[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 148 (Monday, August 3, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41321-41322]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20629]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-97-3146]


Toyota Technical Center, U.S.A., Inc., Grant of Application for 
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Toyota Technical Center, U.S.A., Inc. (Toyota) of Washington, DC on 
behalf of the Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. (TMMK) has 
determined that some 1998 model Toyota Sienna vehicles fail to comply 
with 49 CFR 571.120, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 
120, ``Tire selection and rims for vehicles other than passenger 
cars,'' and has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 
573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.'' Toyota 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, with a 30-day 
comment period, on December 10, 1997, in the Federal Register (62 FR 
65127). NHTSA received no comments on this application during the 30-
day comment period.
    In FMVSS No. 120, paragraph S5.3 states that the recommended cold 
inflation pressure for the designated tire must appear either on the 
certification label or a tire information label.
    Toyota produced 4,358 vehicles from May 12, 1997 through October 
13, 1997 which do not meet the labeling requirements stated in the 
standard. The recommended 240KPa (35 PSI) cold inflation pressure for 
the designated tire (P205/70R15) is misstated on the certification 
label as 220 KPa (33 PSI).
    Toyota supported its application for inconsequential noncompliance 
with the following three statements:
    1. On these vehicles, Toyota has applied a voluntary tire 
information label, on which the correct recommended pressure, ``240 
KPa/35 PSI'' (at maximum loaded vehicle weight) appears, [located at ] 
the door opening portion of the driver side B-pillar. Toyota believes 
that owners will refer to this tire information label rather than the 
certification label, making the possibility of confusion due to the 
different tire inflation pressures quite low.
    2. The vehicle owner's manual also indicates the correct 
recommended inflation pressure.
    3. The Maximum Loaded Vehicle Weight (MLVW)--the weight of the 
heaviest vehicle of the car line with full accessories, passengers in 
all designated seating positions, and maximum cargo and luggage load--
of the Toyota Sienna is 2,365 kg. In such [a] fully-loaded condition, 
the rear axle is loaded more than the front [axle], resulting in a rear 
axle load of 1,204 kg or 602 kg on each rear tire. The load limit of 
the subject P205/70R15 tire inflated to 220 KPa (33 PSI) is 650 kg. 
Therefore, there still exists a 48 kg margin under the MLVW. Since the 
Sienna is a passenger vehicle--as opposed to a cargo vehicle--it is 
unlikely that the owner will overload it.
    The reason for requiring the maximum permissible tire inflation 
pressure to be provided on a permanent label in the vehicle is to give 
the vehicle user the necessary information to minimize the likelihood 
that the tires will be overloaded or overinflated. In this case, the 
too-low maximum inflation pressure shown on the vehicle label raises 
concerns that the tires will be overloaded when the vehicle is fully 
loaded. However, NHTSA believes Toyota has provided sound reasons to 
conclude that these concerns are unlikely in the circumstances of this 
application. First, the vans have correct maximum inflation pressures 
shown on a tire information label on the vehicle and in the owner's 
manual, but a too-low maximum inflation pressure on the certification 
label. Second, and most

[[Page 41322]]

significantly, even if the tires are inflated to the too-low maximum 
inflation pressure shown on the vehicle certification label, the tires 
would still not be overloaded.
    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that the 
applicant has met its burden of persuasion that the noncompliance it 
describes is inconsequential to safety. Accordingly, its application is 
granted, and the applicant is exempted from providing the notification 
of the noncompliance that is required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and from 
remedying the noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120. (49 U.S.C. 
30118, delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8).

    Issued on: July 29, 1998.
L. Robert Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 98-20629 Filed 7-31-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P