2015-10263. 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.

SUMMARY:

Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, (CTA), has determined that certain Continental Tire brand TKC80 motorcycle replacement tires do not fully comply with paragraph S6.5(c) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 119, New Pneumatic Radial Tires for motor vehicles with a GVWR of more than 4,536 Kilograms (10,000 pounds) and Motorcycles. CTA has filed an appropriate report dated February 18, 2015, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.

DATES:

The closing date for comments on the petition is June 3, 2015.

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 at the beginning of this notice and 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 [phone].

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 your comments 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.

Documents submitted to a 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. DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement is available for review in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).

The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will be filed 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 be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. CTA's Petition

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see implementing rule 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 1,062 Continental TKC80 size 120/70-19 M/C 60Q diagonal (bias) motorcycle replacement tires manufactured between April 8, 2012 and January 31, 2015.

III. Noncompliance

CTA explains that the noncompliance is that the tire size designation marking on the sidewalls of the subject tires does not contain the correct construction code designator symbol from The Tire and Rim Association yearbook. Therefore, the tires do not fully comply with paragraph S6.5(c) of FMVSS No. 119 because the tire size designation is not as listed in the documents and publications designated in S5.1. Specifically, the tires were marked with the construction code designator “B” indicating bias-belted construction and should have been marked with the designator “-” indicating diagonal (bias) construction.

IV. Rule Text

Paragraph S6.5 of FMVSS No. 119 requires in pertinent part:

S6.5 Tire Markings. Except as specified in paragraphs, each tire shall be marked on each sidewall with the information specified in paragraphs (a) through (j) of this section. . .

(c) The tire size designation as listed in the documents and publications designated in S5.1.

V. Summary of CTA's Analyses

CTA stated its belief that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for the following reasons:

(A) CTA notes that the only improper marking on the sidewall of the subject tires is the use of the letter character “B” in the tire size designation instead of a hyphen character “-,” and that from its experience it believes that most motorcycle tire consumers do not understand the differences in tire construction and therefore do not base tire purchases on the tire construction type.

(B) CTA stated that the subject tires were built as designed and that the performance requirements and testing requirements specified in FMVSS No. 119 are exactly the same for both bias-belted and diagonal (bias) tires.

(C) CTA believes that the subject noncompliance has no impact on the safety of vehicles on which the subject tires are mounted and that the subject tires meet or exceed all the performance requirement of FMVSS No. 119.

(D) CTA also stated that it is not aware of any crashes, injuries, customer complaints, or field reports associated with the subject noncompliance.

CTA additionally informed NHTSA that the molds at the manufacturing plant have been corrected so that no additional tires will be manufactured or sold with the noncompliance.

In summation, CTA believes that the described noncompliance of the subject tires is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that its petition, to exempt CTA 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 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 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 CTA 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 Giuseppe,

Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.