FCA US, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Alfa Romeo Giulia
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Otto G. Matheke III
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
12 June 2020
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 114 (Friday, June 12, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35989-35990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12715]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0070; 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) 2017-2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia
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. FCA US
filed a noncompliance report dated June 6, 2019. FCA US subsequently
petitioned NHTSA on June 28, 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 July 13, 2020.
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 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 2017-2018 Alfa
Romeo Giulia motor vehicles do not fully comply with paragraph S4.3(c)
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). FCA US filed a noncompliance report dated June 6, 2019,
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility
and Reports. FCA US subsequently petitioned NHTSA on June 28, 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. Equipment and Vehicles Involved: Approximately 16,332 MY 2017-
2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia motor vehicles, manufactured between September
7, 2016, and August 2, 2018, are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance: FCA US explains that the noncompliance is that
the subject vehicles are equipped with vehicle placards that display
the incorrect manufacturer's recommended cold tire inflation pressures
as required by paragraph S4.3(c) of FMVSS No. 110 for the three
available tires sizes that can be installed on the vehicles.
Specifically, the vehicle placards show for: (1) Rear tires sized at
225/45R18 and a 91V rating labeled with an incorrect inflation pressure
of 35 pounds per square inch (PSI) instead of the correct
[[Page 35990]]
inflation pressure of 36 PSI; (2) rear tires sized at 225/40R19 and a
93V rating labeled with an incorrect inflation pressure of 37 PSI
instead of the correct inflation pressure of 39 PSI; and (3) rear tires
sized at 225/35R19 92W and 92Y tires labeled with an incorrect
inflation pressure of 33 PSI instead of the correct inflation pressure
of 35 PSI.
IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraph S4.3(c) 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(a) through (g). A vehicle manufacturer's recommended
cold tire inflation pressure for the front, rear, and spare tires, are
subject to the limitations of paragraph S4.3.4. For full-size spare
tires, the statement ``see above'' may, at the manufacturer's option,
replace manufacturer's recommended cold tire inflation pressure.
V. Summary of FCA US's Petition: The following views and arguments
presented in this section, V. Summary of FCA US's petition, are the
views and arguments provided by FCA US. They have not been evaluated by
the Agency and do not reflect the views of the Agency.
FCA US described the subject noncompliance and stated that the
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
FCA US submitted the following views and arguments in support of the
petition:
1. The incorrect pressure values are all within the range of
acceptable tire inflation and would not cause a Tire Pressure
Monitoring System (TPMS) alert.
The affected Alfa Romeo Giulia vehicles are FMVSS No. 138
compliant.
Consistent with FMVSS No. 138, the TPMS illuminates at
equal to or less than the pressure 25 percent below the correct vehicle
manufacturer's recommended cold inflation pressure. The TPMS warning
telltale will illuminate prior to the tire pressure dropping to the
range of 26-29 PSI on the affected Alfa Romeo Giulia vehicles, which is
significantly above the 20 PSI requirement called out and tested to in
FMVSS No. 139. FCA US believes the warning provided by the TPMS will
give drivers ample time to check and inflate tires well before low tire
inflation becomes a safety concern.
2. The subject tires passed a low inflation pressure performance
test.
The affected Alfa Romeo Giulia vehicles are equipped with
tires that are FMVSS No. 139 compliant.
Tire manufacturers are required to certify the tires meet
all applicable requirements of FMVSS No. 139.
FMVSS No. 139 specifies a low inflation pressure
performance test in which the tire is loaded to its maximum tire load
capacity and inflated to only 140 kPa (20 PSI), significantly less than
the TPMS telltale activation pressure for the subject Alfa Romeo Giulia
vehicles. In order to pass this test, the tires are loaded to 100
percent of the tire's maximum load-carrying capacity and then run on a
test axle for 1.5 hours at 20 PSI.
3. FCA US is not aware of any crashes, injuries, or customer
complaints associated with the condition.
4. NHTSA has previously granted inconsequential treatment for FMVSS
No. 110 noncompliance for incorrect vehicle placard values; see
examples below.
MY 2018 Buick Regal, See 84 FR 25117;
MY 2016 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible, See 81 FR 88728;
and
MY 2016-2017 Mercedes Benz GLE and GLS, See 84 FR 25118.
FCA US concluded 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 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. 2020-12715 Filed 6-11-20; 8:45 am]
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