request for
deferral of determination.
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SUMMARY: On January 2, 2018, TK Holdings Inc. (Takata) filed a defect
information report (DIR), in which it determined that a defect existed
in certain passenger-side air bag inflators that it manufactured,
including passenger inflators that it supplied to General Motors, LLC
(GM) for use in certain GMT900 vehicles. GM has petitioned the Agency
for a decision that, because of differences in inflator design and
vehicle integration, the equipment defect determined to exist by Takata
is inconsequential as it relates to
[[Page 15234]]
motor vehicle safety in the GMT900 vehicles, and that GM should
therefore be relieved of its notification and remedy obligations. This
notice serves to make the public aware of GM's pending request to the
agency and the period for public comment. It does not address GM's
substantive claims, nor legal arguments or interpretations asserted by
GM.
DATES: The closing date for comments is May 9, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data,
views, and arguments regarding this petition for inconsequentiality.
Comments must refer to the docket and notice number cited in the title
of this notice and be submitted by one of the following methods:
Internet: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the
online instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12-140,
Washington, DC 20590.
Hand Delivery or Courier: U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Room W12-140,
Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Facsimile: (202) 493-2251.
You may call the Docket at (202) 366-9324.
Note that all comments received will be posted without change to
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided. Thus, submitting such information makes it public. You may
wish to read the Privacy Act notice, which can be viewed by clicking on
the ``Privacy and Security Notice'' link in the footer of http://www.regulations.gov. DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement is available
for review in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR
19477-78).
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. 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For legal issues: Stephen Hench,
Office of the Chief Counsel, NCC-100, National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590
(telephone: (202) 366-5263).
For general information regarding NHTSA's investigation into Takata
air bag inflator ruptures and the related recalls: http://www.safercar.gov/rs/takata/index.html.
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
I. Background
On May 4, 2016, NHTSA issued, and Takata agreed to, an Amendment to
the November 3, 2015 Consent Order (the ``Amendment''), under which
Takata is bound to declare a defect in all frontal driver and passenger
air bag inflators that contain a phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate
(PSAN)-based propellant and do not contain a moisture-absorbing
desiccant. Such defect declarations are being made on a rolling basis,
with the first declaration due May 16, 2016, the second declaration due
December 31, 2016, and the third declaration due December 31, 2017. See
Amendment at ] 14.
GM's May 2016 & January 2017 DIRs
Takata timely submitted the first scheduled equipment DIRs on May
16, 2016. See Recall Nos. 16E-042, 16E-043, and 16E-044. Those DIRs
included non-desiccated passenger inflators, designated as types SPI YP
and PSPI-L YD, that were installed as original equipment on certain
motor vehicles manufactured by GM (the ``covered passenger
inflators''), as well as other non-desiccated passenger inflators
installed as original equipment on motor vehicles manufactured by a
number of other automakers, which are not at issue here.
The Takata filing triggered GM's obligation to file a DIR for the
affected GM vehicles. See 49 CFR part 573; Amendment at ] 16; November
3, 2015 Coordinated Remedy Order at ] 46. GM ultimately submitted two
DIRs on May 27, 2016. See Recall Nos. 16V-381 (for vehicles in Zone A)
and 16V-383 (for vehicles in Zone B). On November 15, 2016, GM
petitioned the Agency, under 49 U.S.C. 30118(d), 30120(h) and 49 CFR
part 556, for a decision that the equipment defect determined to exist
by Takata is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety in
the GMT900 vehicles. See GM's Petition for Inconsequentiality and
Request for Deferral of Determination Regarding Certain GMT900 Vehicles
Equipped with Takata ``SPI YP'' and ``PSPI-L YD'' Passenger Inflators
(the ``First Petition for Inconsequentiality'' or ``First Petition'').
In a Notice published in the Federal Register on November 28, 2016, the
Agency published notice of the First Petition and granted two
administrative requests, accepting the petition out of time and
granting GM additional time to provide data in support of the petition.
See 81 FR 85681.
On January 3, 2017, Takata timely submitted the second scheduled
equipment DIRs for additional covered passenger inflators. See Recall
Nos. 17E-001, 17E-002, and 17E-003. Again, the Takata filing triggered
GM's obligation to file a DIR for the affected GM vehicles. See 49 CFR
part 573; Amendment at ] 16; Third Amendment to Coordinated Remedy
Order at ] 32. GM ultimately submitted its DIRs on January 10, 2017,
and notified NTHSA of its intention to file an inconsequentiality
petition. See Recall Nos. 17V-010, 17V-019, and 17V-021.\1\
Contemporaneous with its DIRs, GM submitted to the Agency a Petition
for Inconsequentiality and Request for Deferral of Determination
Regarding Certain GMT900 Vehicles Equipped with Takata ``SPI YP'' and
``PSPI-L YD'' Passenger Inflators Subject to January 2017 Takata
Equipment DIR Filings (the ``Second Petition for Inconsequentiality''
or ``Second Petition'').
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\1\ When a manufacturer files a petition for inconsequentiality,
the affected DIR will not be made public unless and until the Agency
denies the petition.
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On September 11, 2017, the Agency published a notice of receipt of
the Second Petition and, as GM's Second Petition was virtually
identical to its First Petition (both involved the same covered
passenger inflators and same vehicle platform, relied upon the same
purported evidence, and would rely upon the same forthcoming report),
consolidated the Second Petition with the First Petition under Docket
No. NHTSA-2016-0124. See 82 FR 42718.
GM's January 9, 2018 DIRs
Takata timely submitted \2\ the third scheduled equipment DIRs on
January 2, 2018. Those DIRs included additional covered passenger
inflators. Once more, the Takata filing triggered GM's obligation to
file a DIR for the affected GM vehicles. See 49 CFR part 573; Amendment
at ] 16; Third Amendment to Coordinated Remedy Order at ] 32. GM
submitted its DIRs on January 9, 2018.\3\ Therein, in accordance with
49 CFR 573.6(c)(8)(iii), GM notified
[[Page 15235]]
NHTSA of its intention to file a petition for inconsequentiality and
contemporaneously submitted to the Agency a Petition for
Inconsequentiality Regarding Certain GMT900 Vehicles Equipped with
Takata ``SPI YP'' and ``PSPI-L YD'' Passenger Inflators Subject to
January 2018 Takata Equipment DIR Filings (the ``Third Petition for
Inconsequentiality'' or ``Third Petition''). GM's Third Petition
requested that NHTSA grant GM's First, Second and Third Petitions or,
in the alternative, that NHTSA defer its decision on the First, Second,
and Third Petitions until March 31, 2018, which would allow GM time to
complete further study and analysis.
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\2\ December 31, 2017 was a Sunday, and Monday, January 1, 2018
was a federal holiday.
\3\ When a manufacturer files a petition for inconsequentiality,
the corresponding DIR will not be made public unless and until the
Agency denies the petition.
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II. Class of Motor Vehicles Involved
GM's Third Petition involves certain ``GMT900'' vehicles that
contain the covered passenger inflators (designated as inflator types
``SPI YP'' and ``PSPI-L YD''). GMT900 is a GM-specific vehicle platform
that forms the structural foundation for a variety of GM trucks and
sport utility vehicles, including: Chevrolet Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra
1500, Chevrolet Silverado 2500/3500, GMC Sierra 2500/3500, Chevrolet
Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Avalanche, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon
XL, Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac Escalade ESV, and Cadillac Escalade
EXT. The Third Petition involves the following GMT900 vehicles:
In Zone A, affected model year 2013 GMT900 vehicles. Zone
A comprises the following states and U.S. territories: Alabama,
California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South
Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern
Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands. See Amendment at
] 7.a.
In Zone B, affected model year 2010 GMT900 vehicles. Zone
B comprises the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District
of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri,
Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. See
Amendment at ] 7.b.
In Zone C, affected model year 2009 GMT900 vehicles. Zone
C comprises the following states: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho,
Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New
Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota,
Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. See Amendment at ]
7.c.
III. Summary of GM's Third Petition for Inconsequentiality
GM's Third Petition relies on arguments, data, and analysis in its
First and Second Petitions (and supplemental brief thereto),
information submitted to the Agency during briefings with NHTSA, and
additional arguments and engineering analysis as presented in the Third
Petition. See Third Petition at 1, 3. According to the Third Petition,
GM's originally planned Orbital ATK (``OATK'') inflator study is now
complete,\4\ which GM argues demonstrates the covered passenger
inflators in subject GMT900 vehicles ``will continue to operate safely
for decades, even in the highest temperature and humidity regions''--
i.e., that the covered passenger inflators, as integrated into the
GMT900 vehicles, do not present an unreasonable risk to safety. See id.
at 3.
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\4\ To supplement its internal analysis, GM retained a third-
party expert, OATK, to conduct a long-term aging study to estimate
the service life expectancy of the covered passenger inflators in
the GMT900 vehicles. See First Petition at 12. When NHTSA previously
deferred a decision on GM's First Petition, one of the conditions of
that deferral was that GM provide NHTSA with monthly updates on this
study.
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According to the Third Petition, GM's position is based upon the
following: field data, including GM's estimated 63,000 Takata passenger
air bag inflator deployments in GMT900 vehicles without a reported
rupture and ballistic tests of 4,205 covered passenger inflators
without a rupture or sign of abnormal deployment, and results of the
OATK study of inflators artificially exposed to additional humidity and
temperature cycling without a rupture or abnormal deployment, and
accompanying statistical interpretation of those results. Id. at 12-15.
GM further states that the covered passenger inflators are not used
by any other original equipment manufacturer and, further, that the
covered inflators have a number of unique design features that
influence burn rates and internal ballistic dynamics, including greater
vent-area-to-propellant-mass ratios, steel end caps, and thinner
propellant wafers. See id. at 6. In addition, GM states that the
physical environment of the GMT900 vehicles better protects the covered
passenger inflators from temperature cycling that can lead to
propellant degradation and, ultimately, inflator rupture. See id. at 7.
This notice serves to make the public aware of GM's pending request
to the agency and the period for public comment. Accordingly, it does
not address the substantive claims, or legal arguments or
interpretations, asserted by GM.
IV. Consolidation
GM's Third Petition for Inconsequentiality involves newer model
years of the same covered passenger inflators (i.e., frontal passenger
inflator types ``SPI YP'' and ``PSPI-L YD''), the same vehicle platform
(i.e., the GMT900), and similar purported evidence to support the
safety of the inflators (e.g., estimated field deployments, ballistic
testing), and relies upon the same OATK study as GM's First and Second
Petitions. Accordingly, it is appropriate to evaluate the First,
Second, and Third Petitions together. In the interest of clarity,
consistency, and efficiency, the Agency is consolidating the Third
Petition with the First and Second Petitions (the ``Consolidated
Petitions'') under Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0124.
V. Request To Defer Decision on Petition
GM states it believes the evidence it has thus far presented
``fully supports'' the relief it requests in the Consolidated
Petitions. Id. at 17. Alternatively, GM requests that NHTSA defer its
decision until March 31, 2018 Id. According to GM, this would allow it
to conduct further studies and analysis that can develop an estimate of
the covered inflators' likely service life beyond 30 years, as well as
a predictive model of service-life estimates to account for inflator
design and vehicle integration. See id.
NHTSA's grant of GM's request to defer a decision on the First
Petition until August 31, 2017 so that GM could provide additional
evidence, including concluding the OATK study, was unprecedented. As
NHTSA noted in granting that request, ``[o]rdinarily, under 49 CFR
556.4(b)(5), an inconsequentiality petition must set forth all data,
views, and arguments supporting that petition'' \5\ at the time of the
filing. Decision deferrals for inconsequentiality petitions are not
permitted, and permitting that practice would provide manufacturers
with an opportunity to endlessly delay remedy of vehicles in need of
repair. Here, one important factor in NHTSA's decision to grant the
deferral was GM's assertion that remedy parts would quickly be
available to the public in the event the petition was denied. NHTSA's
extraordinary grant of additional time to present information allowed
GM until
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August 31, 2017 to provide data, and that date has passed. However,
following notice and an opportunity for comment, any decision on an
inconsequentiality petition can be reversed based on the presentation
of new evidence. 49 CFR 556.8. Accordingly, GM's request that NHTSA
defer decision on the Third Petition until March 31, 3017 is herein
denied. However, until NHTSA renders a decision on GM's Petitions, the
Agency will continue to accept and, to the extent feasible, consider
documents submitted relevant to the Petitions, which NHTSA will make
available for public comment in Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0124.
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\5\ General Motors LLC, Receipt of Petition for
Inconsequentiality and Decision Granting Request To File Out of Time
and Request for Deferral of Determination, 81 FR 85681, 85683-84.
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Accordingly, NHTSA hereby gives notice of its receipt of General
Motors LLC's Petition for Inconsequentiality Regarding Certain GMT900
Vehicles Equipped with Takata ``SPI YP'' and ``PSPI-L YD'' Passenger
Inflators Subject to January 2018 Takata Equipment DIR Filings. And it
is hereby ordered that:
1. The period for public comment on GM's Third Petition shall run
from the publication date of this notice through May 9, 2018;
2. GM's Third Petition is consolidated with the First and Second
Petitions; and
3. GM's request for a deferral of NHTSA's decision on its First,
Second, and Third Petitions to March 31, 2018, is denied.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30101, et seq., 30118, 30120(h), 30162,
30166(b)(1), 30166(g)(1); delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.95(a);
49 CFR parts 556, 573, 577.
Issued: April 3, 2018.
Jonathan C. Morrison,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2018-07188 Filed 4-6-18; 8:45 am]
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