Pirelli Tire, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

Topics:  Pirelli

Otto G. Matheke III
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
10 March 2020

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13974-13975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04814]



[[Page 13974]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0007; Notice 2]


Pirelli Tire, LLC, 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: Pirelli Tire, LLC (Pirelli), has determined that certain 
Pirelli P Zero replacement tires do not comply with Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New Pneumatic Radial Tires for 
Light Vehicles. Pirelli filed a noncompliance report dated November 19, 
2018, and subsequently petitioned NHTSA on December 14, 2018, for a 
decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it 
relates to motor vehicle safety. This notice announces the grant of 
Pirelli's petition.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Abraham Diaz, Office of Vehicle Safety 
Compliance, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
telephone (202) 366-5310, facsimile (202) 366-5930.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Overview

    Pirelli has determined that certain Pirelli P Zero replacement 
tires do not fully comply with paragraphs S5.5(e) and (f) of FMVSS No. 
139, New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles (49 CFR 571.139). 
Pirelli filed a noncompliance report dated November 19, 2018, pursuant 
to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and 
Reports, and subsequently petitioned NHTSA on December 14, 2018, for an 
exemption from the notification and remedy requirement 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.
    Notice of receipt of Pirelli's petition was published, with a 30-
day public comment period on August 28, 2019, in the Federal Register 
(84 FR 45208). No comments were received. To view the petition and all 
supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System 
(FDMS) website at https://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online 
search instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2019-0007.''

II. Equipment Involved

    Approximately 28 Pirelli P Zero replacement tires, size 265/45R21 
104W, manufactured between July 10, 2018, and August 08, 2018, are 
potentially involved.

III. Noncompliance

    Pirelli explains that the noncompliance is due to a mold error and 
that as a result, the number of tread plies indicated on the sidewall 
of the subject tires does not match the actual number of plies in the 
tire construction as required by paragraphs S5.5(e) and (f) of FMVSS 
No. 139. Specifically, the tires were marked ``Tread: 2 Polyester 2 
Steel 1 Polyamide; Sidewall: 1 Polyamide'' when they should have been 
marked ``Tread: 2 Polyester 2 Steel 1 Polyamide; Sidewall: 2 
Polyester.''

IV. Rule Requirements

    Paragraphs S5.5(e) and (f) of FMVSS No. 139 provide the 
requirements relevant to this petition. Each tire must be marked on 
each sidewall with the information specified in paragraphs S5.5(a) 
through (d) and on one sidewall with the information specified in 
S5.5(e) through (i) according to the phase-in schedule specified in 
paragraph S7 of FMVSS No. 139. Specifically, each tire should be marked 
with the generic name of each cord material used in the plies (both 
sidewall and tread area) of the tire and the actual number of plies in 
the sidewall, and the actual number of plies in the tread area, if 
different.

V. Summary of Petition

    Pirelli 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, Pirelli submitted the following 
reasoning:
    1. The subject tires comply with the performance requirements and 
all other marking requirements of FMVSS No. 139.
    2. The tire construction information for the subject tires has been 
corrected in Pirelli's centralized R&D system that creates the drawings 
used in manufacturing the tire molds. Pirelli is in the process of 
correcting the subject molds before they are used for future 
production.
    3. Pirelli cited the Agency as saying that it ``believes that one 
measure of inconsequentiality to motor vehicle safety, in this case, is 
that there is no effect of the noncompliance on the operational safety 
of vehicles on which these tires are mounted. The safety of people 
working in the tire retread, repair, and recycling industries must also 
be considered and is a measure of inconsequentiality.'' See 83 FR 36668 
(July 30, 2018) (Grant of petition for determination of inconsequential 
noncompliance for Continental tires, for tires marked with the 
incorrect number of tread plies.
    4. Pirelli stated that the subject tires were manufactured as 
designed and meet or exceed all applicable FMVSS No. 139 performance 
standards. Furthermore, all of the sidewall markings related to tire 
service (load capacity, corresponding inflation pressure, etc.) are 
correct and the tires correctly show that they contain tread plies. 
Pirelli does not believe the mislabeling of these tires presents a 
safety concern for consumers or for the retreading and recycling 
personnel.
    5. Pirelli says that NHTSA has granted similar petitions involving 
tires manufactured by Cooper Tire and Goodyear (Dunlop). See 74 FR 
10804 (March 12, 2009), grant of petition submitted by Goodyear where 
tires were marked ``Tread 3 Polyester + 2 Steel,'' whereas the correct 
marking should have been ``Tread 2 Polyester + 2 Steel + 2 Polyamide;'' 
82 FR 17075 (April 7, 2017). See 82 FR 17075 (April 7, 2017) grant of 
petition submitted by Cooper Tire & Rubber Company where tires were 
marked ``TREAD 1 PLY NYLON + 2 PLY STEEL + 2 PLY POLYESTER,'' whereas 
the correct marking should have been ``TREAD 1 PLY NYLON + 2 PLY STEEL 
+ 1 PLY POLYESTER.'' See 83 FR 13002 (March 26, 2018), grant of 
petition submitted by Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. where tires were 
marked ``TREAD 5 PLIES STEEL'' whereas the correct marking should have 
been ``TREAD 4 PLIES STEEL.''
    6. Pirelli is not aware of any warranty claims, field reports, 
customer complaints, legal claims, or any incidents or injuries related 
to the subject condition.

VI. NHTSA's Analysis

    NHTSA has evaluated the merits of the inconsequential noncompliance 
petition submitted by Pirelli and agrees that this particular 
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. NHTSA 
believes that the true measure of inconsequentiality to motor vehicle 
safety, in this case, is that there is no effect of the noncompliances 
on the operational safety of vehicles on which these tires are mounted.
    Although tire construction affects the strength and durability, 
neither the Agency nor the tire industry provides information relating 
tire strength and durability to the ply cord material in the

[[Page 13975]]

tread and sidewall. Therefore, tire dealers and customers should 
consider the tire construction information along with other information 
such as load capacity, maximum inflation pressure, and tread wear, 
temperature, and traction ratings, to assess the performance 
capabilities of various tires.
    The Agency also believes the noncompliance will have no measurable 
effect on the safety of the tire retread, repair, and recycling 
industries. The use of steel cord construction in the sidewall and 
tread is the primary safety concern of these industries. In this case, 
because the sidewall marking indicates that some steel plies exist in 
the tire tread, this potential safety concern does not exist.
    In the Agency's judgment, the incorrect labeling of the tire 
construction information will have an inconsequential effect on motor 
vehicle safety because most consumers do not base tire purchases or 
vehicle operation parameters on the ply material in a tire.

VII. NHTSA's Decision

    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA finds that Pirelli has met 
its burden of persuasion that the FMVSS No. 139 noncompliance is 
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, 
Pirelli's petition is hereby granted and Pirelli is exempted from the 
obligation of providing notification of, and a remedy for, the 
noncompliance 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 equipment that Pirelli no longer controlled 
at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, the 
granting of this petition does not relieve equipment distributors and 
dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, or 
introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of 
the noncompliant equipment under their control after Pirelli 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. 2020-04814 Filed 3-9-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P