[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 180 (Monday, September 18, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48197-48198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23053]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
[Docket No. 95-39; Notice 2]
Volkswagen of America, Inc.; Grant of Application for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
Volkswagen of America, Inc. (VWoA) of Auburn Hills, Michigan,
determined that some of its vehicles fail to comply with the power
window requirements of 49 CFR 571.118, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) No. 118, ``Power-Operated Window, Partition, and Roof
Panel Systems,'' and filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR
Part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.'' VWoA has also applied
to be exempted from the notification and remedy requirements of 49
U.S.C. Chapter 301--``Motor Vehicle Safety'' on the basis that the
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
Notice of receipt of the application was published on May 17, 1995,
and an opportunity afforded for comment (60 FR 26475).
Paragraph S4(e) of FMVSS No. 118 states that power operated windows
may be closed only ``during the interval between the time the locking
device which controls the activation of the vehicle's engine is turned
off and the opening of either of a two-door vehicle's doors or, in the
case of a vehicle with more than two doors, the opening of its front
doors.''
From September 1, 1992 through March 5, 1995, VWoA manufactured
approximately 1,200 1995 GTI vehicles and 18,795 1993-1995 Jetta III
vehicles that do not comply with the power window requirements of FMVSS
No. 118. The power windows in these vehicles can be operated when the
ignition key is in the ``off'' position and the passenger side front
door has been opened. The windows should not be able to be operated in
this scenario.
VWoA supported its application for inconsequential noncompliance
with the following:
The purpose of the requirement in S4(e) of FMVSS 118 specifying
that the power window system not be functional if the ignition key is
in the ``off'' position and one of the front doors has been opened, is
to reduce the possibility of unsupervised children operating the power
windows in the vehicle. S4(e) is based upon the assumption that before
one of the front doors has been opened, an adult remains in the vehicle
to supervise and protect children from the safety risks associated with
the operation of the power window system. S4(e) further assumes that
after one of the front vehicle doors has been opened, no adult remains
in the vehicle and thereby creates a risk that children remaining in
the vehicle may injure themselves by activating operational power
windows without supervision. S4(e) seeks to eliminate that risk.
In the case of the affected vehicles, the power windows cease to be
operable if the driver door is opened, but remain operational for a
period of 10 minutes after the passenger side front door has been
opened. The rationale supporting the 10 minute period is to allow the
driver to close any open windows even though he may already have turned
off the ignition and the passenger may have opened the door and exited
the vehicle. It is a convenience feature permitted by law in Europe and
offered by Volkswagen to the market in Europe as a convenience feature.
The power-operated roof panel systems cannot be operated after the
ignition key has been turned off.
VWoA believes that its European configuration inadvertently built
into certain vehicles delivered in the United States does not affect
their safety in a discernible way. VWoA believes that as long as the
driver door of the vehicle has not been opened, a person of driving age
inevitably remains in the vehicle because the exiting of the driver on
the passenger side front door is extremely difficult and therefore
unlikely. The affected vehicles are equipped with bucket seats and a
center transmission console which cause the movement of the driver to
the passenger side of the vehicle without contortion to be difficult
and virtually impossible. Also, it makes no sense to suggest that a
driver would exit the vehicle on the passenger side of a vehicle with
bucket seats and [a] floor mounted transmission lever when he can
conveniently open the driver's door for exit.
VWoA has received no customer complaints or claims relating to the
ability of the windows to operate after the passenger door has been
opened.
It should also be noted that the Volkswagen Owner's Manual contains
an express warning against leaving children unattended in a vehicle and
against misuse of the ignition key. The warning reads as follows:
[[Page 48198]]
WARNING
Do not leave children unattended in the vehicle especially with
access to vehicle keys. Unsupervised use of the keys can result in
starting of the engine and use of vehicle systems such as the power
windows and power sunroof, which could result in serious personal
injury.
As explained, the probability of unsupervised children being
exposed to injury from power-operated window systems during the 10
minute interval after the ignition key has been turned off and the
passenger side front door is opened and before the driver side front
door is opened, is non-existent and that therefore this noncompliance
is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
VWoA requests that this [application] be granted so that an
unnecessary and costly consumer recall action [can] be avoided. VWoA
expects a particularly low owner response to such a recall, if it were
undertaken, because the ability to operate the power windows after the
front passenger side door has been opened would likely be viewed by the
owner to offer a valuable convenience feature without any apparent
safety disadvantage.
No comments were received on the application.
VWoA is correct that the purpose of requiring inoperative power
windows is to reduce the possibility of unsupervised children operating
them. In the noncompliant vehicles, the power window system remains
operable only when the front passenger side door is opened, a time when
the operator presumably remains behind the wheel. If the operator exits
by the driver's door, the system is disabled; it is not likely that an
operator would exit by means of the passenger door since that would
entail passing over the cumbersome console between the two seats. Thus,
the purpose of the requirement in this situation is still highly likely
to be met.
In consideration of the foregoing, the applicant has met its burden
of persuasion that the noncompliance herein described is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, the applicant is
hereby exempted from the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 to
notify and remedy a noncompliance with a Federal motor vehicle safety
standard.
(15 U.S.C. 1417; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and
501.8)
Issued on: September 12, 1995.
Barry Felrice,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 95-23053 Filed 9-15-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
