[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24762-24764]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9946]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2010-0176; Notice 2]
Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., Grant of Petition for
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Grant of Petition.
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SUMMARY: 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 dated October 25, 2010, pursuant
to 49 CFR Part 573 Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.
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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) and the rule
implementing those provisions 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. Notice of
receipt of the petition was published, with a 30-day public comment
period, on January 7, 2011 in the Federal Register (76 FR 1210). No
comments were received. To view the petition, and all supporting
documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site
at: http://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online search
instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2010-0176.''
For further information on this decision contact Ms. Claudia
Covell, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone
[[Page 24763]]
(202) 366-5293, facsimile (202) 366-7002.
Equipment involved: 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.
Noncompliance: 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).
Summary of Mitsubishi's Analysis and Arguments
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 (www.mitsubishitechinfo.com). 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 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 instructions, which Mitsubishi
believes is 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.\2\
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\2\ Subsequent to filing the subject petition Mitsubishi
notified NHTSA that the noncompliance was corrected on Mitsubishi
Motors Corporation sourced parts on August 27, 2010 and Mitsubishi
Motors North America Manufacturing Division sourced parts on
November 2, 2010.
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In summation, Mitsubishi believes that the described noncompliance
of its replacement seat belt assemblies is inconsequential to motor
vehicle safety, and that its petition, to exempt 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.
NHTSA Decision
Requirement Background: To help ensure proper selection,
installation, usage, and maintenance of seat belt assemblies, paragraph
S4.1(k) of FMVSS No. 209 requires that installation, usage, and
maintenance instructions be provided with seat belt assemblies, other
than those installed by an automobile manufacturer.
NHTSA's Analysis of Mitsubishi's Reasoning: First, we note that the
subject seat belt assemblies are only made available to Mitsubishi
authorized dealerships for their use or subsequent resale. Because the
parts ordering process used by Mitsubishi authorized dealerships
clearly identifies the correct service part required by model year,
model, and seating position, NHTSA believes that there is little
likelihood that an inappropriate seat belt assembly will be provided
for a specific seating position within a Mitsubishi vehicle.
Second, we note that technicians at Mitsubishi dealerships have
access to the seat belt assembly installation instruction information
in Mitsubishi Shop Manuals. In addition, installers other than
Mitsubishi dealership technicians can access the installation
instructions from Mitsubishi service manuals, Mitsubishi dealers or
from aftermarket service information compilers. We also believe that
Mitsubishi is correct in stating that the seat belt assemblies are
designed to be installed properly only in their intended application.
Thus, we conclude that sufficient safeguards are in place to prevent
the installation of an improper seat belt assembly.
NHTSA recognizes the importance of having installation instructions
available to installers as well as use and maintenance instructions
available to consumers. The risk created by this noncompliance is that
someone who purchased an assembly is unable to obtain the necessary
installation information resulting in an incorrectly installed seat
belt assembly. However, because the seat belt assemblies are designed
to be installed properly only in their intended application and the
installation information is widely available to the public, it appears
that there is little likelihood that installers will not be able to
access the installation instructions. Furthermore, we note that
Mitsubishi has stated that they are not aware of any customer field
reports of service seat belt assemblies being incorrectly installed in
the subject applications, nor aware of any reports requesting
installation instructions. These findings suggest that it is unlikely
that seat belts have been improperly installed.
In addition, although 49 CFR Part 571.209 paragraph S4.1(k)
requires certain instructions specified in SAE Recommended Practice
J800c be included in seat belt replacement instructions, that
requirement applies to seat belts intended to be installed in seating
positions where seat belts do not already exist. The subject seat belt
assemblies are only intended to be used for replacement of original
equipment seat belts; therefore, the instructions do not apply to the
subject seat belt assemblies.\3\
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\3\ Subaru of America, Inc.; Grant of Application for Decision
of Inconsequential Non-Compliance (65 FR 67472).
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With respect to seat belt usage and inspection instructions, we
note that this information is available in the Owner Handbooks that are
included with each new vehicle and apply to the replacement seat belt
assemblies installed in these vehicles. Thus, with respect to usage and
maintenance instructions, it appears that Mitsubishi has met the intent
of S4.1(l) of FMVSS No. 209 for the subject vehicles using alternate
methods for notification.
[[Page 24764]]
NHTSA has granted similar petitions for noncompliance with seat
belt assembly installation and usage instruction standards. Refer to
Hyundai Motor Company (74 FR 9125, March 2, 209); Ford Motor Company
(73 FR 11462, March 3, 2008); Mazda North America Operations (73 FR
11464, March 3, 2008); Ford Motor Company (73 FR 63051, October 22,
2008); Subaru of America, Inc. (65 FR 67471, November 9, 2000);
Bombardier Motor Corporation of America, Inc. (65 FR 60238, October 10,
2000); TRW, Inc. (58 FR 7171, February 4, 1993); and Chrysler
Corporation, (57 FR 45865, October 5, 1992). In all of these cases, the
petitioners demonstrated that the noncompliant seat belt assemblies
were properly installed, and due to their respective replacement parts
ordering systems, improper replacement seat belt assembly selection and
installation would not be likely to occur. Decision: In consideration
of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that Mitsubishi has met its burden
of persuasion that the FMVSS No. 209 noncompliance in the replacement
seat belts identified in Mitsubishi's Noncompliance Information Report
is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, Mitsubishi's
petition is granted and the petitioner is exempted from the obligation
of providing notification of, and a 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 replacement seat belt assemblies that Mitsubishi no
longer controlled at the time that it determined that a noncompliance
existed in the subject vehicles.
Authority: (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at
CFR 1.50 and 501.8).
Issued on: April 18, 2012.
Claude H. Harris,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2012-9946 Filed 4-24-12; 8:45 am]
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