[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 133 (Tuesday, July 11, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42763-42764]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-17416]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-99-6857, Notice 2]


Intac Automotive Products, Inc.; Grant of Application for 
Decision That Noncompliance Is Inconsequential to Motor Vehicle Safety

    Intac Automotive Products, Inc., (Intac) has determined that 
certain brake fluid containers manufactured by its supplier, Gold 
Eagle, are not in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 
(FMVSS) No. 116, ``Motor Vehicle Brake Fluids'', and has filed 
appropriate reports pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, ``Defect and 
Noncompliance Reports.'' Intac 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 February 18, 2000, in the Federal Register (65 FR 
8472). NHTSA received no comments on this application.
    Paragraph S5.2.2.2 of FMVSS No. 116 requires that certain 
information, including a serial number identifying the packaged lot and 
date of packaging specified in S5.2.2.2(d), be clearly marked on each 
brake fluid container or label permanently affixed to the container. 
Paragraph S5.2.2.2 further requires that this information be legible 
after being subjected to the test procedures in S6.14, Container 
information. S6.14 requires that each container be immersed in the same 
brake fluid contained therein for 15 minutes and dried within 5 minutes 
of its removal from the brake fluid.
    Intac filed a Part 573 report informing the agency that, on 
November 4, 1997, it manufactured approximately 9,000 containers of 
brake fluid which it shipped to Petrochemical, Inc., for Mazda. On 
April 6, 1999, Intac manufactured approximately 30,500 containers of 
brake fluid which it shipped to Nissan and, on August 12, 1999, it 
manufactured approximately 16,800 containers of brake fluid which it 
shipped to Petrochemical, Inc., for Subaru. According to Intac, some of 
these brake fluid containers have labels that do not comply with the 
requirements of S5.2.2.2 of FMVSS No. 116. Additionally, to the best of 
Intac's knowledge, all of that company's brake fluid containers with 
labels that are potentially noncompliant with these requirements were 
manufactured on the aforementioned dates. For some of these containers, 
the packaged lot and date code information on the label (S5.2.2.2(d)) 
were not legible after the container was subjected to the test 
procedures in S6.14. The containers and labels were manufactured by the 
Gold Eagle Company, which also packaged the brake fluid in the 
containers under contract to Intac. Intac believes this noncompliance 
to be inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
    Intac supported its application for inconsequential noncompliance 
by stating that all the substantive safety warnings concerning proper 
storage and use of the contents of the referenced brake fluid 
containers were legible after durability testing in accordance with

[[Page 42764]]

S6.14. Intac also stated that the purpose of the serial number 
identifying the packaged lot and date of packaging is to facilitate 
determination of the extent of defective brake fluid should such be 
discovered. According to Intac, there is no serious risk to motor 
vehicle safety if the packaged lot and date information is lost. If 
packaged lot and date information were not visible on container labels, 
and defective brake fluid was suspected, the manufacturer would have to 
recall a larger number of containers than the number of the containers 
that would be recalled if this information was available. Intac 
informed the agency that the company has not manufactured brake fluid 
that has been determined to be in noncompliance with the brake fluid 
performance requirements in FMVSS No. 116, nor has the company 
manufactured brake fluid that has been recalled because of a safety 
defect.
    Intac also stated that the containers of brake fluid in question 
were sold to Nissan and Petrochemical, Inc. The containers sold to 
Petrochemical were distributed to Mazda and Subaru. The product sold to 
Nissan and Petrochemical was distributed to dealerships and authorized 
repair facilities and it is unlikely that private consumers obtained 
these products through retail outlets for personal use.
    According to Intac, the dealerships and authorized repair 
facilities that received the brake fluid tend to consume the product 
quickly once the containers are opened. Therefore, there was little 
likelihood that the lot and date information on the container label 
would become illegible through contact with brake fluid before the 
contents of a container was used.
    Intac further stated that it was able to secure most of the 
noncompliant inventory after contacting Nissan and Petrochemical, Inc., 
so that most of the noncompliant brake fluid containers would be 
returned to Intac for correction.
    The agency believes that the true measure of inconsequentiality to 
motor vehicle safety in this case is the effect of the noncompliance on 
the safety related information provided on the brake fluid container 
label. According to Intac, all substantive information regarding the 
safe use of the contents of the brake fluid containers was legible on 
the labels after testing in accordance with S6.14, and the brake fluid 
packaged in these containers complies with all relevant FMVSS No. 116 
performance requirements. The primary purpose of the packaged lot and 
date code is to identify brake fluid that may not comply with the 
performance requirements of FMVSS No. 116 so as to facilitate a recall 
campaign. Intac has agreed that a campaign to recall noncompliant brake 
fluid would include all containers with illegible packaged lot and date 
codes in addition to the containers with relevant legible packaged lot 
and date code information. Accordingly, a container label with 
illegible packaged lot and date information would not have a 
consequential effect on motor vehicle safety. Additionally, Intac 
stated that it has not produced brake fluid that does not meet the 
performance requirements in FMVSS No. 116, nor has any of its brake 
fluid been recalled because of a safety defect. Intac further stated 
that most of the containers manufactured with potentially noncompliant 
warning labels were retrieved from Petrochemical, Inc. and Nissan prior 
to use.
    Intac has reviewed the brake fluid container manufacturing process, 
determined the cause of this noncompliance, and modified the process to 
eliminate this noncompliance in the future.
    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 would be required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and 
from remedying the noncompliance, as would be required by 49 U.S.C. 
30120.

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

    Issued on: July 5, 2000.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 00-17416 Filed 7-10-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P