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Maserati North America, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance Publication: Federal Register Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Byline: Otto G. Matheke III Date: 31 January 2022 Subjects: American Government  , Safety
Topic: Maserati |
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 20 (Monday, January 31, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4991-4993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01828]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2021-0079; Notice 1]
Maserati 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: Maserati North America, Inc., (MNA), has determined that
certain model year (MY) 2014-2021 Maserati Ghibli, Quattroporte, and
Levante motor vehicles do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection. MNA filed a
noncompliance report dated August 5, 2021. MNA subsequently petitioned
NHTSA on August 30, 2021, and amended its petition on January 13, 2022,
for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it
relates to motor vehicle safety. This document announces receipt of
MNA's petition.
DATES: Send comments on or before March 2, 2022.
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-
[[Page 4992]]
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
MNA has determined that certain MY 2014-2021 Maserati Levante,
Ghibli, and Quattroporte motor vehicles do not fully comply with
paragraph S4.5.1(b)(3) of FMVSS No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection (49
CFR 571.208).
MNA filed a noncompliance report dated August 5, 2021, pursuant to
49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.
MNA subsequently petitioned NHTSA on August 30, 2021, and amended its
petition on January 13, 2022, 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 the MNA's petition is published under 49
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or
another exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
II. Vehicles Involved
Approximately 78,588 MY 2017-2021 Maserati Levante, manufactured
between May 20, 2016 and July 13, 2021, and MY 2014-2021 Maserati
Ghibli and Quattroporte motor vehicles, manufactured between April 30,
2013, and July 13, 2021, are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance
MNA explains that the subject vehicles are equipped with air bag
warning labels that are affixed to the headliner, rather than either
side of the sun visor, as required by S4.5.1(b) (3) of FMVSS No. 208.
IV. Rule Requirements
Paragraph S4.5.1(b)(3) of FMVSS No. 208, includes the requirements
relevant to this petition. Vehicles certified to meet the requirements
specified in S19, S21, or S23 on or after September 1, 2003 shall have
a label permanently affixed to either side of the sun visor, at the
manufacturer's option, at each front outboard seating position that is
equipped with an inflatable restraint.
V. Summary of MNA's Petition
The following views and arguments presented in this section, ``V.
Summary of MNA's Petition,'' are the views and arguments provided by
MNA. They have not been evaluated by the Agency and do not reflect the
views of the Agency. MNA describes the subject noncompliance and
contends that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to
motor vehicle safety.
In support of its petition, MNA submits the following reasoning:
MNA says that the sun visor is affixed with an airbag alert label
that informs ``passengers to flip the sun visor to the down position''
to view the warning label. MNA also says that the although the airbag
warning label is affixed to the headliner, the label is clearly visible
when the sun visor is in the down position. In its petition, MNA
provides computer-aided design (CAD) illustrations of the airbag alert
label and noncompliant airbag warning label.
MNA states its belief that although the airbag warning label is not
positioned on the sun visor, in combination with the airbag alert
label, the airbag warning label is displayed as intended by FMVSS No.
208. In support of this argument, MNA cites a 2016 Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) on Vehicle Defect Reporting Requirements \1\ in which
MNA says NHTSA assessed ``the suitability of the headliner for safety
warning labels in Section IV, alternatives considered and proposed for
the label, and finds the headliner to be an effective location for a
safety warning label.'' MNA cites NHTSA as stating ``[t]he agency also
recognizes that the headliner above the sun visor may have similar
benefits to the visor without some of the disadvantages of the visor.''
as an effective location for safety warning labels.'' MNA further
states that NHTSA has found the headliner to be of similar benefit as
the sun visor for the placement of the air bag warning label. Id.
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\1\ See 81 FR 85478 (November 28, 2016).
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MNA says it ``is not aware of any crashes, injuries, or customer
complaints associated with this condition'' and that production is
being updated to correct the noncompliance in future vehicles.
MNA concludes that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as
it relates to motor vehicle safety and 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 MNA 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
[[Page 4993]]
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 MNA 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. 2022-01828 Filed 1-28-22; 8:45 am]
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