Denial of Motor Vehicle Defect Petition

Topics:  Mercedes-Benz E350

Jeffrey Mark Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
14 October 2020

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 199 (Wednesday, October 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65136-65137]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22674]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2020-0095]


Denial of Motor Vehicle Defect Petition

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Denial of petition for a defect investigation.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the reasons for the denial of a 
petition submitted on April 10, 2020, by Mr. Surjit Singh to NHTSA's 
Office of Defects Investigation (ODI). The petition requests that the 
Agency investigate Model Year 2013 Mercedes-Benz E350 vehicles for 
alleged premature rear brake line corrosion failure. NHTSA opened 
Defect Petition DP20-004 to evaluate the petitioner's request. After 
reviewing the information provided by the petitioner and available 
NHTSA complaint and Early Warning Reporting (EWR) data, NHTSA has 
concluded that there is insufficient evidence to pursue further action 
at this time. Accordingly, the Agency has denied the petition.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Frederick LaMance, Vehicle Defects 
Division--D, Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey 
Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590 (telephone 202-366-9525).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By letter dated April 10, 2020, Mr. Singh 
(the petitioner) submitted a petition requesting that the Agency 
investigate 2013 Mercedes-Benz E350 vehicles for alleged premature rear 
brake line corrosion failure. Interested persons may petition NHTSA 
requesting that the Agency initiate an investigation to determine 
whether a motor vehicle or item of replacement equipment does not 
comply with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard or contains a 
defect that relates to motor vehicle safety (49 U.S.C. 30162(a)(2); 49 
CFR 552.1). Upon receipt of a properly filed petition, the Agency 
conducts a technical review of the petition, material submitted with 
the petition and any additional information (49 CFR 552.6). After 
conducting the technical review and considering appropriate factors, 
which may include, but are not limited to, the nature of the complaint, 
allocation of Agency resources, Agency priorities, the likelihood of 
uncovering sufficient evidence to establish the existence of a defect, 
and the likelihood of success in any necessary enforcement litigation, 
the Agency will grant or deny the petition. See 49 CFR 552.8.
    The petitioner alleges that his 2013 Mercedes E350 sedan with 
approximately 37,000 miles has a safety defect due to rusted brake 
lines. Mr. Singh stated that his vehicle was inspected by a Mercedes-
Benz dealership and received an estimate of $3,300 to repair the rear 
brake lines. He attached supplemental information including photos of 
his vehicle's rear brake lines, that had visible corrosion, as well as 
a service invoice from the brake line repair. He does not allege that 
his vehicle experienced brake line leakage or any effect on brake 
system performance before the corrosion concern was detected and 
repaired in a dealer inspection.

[[Page 65137]]

    On April 24, 2020, NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) 
opened Defect Petition DP20-004 to evaluate the petitioner's request. 
ODI conducted a search for all consumer complaints and Early Warning 
Reporting (EWR) data related to allegations of brake line corrosion or 
leakage in 2013 Mercedes-Benz E350 sedans and similarly equipped 
vehicles. The 2013 E350 is a fourth-generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class 
vehicle (W212 platform), which was first sold in the United States in 
2009 as a 2010 model. Mercedes-Benz has sold approximately 245,000 
model year 2010 through 2015 E-Class sedan and wagon vehicles in the 
United States with the same brake line design as the petitioner's 
vehicle.
    The subject brake lines are routed along the left undercarriage and 
have a corrosion protection coating system consisting of a base layer 
of zinc and an outer coating of polyvinyl fluoride. The Mercedes-Benz 
maintenance plan for the subject vehicles recommends brake line 
inspection every 12 months or 10,000 miles to detect and repair 
corrosion damage before it compromises brake circuit integrity. While 
there is potential for brake line corrosion and leakage in older 
vehicles operated in States with high road salt use in winter months, 
the low complaint counts do not provide evidence that such failures are 
occurring prematurely in the subject platform or that the failures are 
having an impact on brake system performance.
    Specifically, ODI's search for complaints and EWR data in 2013 
Mercedes-Benz E350 vehicles found no additional records related to the 
alleged defect. Expanding the search to all W212 platform vehicles 
identified just one incident, a complaint alleging unspecified brake 
line corrosion and leakage in a 2011 Mercedes-Benz E550 (NHTSA ID 
10902081). The complaint did not allege that the brake line leakage 
resulted in reduced brake performance, crash, or injury. The resulting 
failure rate of 0.4 failures per hundred thousand vehicles is extremely 
low for a population that includes vehicles that have been in service 
for over ten years and does not include any allegations of reduced 
brake performance, crash, or injury. After reviewing the available data 
and evaluating the safety risk posed by the condition specified in the 
petition, ODI has not identified evidence of a defect trend in the 
subject E-Class vehicles that would support opening a defect 
investigation into premature brake line corrosion failure.
    Additionally, the brake system of the subject vehicles is a dual-
circuit hydraulic system split front-to-rear. Brake line leakage 
resulting from undetected/unrepaired corrosion damage is not expected 
to result in diminished brake performance at the onset of a slow leak 
condition. Undetected brake fluid loss would first lead to brake 
warning lamp illumination from low brake fluid reservoir level. 
Continued operation with brake warning lamp illuminated could result in 
loss of rear brake function should the fluid loss continue until the 
rear circuit reservoir is empty.\1\ The subject vehicles would retain 
most of their braking capacity even after loss of the rear circuit, as 
the front circuit provides approximately 70 percent of the stopping 
force in the split front-to-rear design.
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    \1\ Rear circuit loss may occur more rapidly if corrosion damage 
results in a more significant brake line rupture.
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    After reviewing the available data and evaluating the safety risk 
posed by the condition cited in the petition, ODI has not identified 
evidence of a defect trend in the subject E-Class vehicles that would 
support opening a defect investigation into premature brake line 
corrosion failure. NHTSA is authorized to issue an order requiring 
notification and remedy of a defect if the Agency's investigation shows 
a defect in design, construction, or performance of a motor vehicle 
that presents an unreasonable risk to safety. 49 U.S.C. 30102(a)(9), 
30118. Since the information currently before the Agency is not 
indicative of a defect trend, it is unlikely that any investigation 
opened after granting this petition would result in an order concerning 
the notification and remedy of a safety-related defect. Therefore, upon 
full consideration of the information presented in the petition and the 
potential risks to safety, the petition is denied. The denial of this 
petition does not foreclose the Agency from taking further action if 
warranted, or lessen the potential for a future finding that a safety-
related defect exists based upon additional information the Agency may 
receive.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30162(d); delegations of authority at CFR 
1.95 and 501.8.

Jeffrey Mark Giuseppe,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2020-22674 Filed 10-13-20; 8:45 am]
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