[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41519-41520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-16890]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-99-6685; Notice 2]


General Motors Corporation, Grant of Application for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

    General Motors Corporation (GM) has determined that certain 1999 
Chevrolet vehicles are not in compliance with 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.'' GM 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 January 19, 2000, in the Federal Register (65 FR 
3004). NHTSA received no comments.
    The purpose of FMVSS No. 120 according to S2 is ``to provide safe 
operational performance of vehicles by ensuring that vehicles to which 
it applies are equipped with tires of adequate size and load rating, 
and rims of appropriate size and type designation.'' Paragraph S5.2 of 
FMVSS No. 120 requires that each rim be marked with specific 
information, including the rim size designation which indicates the 
source of the rim's published nominal dimensions, and the rim size 
designation. For example: ``20 x 5.50," or ``20 x 5.5.''
    Between March 1, 1999, and March 13, 1999, GM produced 5,079 
Chevrolet Blazers and Chevrolet S-10 pickup trucks, some of which may 
be equipped with one or more than one of the 1,658 wheels that are 
missing the width designation in the rim marking on the back side of 
the wheel. In the original petition, GM stated that this missing data 
affected 11,522 vehicles; however, on March 6, 2000, the agency 
received a follow-up letter from GM stating that only 5,079 vehicles 
may be affected. GM's wheel supplier, Reynolds-Rualca, Venezuala, 
produced 3,721 wheels that had an error in the rim size designation. 
Instead of the correct rim size designation of ``15 x 7,'' these wheels 
have a rim size designation of ``15 x .'' The error occurred when one 
of the wheel casting molds was refurbished. Of the 3,721 mis-marked 
wheels produced, 2,063 were located and correctly stamped with the 
missing rim width. The remaining 1,658 wheels were installed on the 
Chevrolet vehicles. The rim markings other than the rim width 
designation were not affected by the refurbishing error, and the 
remainder of the rim marking information, including rim diameter, is 
correct on all of the 1,658 wheels.
    GM supports its application for inconsequential noncompliance by 
stating the following:
    1. ``The tire and rim of the affected wheels are properly matched, 
and are appropriate for the load-carrying characteristics of these 
vehicles. The lack of complete marking has no effect on the performance 
of the tire/rim combination of the subject vehicles.''
    2. ``These vehicles have a placard on the left front door that 
contains the correct and complete tire and rim sizes installed on these 
vehicles. The placard on the subject vehicles shows rim size completely 
and correctly as 15x7J.''
    3. ``The owner's manual provided with these vehicles contains a 
section `Buying New Tires.' The text of this section advises the 
customer that they should look at the Certification/Tire Label to find 
out what kind and size of tires they need. It goes on to tell them that 
they should get new tires with the same Tire Performance Criteria 
Specification (TPC Spec) that the vehicle came with, and that they can 
find the TPC number on each tire's sidewall. Finally it advises them 
that if they were to replace the tires with those not having the TPC 
Spec number found on the original equipment tires, they should make 
sure that the tires they choose are the same size, load range, speed 
rating and construction type as the original tires. Nowhere are 
customers told to look at the wheel to determine the appropriate 
tire.''
    4. ``General Motors believes that very few of these wheels will 
ever have to be replaced over the life of the vehicle. Nevertheless, 
the owner's manual provided with these vehicles contains a section 
`Wheel Replacement.' This section states that each new wheel should 
have the same load-carrying, diameter, width, offset and be mounted in 
the same way as the one it replaces. It also advises customers that 
their dealer will know the kind of wheel they need. The wheels at issue 
here are not marked with an incorrect width. Rather, they have no width 
marking. Therefore a dealer would not be misled by a width marking on 
the wheel, but would look at the placard if they were not aware of the 
exact width.''
    5. ``If a customer needs to replace a tire or a wheel, he/she is 
likely to go to a tire/wheel store, or a vehicle dealer. The skilled 
personnel at any of these places know how to determine the correct tire 
or wheel size that they are replacing. For the tire replacement, it is 
highly probable that they will first look at the tire sidewall to 
determine the replacement tire size. They also know that the 
information exists on the placard and may look at the placard. For the 
wheel replacement, they may look at the tire placard or at the wheel 
itself to determine the replacement size. The subject wheels do not 
give incorrect information, however the information is incomplete. 
Since the information on the wheel is incomplete, the person looking at 
it will look elsewhere to find the missing information prior to 
selecting replacement wheel or tire size. For the correct tire 
selection, rim diameter is of primary importance, and the tire diameter 
must be the same as the rim diameter. The information on the subject 
wheels does contain the correct rim diameter, i.e., 15.''
    The purpose for the rim marking requirements in FMVSS No. 120 is to 
provide the owner with permanent rim size and type designation 
information necessary to ensure proper selection and matching of rims 
and tires. Without

[[Page 41520]]

proper labeling, an individual vehicle user cannot readily determine 
the proper size tire for the rim and the vehicle. Without this required 
information displayed on the rim, a tire too large or small for the rim 
could be mounted, resulting in a failure. If the load carrying 
capabilities of the wheel cannot be readily determined, then the 
possibility of overloading exists.
    In this case, the rims have an incomplete marking, so the 
individual will have to rely on another source for the correct rim 
size. The most likely sources for the rim size information are the tire 
placard on the vehicle, the vehicle owner's manual, or a dealer. The 
placard in these vehicles shows the rim size correctly at 15 x7J. The 
owner's manual for these vehicles states that a new wheel should have 
the same load-carrying, diameter, width, offset and be mounted in the 
same way as the one it replaces. It also advises customers that their 
dealer will know the kind of wheel they need. It is extremely unlikely 
that dealers would attempt to rely on rim markings to determine the 
appropriate tire or rim sizes.
    According to GM, the processes have been extensively reviewed, the 
causes of these noncompliances have been isolated, and changes in the 
processes have been instituted to prevent any future occurrences. In 
addition, the noncompliance is limited to the vehicles addressed in 
this notice, and GM stated that its future products will comply with 
the requirements of FMVSS No. 120.
    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 motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, GM's 
application is granted, and it is exempted from the duty of providing 
notification of, and a remedy for, the noncompliance.

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

    Issued on: June 28, 2000.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 00-16890 Filed 7-4-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-U