[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 28, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45109-45110]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-17107]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2004-17678; Notice 2]


Ford Motor Company, Grant of Petition for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Ford Motor Company (Ford) determined that the certification labels 
on certain vehicles that it produced in 1998 through 2004 do not comply 
with S5.3.2 of 49 CFR 571.120, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 
(FMVSS) No. 120, ``Tire selection and rims for motor vehicles other 
than passenger cars.'' Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h), 
Ford has petitioned for a determination that this noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety and has filed an appropriate 
report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, ``Defect and Noncompliance 
Reports.'' Notice of receipt of the petition was published with a 30-
day comment period on May 24, 2004 in the Federal Register (69 FR 
29627). NHTSA received one comment.
    A total of approximately 908,548 model year 1999 through 2003 Ford 
Windstar multi-purpose passenger vehicles and approximately 86,321 
model year 2004 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey multipurpose 
passenger vehicles produced between August 4, 1998 and March 24, 2004 
are affected. S5.3.2 of FMVSS 120 requires that each vehicle shall 
identify either on the certification label or on the separate tire 
information label ``the [rim] size designation and, if applicable, the 
type designation of [r]ims * * *.'' The labeling on the affected 
vehicles does not include the rim size and type information required by 
S5.3.2.
    Ford believes that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety and that no corrective action is warranted. Ford states 
that the likelihood of an operator inadvertently installing an 
incorrect wheel on one of these vehicles is virtually nonexistent 
because the rim size and type information is marked on the wheels of 
the vehicle. Ford is not aware of any incidents relating to motor 
vehicle safety or any other evidence that this inadvertent omission of 
rim size and type data on the vehicle labeling has had a negative 
safety impact on the owners and/or operators of these vehicles.
    One comment was received in response to the notice of receipt. The 
commenter, Barb Sachau of Florham Park, NJ, stated:

    I do not think approval for any exemptions at all should be 
granted. Ford tires have received a lot of bad publicity. Therefore 
I do not think this exemption is in the public interest. I also 
think this is major and not ``inconsequential.'' Why would Ford all 
of a sudden not have this rim information--seems very strange to me. 
I oppose and object to this request for an exemption.

    The issue raised by the commenter related to the safety of tires on 
Ford vehicles. However, the petition addresses omission of information 
pertaining to rim size and type. The agency is not aware of any recent 
recalls involving rims used on Ford vehicles. The issue to be 
considered in determining whether to grant this petition is the effect 
of the noncompliance on motor vehicle safety.

[[Page 45110]]

The comment does not address this issue, and therefore is not 
persuasive in its argument that the petition should not be granted.
    The agency agrees with Ford this noncompliance will not have an 
adverse effect on vehicle safety. The agency believes that the true 
measure of inconsequentiality to motor vehicle safety in this case is 
whether the rim size and type information is readily available to 
potential users. As Ford states, the rim size and type are marked on 
the wheels of the vehicle, thus providing the information needed to 
ensure that the vehicles are equipped with the proper rims. Ford has 
not received any owner or field complaints regarding the label 
omission, and it has corrected the problem.
    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that the 
petitioner has met its burden of persuasion that the noncompliance 
described is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, 
Ford's petition is granted and the petitioner is exempted from the 
obligation of providing notification of and a remedy for the 
noncompliance.

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

    Issued on: July 22, 2004.
Kenneth N. Weinstein,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 04-17107 Filed 7-27-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P