[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 98 (Thursday, May 21, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28024-28026]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13520]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-98-3701; Notice 1]


Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America Inc.; Receipt of Application 
for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Mitsubishi Motor Sales of America (MMSA) of Cypress, California, 
has determined that some of its 1994-1998 models fail to meet the 
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 118, 
``S4,'' and has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 
573, ``Defects and Noncompliance Reports.'' MMSA 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

[[Page 28025]]

noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
    This notice of receipt of an application 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 application.
    During the periods indicated below, the applicant imported and sold 
and/or distributed approximately 57,294 vehicles equipped with power 
sunroofs that did not meet certain requirements mandated by Federal 
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 118. Specifically, FMVSS No. 
118 requires that power windows, partitions, and sunroofs only be 
operable under certain circumstances. One of those circumstances 
specifies that a power sunroof may operate:

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 either of its 
front doors. 49 CFR 571.118 S4(e) states that once the ignition key 
is turned off and either of the two front doors is opened, the power 
sunroof must not operate.

    In the Mitsubishi vehicles identified below, activation of the 
power sunroof stops immediately after the ignition is turned off and 
the driver's side door is open. The sunroof continues to operate, 
however, for thirty seconds after the ignition is turned off and the 
passenger front door is opened. This continued operation does not 
comply with the requirements of S4 FMVSS No.118.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      No. of                    
                 Make                             Line              Model year       affected        Dates of   
                                                                                     vehicles       manufacture 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MMC...................................  Mitsubishi 3000GT.......         1994-98           5,855      5/94--4/98
MMC...................................  Mitsubishi Mirage (Coupe         1997-98           1,383      6/96--5/98
                                         & Sedan).                                                              
Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of       Mitsubishi Galant.......         1994-98          50,056      3/93--3/98
 America, Inc.                                                                                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    MMSA supports its application for inconsequential noncompliance 
with the following:

    MMSA does not believe that the foregoing noncompliance will 
impact motor vehicle safety for the following reasons, FMVSS 118 
sets forth requirements for power operated windows, partitions, and 
roof panel systems (e.g., sunroofs) to minimize the risk of injury 
or death from accidental operation of these systems. The National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA or the Agency) has 
identified children as the group of people most likely at risk from 
unsupervised or inadvertent operation of power windows and sunroofs. 
See 57 FR 23958 (1992). In order to address the foregoing concerns, 
FMVSS 118 S4 specifies the conditions under which a power window, 
partition or sunroof may operate. S4(e) specifically requires that 
power windows, partitions and sunroofs not be operational when the 
ignition key is off and either one of the vehicle's front doors is 
opened. The power windows may continue to operate after the ignition 
has been turned off, but prior to the opening of either of the 
vehicle's front doors.
    ``FMVSS 118 S4(e) was designed to reduce the possibility of 
unsupervised children from operating the power windows, partitions 
or sunroofs in a vehicle. Specifically, S4(e) is based on the 
logical presumption that after a vehicle's ignitions is turned off, 
but prior to opening either of the vehicle's front doors, an adult 
will remain in the vehicle to supervise and protect children from 
the safety risks associated with operation of a power window, 
partition, or sunroof system. Hence there is little to no additional 
risk in allowing continued operation of the power window, partition 
or sunroof after the ignition is turned off but prior to the opening 
of either front door because of the presence of the supervising 
adult. This premise is especially true for the driver side door. In 
most circumstances, and adult driver normally exits the vehicle from 
the driver side door. If the vehicle's driver side door has not been 
opened, the adult driver is most likely still in the vehicle''.

    MMSA believes that the failure to comply is inconsequential to 
motor vehicle safety for the following reasons:

    ``The power sunroof immediately ceases to operate when the 
ignition key is turned off and the driver side door is open. The 
sunroof will continue to operate, however, for approximately 30 
seconds after the ignition key is turned off and the passenger side 
door is open. The rationale supporting this feature was to allow the 
driver to close the sunroof even if the driver has turned off the 
ignition and the passenger has opened the door and exited the 
vehicle. This delay in operation cut-off is a convenience feature 
similar to those found in Japanese and European versions of the 
affected Mitsubishi vehicles. As long as the driver door remains 
closed, the adult driver inevitably remains in the vehicle to 
supervise any operation of the power sunroof. It is highly unlikely 
that the driver would exit from the front passenger side in the 
affected vehicles. Each of the vehicles listed above has a front 
seating configuration consisting of two bucket type seats and a 
center console that rises up from the floor space between the driver 
and passenger seats. The transmission shift lever for these 
automatic and standard transmission vehicles rises up from the 
center console. The combination of bucket seats, center console, and 
gear shift make exiting the affected vehicles from the driver's side 
through the passenger side door extremely difficult and highly 
unfeasible. In addition, the period of operation for the sunroof 
after the front passenger door is extremely short (i.e., 30 
seconds). This short period of time is sufficient to allow drivers 
to close the sunroof prior to exiting the vehicle, but insufficient 
to cause any safety concerns for children. Consequently, continued, 
short-term operation of the sunroof after the ignition has been 
turned off and the passenger side door opened, but prior to the 
opening of the driver's side door, does not pose any significant 
safety concern. The probability of unsupervised children being 
exposed to injury from the foregoing sunroof system during the 30 
seconds after the ignition key has been turned off and the front 
passenger door only is opened is non-existent.''

    Additionally, MMSA asserts that the situation is similar to another 
situation involving vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen of America, 
Inc. (Volkswagen). In Volkswagen's case, the company manufactured 
approximately 20,000 vehicles with power windows. The power windows 
ceased to operate immediately after the ignition was turned off and the 
driver's size door was opened. The windows continued to operate, 
however, for ten minutes after the ignition was turned off and the 
front passenger door only was opened. Volkswagen petitioned the Agency 
for a determination of inconsequential noncompliance. See 60 FR 26475 
(1995). NHTSA granted the petition based on reasons similar to those 
set forth above by MMSA. See 60 FR 48197 (1995).
    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments on the application of the petitioner described above. 
Comments should refer to the docket number and be submitted to: Docket 
Section, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5109, 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. It is requested but not 
required that six copies be submitted.
    All comments received before the close of business on the closing 
date indicated below will be considered. The application and supporting 
materials, and all comments received after the closing date, will also 
be filed and will be considered to the extent possible. When the 
application is granted or denied, the notice will be published in

[[Page 28026]]

the Federal Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.
    Comment closing date: June 28, 1998.

(49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 
and 501.8)

    Issued on: May 14, 1998.
L. Robert Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 98-13520 Filed 5-20-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P