Denial of Motor Vehicle Defect Petition |
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Topics: Mercedes-Benz E350
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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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