Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: Mitsubishi
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Claude H. Harris
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
January 7, 2011
[Federal Register: January 7, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 5)]
[Notices]
[Page 1210-1211]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07ja11-100]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2010-0176; Notice 1]
Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., Receipt of Petition for
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance
Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (Mitsubishi) \1\ has
determined that an unknown number of replacement seat belts that it
imported do not include the installation, usage and maintenance
instructions required by paragraphs S4.1(k) and S4.1(l) of Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 209, Seat Belt Assemblies.
Mitsubishi filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573,
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports on October 25,
2010.
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\1\ Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (Mitsubishi), is
organized under the laws of the state of California. Mitsubishi
manufactures and imports motor vehicles and replacement equipment.
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Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see implementing rule
at 49 CFR part 556), Mitsubishi has petitioned for an exemption from
the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on
the basis that this noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle
safety.
This notice of receipt of Mitsubishi's petition is published under
49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or
other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
Mitsubishi explained that an unknown number of nonconforming seat
belt assemblies were sold by Mitsubishi to its authorized dealers in
the United States for resale and replacement purposes.
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.
Paragraphs S4.1(k) and S4.1(l) of FMVSS No. 209 requires:
(k) Installation instructions. A seat belt assembly, other than
a seat belt assembly installed in a motor vehicle by an automobile
manufacturer, shall be accompanied by an instruction sheet providing
sufficient information for installing the assembly in a motor
vehicle. The installation instructions shall state whether the
assembly is for universal installation or for installation only in
specifically stated motor vehicles, and shall include at least those
items specified in SAE Recommended Practice J800c, ``Motor Vehicle
Seat Belt Installations,'' November 1973. If the assembly is for use
only in specifically stated motor vehicles, the assembly shall
either be permanently and legibly marked or labeled with the
following statement, or the instruction sheet shall include the
following statement:
This seat belt assembly is for use only in [insert specific
seating position(s), e.g., ``front right''] in [insert specific
vehicle make(s) and model(s)].
(l) Usage and maintenance instructions. A seat belt assembly or
retractor shall be accompanied by written instructions for the
proper use of the assembly, stressing particularly the importance of
wearing the assembly snugly and properly located on the body, and on
the maintenance [o]f the assembly and periodic inspection of all
components. The instructions shall show the proper manner of
threading webbing in the hardware of seat belt assemblies in which
the webbing is not permanently fastened. Instructions for a
nonlocking retractor shall include a caution that the webbing must
be fully extended from the retractor during use of the seat belt
assembly unless the retractor is attached to the free end of webbing
which is not subjected to any tension during restraint of an
occupant by the assembly. Instructions for Type 2a shoulder belt
shall include a warning that the shoulder belt is not to be used
without a lap belt.
Mitsubishi described the noncompliance as the failure to provide
installation, use and maintenance instructions with the seat belt
assemblies as required in FMVSS No. 209 S4.1(k) and S4.1(l).
Mitsubishi argues that this noncompliance is inconsequential to
motor vehicle safety for the following reasons:
(1) The service seat belt assemblies in question are only made
available to Mitsubishi authorized dealerships for their use or
subsequence resale. The Mitsubishi parts ordering system used by
Mitsubishi dealers clearly identifies the correct service seat belt
components for any given model/model year/seat position combination and
the parts are unique to each seat belt and designed to assemble
properly only in their intended application.
(2) When ordering Mitsubishi replacement seat belt parts, the
dealer must refer to the Mitsubishi parts catalog to identify the
ordering part number with the information on the specific vehicle model
type, location and model year. Each replacement seat belt assembly is
packaged individually with a specific part number label to ensure
shipping the correct parts. Dealers routinely confirm that the part
received matches their order to validate that the correct parts were
received.
(3) Installation instructions for seat belts are readily available
in the Mitsubishi workshop manuals. Technicians at Mitsubishi
dealerships that replace seat belts have access to the installation
instruction information in the workshop manual. Installers other than
Mitsubishi dealership technicians also have seat belt installation
information available in the workshop manuals and are available on the
Mitsubishi Service Web site. As a result, the seat belt parts can be
successfully installed with the information already available even
though installation instructions were not accompanied in the
replacement seat belt assemblies.
(4) Instructions for proper use and maintenance are described in
the owner's manual which is installed in each vehicle. Therefore,
incorrect usage
[[Page 1211]]
and maintenance by the vehicle owner is highly unlikely.
Mitsubishi is also not aware of any customer or field reports of
replacement seat belt assemblies being incorrectly installed in the
subject applications as a result of the absence of the installation
instructions in the service part. Mitsubishi also is not aware of any
reports requesting the installation instruction, which is believed to
be indicative of the availability of this information from the other
sources mentioned above.
Finally, Mitsubishi has taken action to ensure that all replacement
seat belt assemblies are packaged with the required installation
instructions and has corrected all the replacement seat belt assemblies
in the inventory for shipment to dealers.
In view of the above, Mitsubishi believes that the described
noncompliance with FMVSS No. 209 is inconsequential and does not
present a risk to motor vehicle safety. Thus, Mitsubishi requests that
its petition, to exempt it from providing recall notification of
noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and remedying the recall
noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120, should be granted.
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the docket and
notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and be submitted by
any of the following methods:
a. By mail addressed to: U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
b. By hand delivery to 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 am to 5 pm except Federal Holidays.
c. Electronically: By logging onto the Federal Docket Management
System (FDMS) Web site at http://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the
online instructions for submitting comments. Comments may also be faxed
to 1-202-493-2251.
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 your comments were received, please
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the comments. Note that
all comments received will be posted without change to http://
www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
Documents submitted to a docket may be viewed by anyone at the
address and times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov by following the online
instructions for accessing the dockets. DOT's complete Privacy Act
Statement is available for review in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78).
The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received
before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will
be filed and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be
considered to the extent possible. When the petition is granted or
denied, notice of the decision will be published in the Federal
Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.
Comment closing date: February 7, 2011.
Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at
CFR 1.50 and 501.8).
Issued on: January 3, 2011.
Claude H. Harris
Acting Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2011-79 Filed 1-6-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P