Volvo Trucks North America, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Topics:  Volvo VNL, Volvo VNM

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
18 October 2017

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 200 (Wednesday, October 18, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48572-48573]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-22516]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0015; Notice 2]


Volvo Trucks North America, 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: Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA), has determined that certain 
model year (MY) 2017 Volvo VNL and 2017 Volvo VNM heavy duty trucks do 
not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 
120, Tire selection and rims and motor home/recreation vehicle trailer 
load carrying capacity information for motor vehicles with a GVWR of 
more than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds). VTNA filed a noncompliance 
information report dated February 9, 2017. VTNA also petitioned NHTSA 
on February 28, 2017, and revised its petition on April 29, 2017, for a 
decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it 
relates to motor vehicle safety.

ADDRESSES: For further information on this decision contact Kerrin 
Bressant, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-1110, 
facsimile (202) 366-5930.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Overview: Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA), has determined that 
certain model year (MY) 2017 Volvo VNL and 2017 Volvo VNM heavy duty 
trucks do not fully comply with paragraph S5.2(b) of Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 120, Tire selection and rims and 
motor home/recreation vehicle trailer load carrying capacity 
information for motor vehicles with a GVWR of more than 4,536 kilograms 
(10,000 pounds). VTNA filed a noncompliance report dated February 9, 
2017, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance 
Responsibility and Reports. VTNA also petitioned NHTSA on February 28, 
2017, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, 
and revised its petition on April 29, 2017, to obtain 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.
    Notice of receipt of the petition was published with a 30-day 
public comment period, on July 20, 2017, in the Federal Register (82 FR 
33549). No comments were received. To view the petition and all 
supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System 
(FDMS) Web site at: https://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the 
online search instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2017-0015.''
    II. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 862 MY 2017 Volvo VNL and 2017 
Volvo VNM heavy duty trucks, manufactured between August 15, 2016, and 
November 10, 2016, are potentially involved.
    III. Noncompliance: VTNA explains that the noncompliance is that 
the wheels on the subject vehicles incorrectly identify the rim size as 
24.5'' x 8.25'' instead of 22.5'' x 8.25'', and therefore do not meet 
the requirements of paragraph S5.2(b) of FMVSS No. 120. Specifically, 
the marking error overstates the wheel diameter by 2''.
    IV. Rule Text: paragraph S5.2 of FMVSS No. 120 states:

    S5.2 Rim marking. Each rim or, at the option of the manufacturer 
in the case of a single-piece wheel, wheel disc shall be marked with 
the information listed in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this 
paragraph, in lettering not less than 3 millimeters high, impressed 
to a depth or, at the option of the manufacturer, embossed to a 
height of not less than 0.125 millimeters . . .
    (b) The rim size designation, and in case of multipiece rims, 
the rim type designation. For example: 20 x 5.50, or 20 x 5.5.

    V. Summary of VTNA's Petition: VTNA 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, VTNA referenced a letter to NHTSA, 
dated December 5, 2016, from Arconic Wheel and Transportation Products 
(Arconic), which is the rim manufacturer, and provided the following 
reasoning:
    1. A 24.5'' inch tire will not seat on the rim; therefore, if 
someone tries to mount a 24.5'' tire to the rim, it will not hold air 
and therefore cannot be inflated.
    2. When tires are replaced, the technician will select the tire 
based on the size and rating of the tire being replaced. When Volvo 
manufactured the vehicle, the tire used was a 22.5'' (i.e. the correct 
size for the rim). Therefore, the tires installed by Volvo have the 
correct size on the sidewall of the tire.
    3. Volvo is required to list the tires size and inflation pressures 
on the certification label as required by 49 CFR 567. The information 
printed on the label is the correct size, a 22.5'' inch tire and 
reflects the tires that were installed when manufactured. The 
certification label is located inside the driver's door and can be 
easily accessed by the tire installer.
    Volvo 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 VTNA's petition analyses in its entirety you can visit 
https://www.regulations.gov by following the online instructions for 
accessing the dockets and by using the docket ID

[[Page 48573]]

number for this petition shown in the heading of this notice.

NHTSA Decision

    NHTSA Analysis: VTNA explains that the noncompliance is that the 
wheels on the subject vehicles incorrectly identify the rim size as 
24.5'' x 8.25'' instead of 22.5'' x 8.25'', and therefore do not meet 
the requirements of paragraph S5.2(b) of FMVSS No. 120. Specifically, 
the marking error overstates the wheel diameter by 2''.
    NHTSA has reviewed VTNA's analyses that the subject noncompliance 
is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety and provides the following 
analysis:
    When it comes to mating a tire and rim combination, it becomes very 
apparent very quickly that either an oversized tire on a rim or an 
undersized tire on the same sized rim will not properly seat to that 
rim. In this particular case (the former) as VTNA has mentioned in its 
petition, if someone tries to mount a 24.5'' inch tire on an undersized 
rim (22.5''), it will not hold air and therefore cannot be inflated. 
The inability to mount the incorrect tire on the rim precludes one's 
ability to actually drive with an incorrect tire-rim combination on 
public roadways. Furthermore, FMVSS No. 120 paragraph S5.3 requires 
vehicles be labeled with proper tire/rim size combinations. This 
additional information is available to provide the vehicle operator or 
technician with the correct tire/rim size information.
    NHTSA's Decision: In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA finds 
that VTNA has met its burden of persuasion that the FMVSS No. 120 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. 
Accordingly, VTNA's petition is hereby granted and VTNA is consequently 
exempted from the obligation to provide notification of, and remedy 
for, the subject noncompliance in the affected vehicles 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 vehicles that VTNA no longer controlled at 
the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, the 
granting of 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 VTNA 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. 2017-22516 Filed 10-17-17; 8:45 am]
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