Toyota Motor North America, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Toyota Tundra
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Otto G. Matheke III
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
27 February 2020
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11446-11447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03961]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0099; Notice 1]
Toyota Motor North America, Inc., 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: Toyota Motor North America, Inc., (Toyota) has determined that
certain model year (MY) 2019-2020 Toyota Tundra motor vehicles do not
fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No.
110, Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer
Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of
4,536 Kilograms (10,000 Pounds) or Less. Toyota filed a noncompliance
report dated September 18, 2019. Toyota subsequently petitioned NHTSA
on October 7, 2019, and later amended its petition on January 3, 2020,
for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it
relates to motor vehicle safety. This document announces receipt of
Toyota's petition.
DATES: Send comments on or before March 30, 2020.
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 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 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: Toyota has determined that certain MY 2019-2020 Toyota
Tundra motor vehicles do not fully comply with paragraph S4.3(d) of
FMVSS No. 110, Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation
Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles
with a GVWR of 4,536 Kilograms (10,000 Pounds) or Less (49 CFR
571.110). Toyota filed a noncompliance report dated September 18, 2019,
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility
and Reports. Toyota subsequently petitioned NHTSA on October 7, 2019,
and later amended on January 3, 2020, 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 Toyota'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. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 1,667 MY 2019-2020 Toyota
Tundra motor vehicles, manufactured between March 28, 2019, and August
19, 2019, are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance: Toyota explains that the noncompliance is that
the subject vehicles have tire information labels that contain spare
tire size information that does not match the installed spare tire
size.
IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraph S4.3(d) of FMVSS No. 110 includes
the requirements relevant to this petition. Each vehicle, except for a
trailer or incomplete vehicle, shall show the information specified in
paragraph S4.3(d) Tire size designation, indicated by the headings
``size'' or ``original tire size'' or ``original size,'' and ``spare
tire'' or ``spare,'' for the tires installed at the time of the first
purchase for purposes other than resale. For full-size spare tires, the
statement ``see above'' may, at the manufacturer's option replace the
tire size designation. If no spare tire is provided, the word ``none''
must replace the tire size designation.
V. Summary of Toyota's Petition: The following views and arguments
presented in this section, V. Summary of Toyota's Petition, are the
views and arguments provided by Toyota. They have not been evaluated by
the Agency and do not reflect the views of the Agency.
Toyota described the subject noncompliance and stated its belief
that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety. Toyota believes that the noncompliance is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for the following reasons:
1. There is no issue with the spare tire installed on the vehicle;
it is a tire/wheel combination that is designed for this vehicle and
meets all other applicable FMVSS. In addition, the cold tire inflation
pressure specified on the placard is correct and is the recommended
pressure for both spare tire sizes.
[[Page 11447]]
a. The spare tire installed on the vehicle (P255/70R18) meets all
applicable FMVSS. It is the appropriate temporary spare tire that was
designed for the vehicle and meets the vehicle loading requirements.
Only the spare tire size information indicated on the placard is
incorrect and reflects the size of the spare that was used on the
Tundra prior to a production change. All the other information on the
placard is accurate, including the cold tire inflation pressure.
b. In addition, if the vehicle owner wanted to check the size of
the spare tire that is installed on the vehicle, the information is in
the owner's manual and is also molded into the spare tire sidewall.
c. Given the intent of FMVSS No. 110, S4.3(d), Toyota believes
that, because the spare tire installed on the vehicle is the
appropriate tire for the vehicle performance and loading requirements,
there is no risk to motor vehicle safety.
2. There is also no issue if the installed spare tire is replaced
with one of the sizes indicated on the incorrect placard. This would
also be a tire/wheel combination that is designed for this vehicle and
would meet all other applicable FMVSS because the replacement spare
tire would be the same size as the spare tire originally equipped on
the Tundra prior to the production change and would be the same size as
the four main tires on the subject vehicles.
a. The spare tire size indicated on the incorrect placard was also
designed for the subject vehicles and meets all applicable FMVSS. This
spare tire wheel combination (P275/65R18) is the same size as the four
main tires installed on the subject vehicles. It was used as a spare
tire on the prior model year Tundra and on the 2019MY Tundra prior to
the adoption of the current spare tire size (P255/70R18).
b. In addition, the recommended spare tire inflation pressure and
wheel size (R18) are the same for the subject vehicles as the prior
model year Tundra.
c. Because both spare tire sizes are appropriate for the vehicle
loading specifications, were designed for the subject vehicles, meet
all applicable FMVSS, and the wheel size and recommended tire pressure
are the same, Toyota believes there is no risk to occupant safety
should a P275/65R18 tire be used in place of the one equipped on the
vehicle.
3. Toyota is unaware of any owner complaints, field reports, or
allegations of hazardous circumstances concerning the incorrect spare
tire placard in the subject vehicles. Toyota has searched its records
for reports or other information concerning the tire placard and spare
tire in the subject vehicles. No owner complaints, field reports, or
allegations of hazardous circumstances concerning the placard or tire
were found.
4. NHTSA has previously granted at least five similar petitions for
inconsequential noncompliance for inaccurate tire placards. A brief
summary of each petition is provided below:
a. Daimler Chrysler Corporation, 73 FR 11462 (March 3, 2008) Dodge
Dakota pickup trucks had the spare tire size indicated on the placard
that did not match the size of the spare tire installed on the vehicle.
b. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC (MBUSA) 78 FR 43967 (July 22, 2013)
Vehicle placard on the affected vehicles incorrectly identified the
tire size designation of the spare tire in the vehicle.
c. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., 81 FR 88728 (December 8,
2016) Subject vehicles had a tire placard label that was misprinted
with an incorrect tire size as compared to the tires the vehicle was
equipped with.
d. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, 82 FR 5640 (January 18, 2017) The tire
information placard affixed to the vehicles' B-pillar incorrectly
identified the spare tire size.
e. General Motors, LLC, 84 FR 25117 (May 30, 2019) Subject vehicles
were equipped tire placards that stated the spare tire size is ``None''
when in fact it should have been ``T125/70R17'' and omitted the cold
tire pressure for the spare tire when it should have read ``420 kPa, 60
psi''.
Toyota concludes 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 vehicles that Toyota 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 Toyota
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. 2020-03961 Filed 2-26-20; 8:45 am]
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