81 FR 16269 - Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 58 (March 25, 2016)

Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (CTA), has determined that certain CTA tires do not fully comply with paragraph S5.5(f) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139 New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. CTA filed a report dated December 11, 2015, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. CTA then petitioned NHTSA under 49 CFR part 556 requesting a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 58 (Friday, March 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16269-16270]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06731]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0003; Notice 1]


Continental Tire the Americas, 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: Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (CTA), has determined that 
certain CTA tires do not fully comply with paragraph S5.5(f) of Federal 
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139 New Pneumatic Radial 
Tires for Light Vehicles. CTA filed a report dated December 11, 2015, 
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility 
and Reports. CTA then petitioned NHTSA under 49 CFR part 556 requesting 
a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is April 25, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data, 
views, and arguments regarding this petition. Comments must refer to 
the docket and notice number cited in the title of this notice and be 
submitted by any of the following methods:
     Mail: Send comments 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.
     Hand Deliver: Deliver comments by hand 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 a.m. to 5 p.m. except 
Federal Holidays.
     Electronically: Submit comments 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 (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 http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.
    The petition, supporting materials, and all comments 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 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 documents 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 http://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 the 
Federal Register published on April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    I. Overview: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see 
implementing regulations at 49 CFR part 556), CTA submitted a petition 
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 CTA'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.
    II. Tires Involved: Affected are approximately 1,800 General Tire 
brand Grabber size LT265/75R16 112/109 Q LRC tires that were 
manufactured between December 10, 2010 and September 9, 2013.

[[Page 16270]]

    III. Noncompliance: CTA explains that due to a mold error, the 
number of tread plies indicated on the sidewall of the subject tires 
does not match the actual number of plies in the tire construction. The 
tires are marked ``PLIES: TREAD: 2 POLYESTER + 2 STEEL + 2 POLYAMIDE'' 
whereas the correct marking should be: ``PLIES: TREAD: 2 POLYESTER + 2 
STEEL + 1 POLYAMIDE.'' As a consequence, these tires do not meet 
requirements specified in paragraph S5.5(f) of FMVSS No. 139.
    IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S5.5(f) of FMVSS No. 139 states, in 
pertinent part:

    S5.5 Tire Markings. Except as specified in paragraph (a) through 
(i) of S5.5, each tire must be marked on each sidewall with the 
information specified in S5.5(a) through (d) and on one sidewall 
with the information specified in S5.5(e) through (i) according to 
the phase-in schedule specified in S7 of this standard. . .
    (f) The actual number of plies in the sidewall, and the actual 
number of plies in the tread area, if different.

    V. Summary of CTA's Petition: CTA described the subject 
noncompliance and stated its belief that the noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
    In support of its petition, CTA submitted the following information 
pertaining to the subject noncompliance:
    (a) CTA stated that the tires covered by this petition are labeled 
with incorrect information regarding the number of tread plies. The 
company noted that while the number of polyester and steel plies 
indicated on the sidewall is accurate, the number of polyamide plies 
indicated is incorrect. The company contended, however, that this 
mislabeling has no impact on the operational performance of these tires 
or on the safety of vehicles on which these tires are mounted. The 
company asserted that the tires meet or exceed all of the performance 
requirements of FMVSS No. 139.
    (b) CTA noted that NHTSA has concluded in response to numerous 
other petitions that this type of noncompliance is inconsequential to 
motor vehicle safety. CTA referenced notices that NHTSA has published 
in the Federal Register granting the following inconsequentiality 
petitions:
     Petition of Hankook Tire America Corp., 79 FR 30688 (May 
28, 2014);
     Petition of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC, 78 
FR 47049 (August 2, 2013);
     Petition of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 78 FR 47050 
(August 2, 2013).
    (C) CTA states that all tires covered by its petition meet or 
exceed the performance requirements of FMVSS No. 139, as well as the 
other labeling requirements of the standard.
    (d) CTA also states that it is not aware of any crashes, injuries, 
customer complaints, or field reports associated with the subject 
noncompliance.
    CTA additionally informed NHTSA that it has quarantined all 
existing inventory of the tires that contain the noncompliant tire 
sidewall labeling and has corrected the molds at the manufacturing 
plant so that no additional tires will be manufactured with the 
noncompliance.
    In summation, CTA believes that the described 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 to remedy 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 tires that CTA no longer 
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. 
However, any decision on this petition does not relieve equipment 
distributors and dealers from the prohibitions on the sale, offer for 
sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate 
commerce of the noncompliant tires under their control after CTA 
notified them that the subject noncompliance exists.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: Delegations of authority at 
49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8.

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2016-06731 Filed 3-24-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P