[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 14, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49836-49837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-23906]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-99-6021; Notice 1]
Explorer Van Company, Receipt of Application for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance and Safety-Related Defect
Explorer Van Company (Explorer), a division of the Bodor
Corporation, is a corporation organized under the laws of the State of
Indiana and is located in Warsaw, Indiana. Explorer has determined that
it manufactured conversion vans that are in noncompliance with the
agency's Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 120, Tire
selection and rims for motor vehicles other than passenger cars, and 49
CFR Part 567, Certification, and has filed an appropriate report
pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.''
Explorer 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 and defect are 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.
First, from February 1, 1998 to May 31, 1998, Explorer manufactured
approximately 2,416 conversion vans that do not meet the requirements
stated in FMVSS No. 120, ``Tire selection and rims for vehicles other
than passenger cars.'' The certification label affixed to these
Explorer's units pursuant to 49 CFR part 567 failed to comply with S5.3
of FMVSS No. 120 because of the omission of metric measurements, and
the failure of Explorer to separately provide the metric measurements
on another label, an alternative allowed by FMVSS No. 120.
Second, from January 1998 to August 1998, Explorer manufactured
approximately 187 conversion vans that do not meet the requirements
stated in FMVSS No. 120. On the vehicles' certification labels provided
by Explorer, the tires on the rear axle have a specified inflation
pressure of 41 psi, while the maximum inflation pressure indicated on
the tires is 35 psi. Therefore, the maximum inflation pressure
specified on the certification label exceeds the inflation pressure
molded on the sidewall of the standard load tires. Per the safety
standard, a vehicle manufacturer must not specify a higher inflation
pressure for a tire than the maximum inflation pressure molded on that
tire. This problem occurred because these vans were equipped with the
wrong tires. To properly accommodate the weight of the conversion van,
the vans were supposed to be equipped with extra load rated tires;
however, they were equipped with standard load tires. Hence, each van
has an inflation pressure specified on its certification label for
extra load tires, but not for the standard load tires that are actually
on it.
Third, from 1997 to 1999, Explorer manufactured approximately 68
conversion vans that do not meet the requirements stated in 49 CFR Part
567. On the vehicles' certification label, the GVWR of the vehicle was
indicated to be 7,000 pounds; however, the vehicles' actual GVWR was
found to be 7,214 pounds, which exceeds the specified GVWR by 214
pounds. Failure to provide a proper GVWR may constitute a safety-
related defect.
Explorer supports its application for inconsequential noncompliance
with the following statements:
1. METRIC AND ENGLISH INFORMATION: ``All certification labels now
in use by Bodor Corporation's Explorer Vans correctly specify the
weights and pressures in metric and English, as required. There were a
small number of ``old style'' labels remaining in inventory which were
to have been destroyed and were inadvertently used by the production
staff during a short period when the error was discovered . . . the
[[Page 49837]]
language is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety and should be
exempted.''
2. TIRE PRESSURE INFORMATION: ``Due to a programming error, not
more than 187 vehicles may potentially have incorrect tire pressure.''
``The tires are each individually clearly marked with the tire pressure
information.''
3. GVWR LABELING: ``Bodor Corporation undertook a materials weight
reduction program, and, further, no longer utilizes the [Ford] E-150
chassis for high-top conversions, favoring instead the E-250 model with
an initial higher weight GVWR. The E-250 was previously not made
available in [a] large enough quantity by Ford Motor Company for
conversion purposes.''
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments on the application described above. Comments should refer to
the docket number and be submitted to: U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street,
S.W., Washington, D.C., 20590. It is requested that two 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 the
Federal Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.
Comment closing date: October 14, 1999.
(49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and
501.8)
Issued on: September 8, 1999.
L. Robert Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 99-23906 Filed 9-13-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P