FCA US LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Jeep Wrangler
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Otto G. Matheke III
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
12 September 2019
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 177 (Thursday, September 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48209-48211]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-19724]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0049; Notice 1]
FCA US, 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: FCA US, LLC, (f/k/a Chrysler Group LLC) ``FCA US'' has
determined that certain model year (MY) 2018 Jeep Wrangler motor
vehicles do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) No. 205, Glazing Material. FCA US filed a noncompliance report
dated April 25, 2019. FCA also petitioned NHTSA on May 15, 2019, and
later submitted a supplemental petition on May 31, 2019, for a decision
that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to
motor vehicle safety. This document announces receipt of FCA US's
petition.
DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is October 15,
2019.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data,
views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the
docket number and notice number cited in the title of this notice and
may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to the 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 the 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 for 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
[[Page 48210]]
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: FCA US has determined that certain MY 2018 Jeep
Wrangler motor vehicles do not fully comply with paragraph S5.1.1 of
FMVSS No. 205, Glazing Materials (49 CFR 571.205). FCA US filed a
noncompliance report dated April 25, 2019, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573,
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. FCA also
petitioned NHTSA on May 15, 2019, and later submitted a supplemental
petition on May 31, 2019, 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,
pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556,
Exemption for Inconsequential Defect or Noncompliance.
This notice of receipt, of FCA US's petition, is published under 49
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or
other exercises of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
II. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 1,804 MY 2018 Jeep Wrangler
motor vehicles, manufactured between October 13, 2018, and October 19,
2018, are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance: FCA US explains that the noncompliance is that
the liftgate privacy glass in the subject vehicles does not fully
comply with paragraph S5.1.1 of FMVSS No. 205. Specifically, the
liftgate glass in the subject vehicles contains the AS2 solar glazing
marking when they should have been marked with the AS3 privacy glazing
marking.
IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraph S5.1.1 of FMVSS No. 205 includes
the requirements relevant to this petition. Except as otherwise
specifically provided by FMVSS No. 205, glazing for use in multipurpose
passenger vehicles shall conform to the requirements for glazing for
use in trucks as specified in ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996 (incorporated by
reference, See Sec. 571.5).
V. Summary of FCA US' Petition:
FCA US 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, FCA US submitted the following
reasoning:
1. NHTSA recently described the glazing materials certification and
marking requirements as follows: ``A prime glazing manufacturer
certifies its glazing by adding to the marks required by section 7 of
ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996''. American National Standard Institute (``ANSI'')
standard ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996 requires privacy glass to meet AS3
requirements for light transmissibility and requires labeling the glass
with an AS3 marking.
2. FCA US states that the liftgate glass glazing of the affected
vehicles otherwise meets all marking and performance requirements of
FMVSS No. 205 and ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996. Since all transparent sections
of the affected glazing fully meet all the applicable performance
requirements, FCA US does not believe that the incorrect AS2 marking
impacts the ability of the glazing to satisfy the stated purpose or
affect the performance of the glazing intended by FMVSS No. 205.
3. FCA US stated that the subject glazing meets all applicable
performance requirements of FMVSS No. 205. FCA US stated their belief
that there is no safety performance implication associated with this
technical noncompliance.
4. In addition to meeting all the component level performance
requirements of FMVSS No. 205, the subject glazing also fully meets the
vehicle level installation requirements specified by FMVSS No. 205. The
subject glazing at 22% transmissibility is permitted in the rear window
location on the affected Jeep Wrangler vehicles.
5. The actual transmissibility of the subject glass glazing
(approximately 22%) is consistent with all the other glazing rearward
of the driver (i.e., left and right-side windows, and the left and
right rear quarter window glazing) on the affected Jeep Wrangler
vehicles. Accordingly, there is no reason for the customer, state
inspection authorities, service personnel, or anyone else to focus on
or detect any distinction involving the subject liftgate glass.
6. In the extremely unlikely event that a glazing corresponding to
the incorrect markings (i.e., solar glazing with 70% transmittance) was
installed on an affected vehicle, this would also be fully compliant to
all the requirements of FMVSS No. 205, including component level and
vehicle level marking requirements of the standard.
7. FCA US is not aware of any crashes, injuries, or customer
complaints associated with the condition.
8. NHTSA has previously granted inconsequential treatment for FMVSS
No. 205 glazing material marking noncompliances. Examples of the Agency
granting similar inconsequentiality petitions for incorrect markings
related to glazing include:
[cir] Supreme Corporation, NHTSA-2015-0126; N2, October 21, 2016
[cir] Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., NHTSA-2015-0066; N2,
August 22, 2015
[cir] Ford Motor Company, NHTSA-2014-0054; N2, March 2, 2015
[cir] Custom Glass Solutions Upper Sandusky Corp., NHTSA-2013-0124; N2,
January 23, 2015
[cir] General Motors, LLC, NHTSA-2013-0039; N2, April 28, 2015
[cir] Fiji Heavy Industries U.S.A. Inc., NHTSA-2013-0017; N2, September
25, 2013
[cir] Ford Motor Company, NHTSA-2010-0060; N2, May 30, 2013
[cir] Pilkington North America, Inc., NHTSA-2009-0092; N2, April 17,
2013
[cir] Pilkington Glass of Canada LTD., NHTSA-2006-24707; N2, July 11,
2006
[cir] General Motors, NHTSA-2005-21675; N2, August 25, 2005
[cir] Freightliner LLC, NHTSA-2002-15644; N2, November 24, 2003
[cir] Toyota Motors North America Inc, NHTSA-2002-12367; N2, March 4,
2003
[cir] Guardian Ind. Corp., NHTSA-2002-12319; N2, October 23, 2002
[cir] Ford Motor Company, NHTSA-1999-5210; N2, December 15, 1999
[cir] Western Star Trucks Inc, NHTSA-1998-3869; N2, December 1, 1998
FCA US 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.
[[Page 48211]]
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 FCA US 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 FCA US
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)
Otto G. Matheke III,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2019-19724 Filed 9-11-19; 8:45 am]
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