[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 111 (Wednesday, June 9, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32413-32414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13055]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2003-15819; Notice 2]


Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.; Grant of Application for 
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) has determined that 
approximately 25,832 vehicles equipped with new pneumatic tires failed 
to comply with certain provisions mandated by Federal Motor Vehicles 
Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, ``Tire selection and rims,'' regarding 
the vehicle normal load.
    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h), MMNA has petitioned 
for a determination that this noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety and had filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR 
Part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance Reports.''
    Notice of receipt of the application was published, with a 30-day 
comment period, on September 15, 2003, in the Federal Register (68 FR 
54047). NHTSA received no comment on this application.
    Mitsubishi Motors Sales Caribbean, Inc., and DaimlerChrysler 
Corporation (at that time, Chrysler Corporation) imported and 
distributed approximately 25,832 vehicles (Mitsubishi Mirages and 
Chrysler Eagle Summits), during the periods of September 22, 1994, 
through May 9, 1996. FMVSS No. 110, ``Tire selection and rims,'' 
S4.2.2, mandates that the vehicle's normal load on each tire must not 
exceed the test load for the high speed performance test as specified 
in FMVSS No. 109, ``New pneumatic tires,'' paragraph S5.5. Paragraph 
S5.5.1 requires that the tire and wheel assembly be mounted and pressed 
against the test wheel with a load of 88 percent of the tire's maximum 
load rating as marked on the tire sidewall.
    As reported by MMNA, the tires on the front axle of each affected 
vehicle,

[[Page 32414]]

when loaded at the vehicle normal load, slightly exceed 88 percent of 
the respective tires maximum load rating. Specifically, the vehicle's 
normal load exceeds 88 percent of the maximum load rating by 
approximately 6kg, which means that the normal load is 89.5 percent of 
the maximum load rating. The noncompliance resulted from a running 
change during the 1995 model year that added a three-speed automatic 
transmission that increased the curb weight by 15kg resulting in a 
front axle load increase of 12kg and a rear axle load increase of 3kg. 
FMVSS No. 110 requires that the vehicle's normal load on each tire must 
not be greater than the high speed performance test load, which is 88 
percent of the maximum load rating as stated on the tire sidewall. 
Compliance with FMVSS No. 110, S4.2.2, was calculated, by MMNA, based 
on the original curb weight (without the three-speed transmission) at 
the vehicle normal load.
    Noting that the noncompliance occurred with vehicles manufactured 
prior to August of 1995, NHTSA agrees that motor vehicle safety would 
not be adversely impacted since the original equipment tires fitted to 
the affected vehicles have more than likely been replaced with a larger 
tire size. This is because the original equipment P145/80R13 size tire 
is no longer being manufactured by most tire manufacturers and has been 
eliminated from the Tire and Rim Association Year Book after 1998 
causing its availability to drop significantly. MMNA believes, and the 
agency agrees, that most consumers would have likely replaced their 
original equipment tires with P155/80R13 size tires, which have a high 
enough load carrying capacity to meet the requirements of FMVSS No. 110 
when fitted to the affected vehicles.
    NHTSA believes that the true measure of inconsequentiality to motor 
vehicle safety in this case is the effect of the noncompliance on the 
operational safety of vehicles on which these tires are mounted. The 
fact that most of these vehicles have been in operation for close to 
nine years and likely have worn out the original equipment tires leads 
the agency to believe that the original noncompliance has no effect on 
the performance of the subject vehicles today.
    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that the 
applicant has met its burden of persuasion that the noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, its application 
is granted and the applicant is exempted from providing the 
notification of the noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and 
from remedying the noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120.

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

    Issued on: June 4, 2004.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 04-13055 Filed 6-8-04; 8:45 am]
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