SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Overview: Mercedes-Benz and Daimler Vans determined that certain MY 2020-2021 VS20 Metris (Platform 447) vans do not fully comply with paragraph S4.3(d) of FMVSS No. 110, Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or less. (49 CFR 571.110).

Mercedes-Benz filed an original noncompliance report dated March 8, 2022, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Mercedes-Benz subsequently petitioned NHTSA on March 31, 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. ( printed page 56720)

Notice of receipt of Mercedes-Benz petition was published with a 30-day public comment period, on February 17, 2023, in the Federal Register (88 FR 10426). No comments were received. To view the petition and all supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) website at www.regulations.gov/​. Then follow the online search instructions to locate docket number “NHTSA-2022-0038.”

II. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 700 MY 2020-2021 VS20 Metris (Platform 447) vans, manufactured between June 2, 2020, and October 12, 2021, are potentially involved.

III. Noncompliance: Mercedes-Benz explains that the subject vehicles are equipped with a vehicle placard that incorrectly states the spare tire size for which the subject vehicles were originally equipped as required by paragraph S4.3(d) of FMVSS No. 110. Specifically, the vehicle placard states that the spare tire size is “225/55R17C” when it should be “205/65R16C.”

IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraph S4.3(d) of FMVSS No. 110 includes the requirements relevant to this petition. Each vehicle, except for a trailer or incomplete vehicle, must show the tire size designation on a placard permanently affixed to the driver's side B-pillar and indicated by the heading's “size” or “original tire size” or “original size,” and “spare tire” or “spare,” for the tires installed at the time of the first purchase for purposes other than resale. For full size spare tires, the statement “see above” may, at the manufacturer's option replace the tire size designation. If no spare tire is provided, the word “none” must replace the tire size designation.

V. Summary of Mercedes-Benz's Petition: The following views and arguments presented in this section, “V. Summary of Mercedes-Benz's Petition,” are the views and arguments provided by Mercedes-Benz. They do not reflect the views of the Agency. Mercedes-Benz describes the subject noncompliance and contends that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.

Mercedes-Benz explains that the subject noncompliance was discovered during an internal audit, and it was “determined that incorrect spare tire information had been printed on placards due to an error documenting the spare tire size in the printing software used to produce the placards.” Mercedes-Benz says that it promptly corrected the error in the printing software on November 5, 2021.

According to Mercedes-Benz, the incorrect tire size designation on the vehicle placard “would have no effect on vehicle safety or operation.” In the event that a consumer purchased a spare tire with the tire size indicated on the vehicle placard, Mercedes-Benz says that the “tire would meet all loading and performance requirements for a temporary use spare tire.” Mercedes-Benz claims that “the tire specified on the incorrect placard could be substituted for the original spare tire without any adverse safety consequences.” Mercedes-Benz explains that the misprinted tire size and the spare tire equipped with the subject vehicles “both would enable the vehicles to be operated within specified performance and loading limits.” Specifically, Mercedes-Benz says that “either spare tire is rated to carry loads greater than 1,599 lbs. (for each tire) necessary to prevent overloading” of the subject vehicles and the recommended inflation pressure is the same for both tires, “so there is no risk that the placard would cause a customer to under- or over-inflate either tire.”

Mercedes-Benz claims that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety because the spare tire would only be used “for a short period of time” and only until the series tire can be replaced, after which the spare tire would be put back in the vehicle for future use. Mercedes-Benz adds that the owner's manual includes warnings that “clearly advise the vehicle owner that a spare tire should only be used for a very short time and at speeds of less than 50 mph.”

Furthermore, Mercedes-Benz says replacing the spare tire based on the incorrect size would require the spare tire and rim to be replaced while “ignoring the correct size plainly displayed on the very tire being replaced.”

Although the tire information placard was misprinted, Mercedes-Benz says the subject vehicles are equipped with the correct size spare tire, and the spare tire is labeled with the correct tire size. Mercedes-Benz states that if a consumer used the misprinted tire information to replace the original spare tire, “the tire would not fit the original rim,” therefore, Mercedes-Benz believes the correct tire size of the original spare would be immediately identified.

Mercedes-Benz believes NHTSA's prior decisions on inconsequentiality petitions support the granting of the subject petition. Mercedes-Benz refers to the following decisions of inconsequential noncompliance:

• Chrysler Group, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance,78 FR 38443 (June 26, 2013),
• BMW of North America, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance,84 FR 26505 (June 6, 2019)
• General Motors, LLC Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance,84 FR 25117 (May 30, 2019)
• BMW of North America, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance,81 FR 62970 (September 13, 2016)
• BMW of North America, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance,78 FR 76408 (December 17, 2013)

Mercedes-Benz concludes by stating its belief 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.

VI. NHTSA's Analysis: In determining inconsequentiality of a noncompliance, NHTSA focuses on the safety risk to individuals who experience the type of event against which a recall would otherwise protect.^[1] In general, NHTSA does not consider the absence of complaints or injuries when determining if a noncompliance is inconsequential to safety. The absence of complaints does not mean vehicle occupants have not experienced a safety issue, nor does it mean that there will not be safety issues in the future.^[2] Further, because each inconsequential noncompliance petition must be evaluated on its own facts and determinations are highly fact-dependent, NHTSA does not consider prior determinations as binding precedent. Petitioners are reminded that they have the burden of persuading ( printed page 56721) NHTSA that the noncompliance is inconsequential to safety.

The purpose of the placard requirements in paragraph S4.3(d) of FMVSS No. 110 is to identify the tire size designation for the tires installed at the time of the first purchase for purposes other than resale.

As described by Mercedes-Benz, due to an error documenting the spare tire size in the printing software, the subject vehicles were equipped with a vehicle placard indicating the incorrect spare tire size.

The spare tire installed on the vehicle (size 205/65R16C) is certified to meet all applicable FMVSSs. It is a temporary spare tire that was designed for the vehicle and meets the vehicle loading requirements. Thus, if the spare wheel and tire assembly is replaced with an FMVSS-compliant 225/55R17C size assembly, it would not have any effect on the safety of the vehicle. Additionally, despite the incorrect placard, a consumer, technician, or salesperson could rely on the size of the spare tire present if the tire is ever replaced, rather than the incorrectly stated spare tire size on the placard. Any attempt to install a 225/55R17C size tire on the rim provided with the vehicle would be unsuccessful because it cannot fit on a 16-inch rim. Therefore, the individual replacing the tire will use the tire size information labeled on the tire being replaced or replace the entire wheel-tire assembly based on the placard information, neither option will decrease safety compared to a compliant vehicle. Therefore, this non-compliance is inconsequential to safety.

VII. NHTSA's Decision: In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA finds that Mercedes-Benz has met its burden of persuasion that the subject FMVSS No. 110 noncompliance in the affected vehicles is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, Mercedes-Benz's petition is hereby granted, and Mercedes-Benz is consequently exempted from the obligation of providing notification of, and a free remedy for, that noncompliance under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120.

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, this decision only applies to the subject vehicles that Mercedes-Benz no longer controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, the granting of 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 Mercedes-Benz 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.)

91 FR 56719