[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 97 (Wednesday, May 19, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28977-28978]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-11307]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2004-17679; Notice 1]
General Motors Corporation, Receipt of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
General Motors Corporation (GM), has determined that certain 2004
model year vehicles that it produced do not comply with S5.1 of 49 CFR
571.124, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 124,
``Accelerator control systems.'' GM has filed an appropriate report
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.''
Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h), GM has petitioned for
an exemption from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C.
chapter 301 on the basis that this noncompliance is inconsequential to
motor vehicle safety.
This notice of receipt of GM's petition 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 petition.
Approximately 19,924 model year 2004 Cadillac SRX, Cadillac XLR,
and Pontiac Grand Prix vehicles are affected. S5.1 of FMVSS No. 124
requires that:
There shall be at least two sources of energy capable of
returning the throttle to the idle position within the time limit
specified by S5.3 . . . . In the event of failure of one source of
energy by a single severance or disconnection, the throttle shall
return to the idle position within the time limits specified by S5.3
. . . .
In the event of failure of either of the two Electronic Throttle
Control (ETC) Pedal return springs, at ambient temperatures of -
30[deg]C to -40[deg]C for the Grand Prix and XLR and -10[deg]C to -
40[deg]C for the SXR, the engine in some of the subject vehicles may
not return to idle within the time limits specified by S5.3.
GM believes that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor
vehicle safety for the following reasons:
Vehicle Controllability: A number of conditions must occur for
the noncompliance to occur. A return spring must be severed, the
stack-up of tolerances in the ETC Pedal Position Sensor must exist,
the vehicle must have soaked at an ambient temperature of -30[deg]C
to -40[deg]C for the Grand Prix and XLR and -10[deg]C to -40[deg]C
for the SXR, and the customer must drive the vehicle prior to the
vehicle interior warming up. In the extremely low likelihood of all
of these conditions existing, the condition would occur upon the
first application of the throttle pedal. The vehicle would continue
to be controllable by steering and braking, and the ETC Pedal
assembly would return to normal operation once the passenger
compartment warmed up.
Pedal Assembly is Protected: When FMVSS No. 124 was established
in 1973, the accelerator control systems of vehicles consisted of a
mechanical connection between the accelerator pedal and the engine's
carburetor. The throttle return springs required by FMVSS No. 124
were typically part of the carburetor, and subject to the harsh
engine environment. The requirements of S5.1 were established to
ensure that if one of those springs in that environment were to
fail, the engine would return to idle in a timely manner.
The ETC Accelerator Pedal Module in the subject vehicles
consists of the accelerator pedal at the end of the accelerator
pedal lever. The lever is connected to the ETC Pedal Sensor shaft,
and is returned to the idle position by two return springs. The ETC
Pedal Sensor provides two redundant signals to the engine control
module to indicate accelerator pedal position. The ETC Accelerator
Pedal Module is located entirely within the passenger compartment of
the vehicle. The return springs are in a protected area under the
instrument panel, and are not subject to the harsh environment of
the engine compartment.
Condition Requires Failed Return Spring: The condition that is
described can only occur if one of the two return springs is severed
or disconnected. The springs in the subject Accelerator Pedal
Module, however, have extremely high reliability and are not likely
to fail in the real world.
Durability Testing: The ETC Accelerator Pedal Module is designed
for a service life of at least 100,000 miles or 10 years working
life for passenger car application. The Minimum Typical Predicted
Usage Profile of the Component Technical Specification states that
the Accelerator Pedal mechanism may be subject to 35,000,000 dithers
/ 70,000,000 sensor direction changes. The GM Test Procedure TP3750,
Accelerator Pedal Lab Durability Cycling Test, that is used during
the development and validation of this system, subjects these parts
to 2 million cycles, an equivalent usage greater than 6 lives for an
automatic transmission passenger vehicle and 3 lives for a manual
transmission passenger vehicle. There were no accelerator pedal
return spring failures after testing multiple samples to 10 million
cycles during the durability testing that was performed on the ETC
Accelerator Pedal Module for the subject vehicles.
Condition Requires Extreme Temperatures, Pedal Assembly Warms
Quickly: The root cause of the condition is an increase in friction
that may occur on some ETC Accelerator Pedal Modules due to a stack-
up of tolerances, but only when the Module is subjected to extreme
ambient temperatures. All tests at temperatures above those extremes
resulted in full compliance with the FMVSS No. 124 time limits for
all pedal assemblies tested. Therefore, the ambient temperatures
required for the possibility of the noncompliance to exist are
severe. Even if a vehicle with a disconnected return spring soaked
under the necessary harsh conditions for a sufficient time, the
potential for the noncompliance to occur would exist for only a
short time, because the pedal assembly would warm up quickly with
activation of the vehicle heating system.
Warranty Data: GM has reviewed warranty data for these 2004
vehicles, as well as complaint data. GM is unaware of any data
suggesting the subject condition is a real world safety issue.
Prior NHTSA Decision: On August 3, 1998, NHTSA granted a
petition for decision of inconsequential noncompliance to GM for
1997 Chevrolet Corvettes that failed to meet the requirements of
FMVSS No. 124, with respect to the requirement to return to idle in
less than 3 seconds at -40[deg]C.
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments on the petition described above. Comments must refer to the
docket and notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and be
submitted by any of the following methods. Mail: Docket Management
Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, Nassif Building, Room PL-
401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Hand delivery:
Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh
Street, SW., Washington, DC. It is requested, but not required, that
two copies of the comments be provided. The Docket Section is open on
weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except Federal holidays. Comments may
be submitted electronically by logging onto the Docket Management
System Web site at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on
[[Page 28978]]
``Help'' to obtain instructions for filing the document electronically.
Comments may be faxed to 1-202-493-2251, or may be submitted to the
Federal eRulemaking Portal: go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow
the online instructions for submitting comments.
The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received
before the close of business on the closing date indicated below will
be filed and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be
considered to the extent possible. When the petition is granted or
denied, notice of the decision will be published in the Federal
Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.
Comment closing date: June 18, 2004.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at
CFR 1.50 and 501.8.
Issued on: May 14, 2004.
Kenneth N. Weinstein,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 04-11307 Filed 5-18-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P