81 FR 51269 - Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 149 (August 3, 2016)

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (Cooper), has determined that certain MULTI-MILE Grand Tour LS passenger vehicle tires do not fully comply with paragraph S5.5.1(b) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New Pneumatic Tires Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Cooper filed a report dated May 24, 2016, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Cooper then petitioned NHTSA under 49 CFR part 556 for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 149 (Wednesday, August 3, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51269-51270]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18307]



[[Page 51269]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0071; Notice 1]


Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 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: Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (Cooper), has determined that 
certain MULTI-MILE Grand Tour LS passenger vehicle tires do not fully 
comply with paragraph S5.5.1(b) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New Pneumatic Tires Radial Tires for Light 
Vehicles. Cooper filed a report dated May 24, 2016, pursuant to 49 CFR 
part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Cooper 
then petitioned NHTSA under 49 CFR part 556 for a decision that the 
subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle 
safety.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is September 2, 
2016.

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 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 a 
Federal Register notice published on April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Overview: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) 
and 30120(h) and their implementing regulations at 49 CFR part 556, 
Cooper 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 as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
    This notice of receipt of Cooper'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 37 Cooper Tire 
MULTI-MILE Grand Tour LS Size 205/70R15 Tubeless Radial Tires 
manufactured between March 24, 2016 and March 29, 2016.
    III. Noncompliance: Cooper explains that the noncompliance is that 
the outboard sidewalls of the subject tires are labeled with an 
incorrect manufacturer's identification mark and therefore do not fully 
meet all applicable requirements of paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 
139. Specifically, the tires are labeled with the manufacturer's 
identification mark ``Y9,'' assigned to a manufacturing facility in 
P.T. Gadjah Tunggual, Kabupaten Tangerang, Jawa Barat, Indonesia, 
instead of ``U9,'' assigned to Cooper's manufacturing facility in 
Tupelo, Mississippi, where the tires were actually produced.
    IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S5.5.1 of FMVSS No. 139 requires in 
pertinent part:

S5.5.1 Tire Identification Number.
    . . .
    (b) Tires manufactured on or after September 1, 2009. Each tire 
must be labeled with the tire identification number required by 49 
CFR part 574 on the intended outboard sidewall of the tire. Except 
for retreaded tires, either the tire identification number or a 
partial tire identification number, containing all characters in the 
tire identification number, except for the date code and, at the 
discretion of the manufacturer, any optional code, must be labeled 
on the other sidewall of the tire. Except for retreaded tires, if a 
tire does not have an intended outboard sidewall, the tire must be 
labeled with the tire identification number required by 49 CFR part 
574 on one sidewall and with either the tire identification number 
or a partial tire identification number, containing all characters 
in the tire identification number except for the date code and, at 
the discretion of the manufacturer, any optional code, on the other 
side wall.
    V. Summary of Cooper's Petition: Cooper states its belief that the 
subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety on 
account of the fact that while the subject tires contain an incorrect 
manufacturer's identification mark on the outboard sidewall, the full 
and correct tire code (including the correct manufacturer's 
identification mark) is available on the intended inboard sidewall.
    Cooper also indicated that it has taken the following steps to 
ensure proper registration of the subject tires:
    (a) Cooper has informed all internal personnel responsible for 
manual processing of tire registration cards about the incorrect 
manufacturer identification issue so that cards containing the ``Y9'' 
designation will be accepted and properly processed when all other 
information accurately identifies the subject tires. Additionally, 
consistent with its usual practices, whenever a tire registration card 
is submitted with inaccurate or incomplete information, Cooper sends a 
mailing to the consumer seeking additional information by providing a 
prepaid response card.
    (b) Cooper has also modified its database to accept ``Y9'' when 
other information (brand, serial weeks affected etc.) is accurate.

[[Page 51270]]

    (c) Cooper has contacted Computerized Information and Management 
Services, Inc. (CIMS), a third-party vendor that collects and provides 
tire registration cards to Cooper, so that tire registration cards will 
not be rejected solely due to improper plant code information.
    Cooper also noted that while the subject tires are mislabeled on 
the outboard side, they meet all other performance requirements of the 
applicable standard. The company observed that plant code information 
has no bearing on the performance or operation of a tire and does not 
create a safety concern to either the operator of the vehicle on which 
the tires are mounter of the safety of personnel in the tire repair, 
retread and recycle industry. Cooper also stated that on April 22, 2016 
the incorrect mold that caused the stamping error was removed from 
production and replaced with a corrected plug, thereby eliminating the 
problem in future production.
    Please refer to Cooper's petition for its complete reasoning and 
any associated illustrations. The petition and all supporting documents 
are available by logging onto the Federal Docket Management System 
(FDMS) Web site at: http://www.regulations.gov/ and following the 
online search instructions to locate the docket number listed in the 
title of this notice.
    In summation, Cooper believes that the described noncompliance of 
the subject tires is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle 
safety, and that its petition, to exempt Cooper from providing 
notification of the noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and 
remedying 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 Cooper 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 of 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 Cooper 
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,

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2016-18307 Filed 8-2-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P