[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 3, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 72026]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-30520]



[[Page 72026]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2002-12544; Notice 2]


Mercedes-Benz, U.S.A. Inc.; Grant of Application for Decision 
That Noncompliance Is Inconsequential to Motor Vehicle Safety

    Mercedes-Benz, U.S.A., Inc. (MBUSA), has determined that ``a 
limited number'' of model year 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class, E-Class and 
CLK-Class vehicles that it produced and sold do not fully comply with 
49 CFR 571.135, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 135, 
``Passenger Car Brake Systems,'' and has filed an appropriate report 
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.'' 
MBUSA 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 or receipt of the application was published in the Federal 
Register on July 8, 2002, with a 30-day comment period (67 FR 45180). 
NHTSA received no comments on this application.
    The noncompliant vehicles were produced and sold with brake warning 
indicators that do not meet certain requirements mandated by FMVSS No. 
135. Paragraph S5.5.5 (a) of FMVSS No. 135 requires that all vehicles 
be equipped with a brake warning indicator lamp. The standard 
enumerates specific minimum parameters applicable to the warning:

    Each visual indicator shall display a word or words in 
accordance with the requirements of Standard No. 101 (49 CFR 
571.101) [i.e., ``Brake''] and this section, which shall be legible 
to the driver under all daytime and nighttime conditions when 
activated. Unless otherwise specified, the words shall have letters 
not less than 3.2 mm (1/8 inch) high and the letters and background 
shall be of contrasting colors, one of which is red. Words and 
symbols in addition to those required by Standard No. 101 and this 
section may be provided for purposes of safety.

    The affected vehicles are equipped with ``Brake'' indicator warning 
lamps located in the upper right hand corner of the speedometer 
display. The letters in the indicator warning ``BRAKE'' were changed 
from all upper-case letters to mixed upper and lower-case letters. As a 
result, the letters ``B'' and ``k'' in the ``Brake'' indicator lamp 
meet the minimum height requirements of FMVSS No. 135, but the letters 
``r, `` ``a,'' and ``e'' are 7/10 mm shorter than the minimum 3.2 mm 
requirements. MBUSA does not believe that the 7/10 mm difference is 
discernible by the average driver for the following reasons:
    1. The ``Brake'' warning indicator is still easily recognizable due 
to its positioning on the dashboard, the color of the indicator, and 
other factors.
    2. In addition to the ``Brake'' warning indicator, each of the 
affected Mercedes-Benz vehicles is also equipped with a dual screen 
message center that provides brake system information in a highly 
visible and audible manner.
    MBUSA also cited an agency action from 1982, 47 FR 31347, in which 
the agency granted an application for a decision that a noncompliance 
by Subaru was inconsequential to vehicle safety. As with MBUSA, Subaru 
failed to use letters of sufficient height for the brake malfunction 
telltale in a number of its vehicles. MBUSA believes that the Subaru 
issues were essentially the same as the current MBUSA noncompliance 
issues and further believes the Subaru case should support the MBUSA 
request for a determination that the noncompliance is inconsequential 
to vehicle safety. Also, MBUSA believes that the noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that no corrective action 
is warranted.
    The agency has reviewed the section of FMVSS No. 135 that discusses 
the requirements for character height in the brake warning indicator 
lamp, paragraph S5.5.5 (a), and concurs with MBUSA's decision that it 
is in noncompliance with that paragraph. However, the agency does not 
believe that the noncompliance will degrade the legibility of the brake 
malfunction telltale, or will have an adverse effect on vehicle safety. 
According to MBUSA, three of the letters in the word ``Brake'', the 
``r'', ``a'', and the ``e'' are about 78% of the minimum height 
required for such letters, while the other two letters in the word 
``Brake,'' the ``B'' and the ``k'', meet the minimum height requirement 
of 3.2 mm. MBUSA stated in its petition that the affected vehicles are 
equipped with a dual screen message center that displays brake system 
information in addition to the brake telltale required by FMVSS No. 135 
whenever a brake system problem is detected. The messages displayed by 
the message center, which provide information about the specific 
problem the vehicle diagnostic system has detected, are illuminated 
along with the ``Brake'' telltale. When the vehicle detects a high 
priority brake system malfunction, the message center also triggers an 
audible signal in addition to the illumination of the ``Brake'' 
telltale and the specific brake malfunction message.
    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that the 
petitioner has met its burden of persuasion that the noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, the application 
is granted and the applicant is exempted from providing the 
notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 49 U.S.C. 
30120, respectively.

    Authority: (49 U.S.C. 301118, 301120: delegations of authority 
at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8).

    Issued on: November 26, 2002.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 02-30520 Filed 12-2-02; 8:45 am]
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