SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Overview: Mack Trucks, Inc. (MTI), has determined that certain model year (MY) 2017 Mack heavy duty trucks do not fully comply with paragraph S5.2(b) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 120, Tire selection and rims and motor home/recreation vehicle trailer load carrying capacity information for motor vehicles with a GVWR of more than 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds). MTI filed a noncompliance report dated February 9, 2017, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance ( printed page 33547) Responsibility and Reports. MTI also petitioned NHTSA on February 28, 2017, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, and revised its petition on April 29, 2017, to obtain 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 MTI'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. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 226 MY 2017 Mack Pinnacle, Granite, TerraPro and LR heavy duty trucks, manufactured between August 15, 2016, and December 12, 2016, are potentially involved.

III. Noncompliance: MTI explains that the noncompliance is that the wheels on the subject vehicles incorrectly identify the rim size as 24.5″ x 8.25″ instead of 22.5″ x 8.25″, and therefore do not meet the requirements of paragraph S5.2(b) of FMVSS No. 120. Specifically, the marking error overstates the wheel diameter by 2″.

IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S5.2 of FMVSS No. 120 states:

S5.2  Rim marking. Each rim or, at the option of the manufacturer in the case of a single-piece wheel, wheel disc shall be marked with the information listed in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this paragraph, in lettering not less than 3 millimeters high, impressed to a depth or, at the option of the manufacturer, embossed to a height of not less than 0.125 millimeters. . .

(b) The rim size designation, and in case of multipiece rims, the rim type designation. For example: 20 x 5.50, or 20 x 5.5.

V. Summary of MTI's Petition: MTI described the subject noncompliance and stated its belief that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.

In support of its petition, MTI referenced a letter to NHTSA, dated December 5, 2016, from Arconic Wheel and Transportation Products (Arconic), which is the rim manufacturer, and provided the following:

1. A 24.5″ tire will not seat on the rim; therefore, if someone tries to mount a 24.5″ tire to the rim, it will not hold air and therefore cannot be inflated.

2. When tires are replaced, the technician will select the tire based on the size and rating of the tire being replaced. When Mack manufactured the vehicle, the tire used was a 22.5″ ( i.e., the correct size for the rim). Therefore, the tires installed by Mack have the correct size on the sidewall of the tire.

3. Mack is required to list the tires size and inflation pressures on the certification label as required by 49 CFR 567. The information printed on the label is the correct size, a 22.5″ tire and reflects the tires that were installed when manufactured. The certification label is located inside the driver's door and can be easily accessed by the tire installer.

MTI concluded by expressing the belief 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.

To view MTI's petition analyses in its entirety you can visit https://www.regulations.gov by following the online instructions for accessing the dockets and by using the docket ID number for this petition shown in the heading of this notice.

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 MTI 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 MTI 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.

82 FR 33546