[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 235 (Thursday, December 8, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73059-73061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23765]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration


Denial of Motor Vehicle Defect Petition

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Denial of petition for a defect investigation.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the reasons for the denial of a 
petition submitted by Mr. Ronald Strickland to NHTSA's Office of 
Defects Investigation

[[Page 73060]]

(ODI), received on June 24, 2005, under 49 U.S.C. 30162, requesting 
that the agency commence a proceeding to determine the existence of a 
defect related to motor vehicle safety with respect to the performance 
of the ignition coil plugs on model year (MY) 2000-2003 Volkswagen (VW) 
Jetta, Golf and Passat sedans with 4, 6, or 8 cylinder engines. After a 
review of the petition and other information, NHTSA has concluded that 
further expenditure of the agency's investigative resources on the 
issues raised by the petition does not appear to be warranted. The 
agency accordingly has denied the petition. The petition is hereinafter 
identified as DP05-004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Gregory Magno, Defects Assessment 
Division, Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By letter received on June 24, 2005, Mr. 
Ronald M. Strickland of Raleigh, NC, submitted a petition requesting 
that the agency investigate the performance of the ignition coils on 
model year (MY) 2000-2003 Volkswagen Jetta, Golf and Passat sedans.
    The petitioner alleges that he had experienced multiple stalling 
events as a result of one or more ignition coils malfunctioning on his 
2002 VW Jetta. As a result of the engine stalling, the petitioner 
reported a loss of power steering and the need for increased braking 
effort when he pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road. After a 
few minutes parked on the shoulder, he was able to restart and drive 
the vehicle, although the engine operated at reduced power.
    VW issued a Customer Satisfaction Campaign (CSC) on January 31, 
2003, instructing their dealerships to inspect 2001-2002 VW vehicles 
for malfunctioning ignition coils. Pre-campaign letters were sent to 
owners in February 2003. Any such coils were to be replaced at no cost 
to the vehicle owner. In May 2003, VW issued a dealer circular, which 
addressed their need to notify consumers as replacement ignition coils 
became available. Consumers were notified to bring their vehicles to 
their dealerships via owner letters mailed out on June 6, 2003. In 
September 2003, additional notification targeting 2002-2003 VW Golf GTI 
and Jetta 6-cylinder models was mailed to those owners. In November 
2003, reminder notifications were mailed to owners who have not had the 
campaign repairs done.
    Initially, VW instructed the dealerships to replace only the 
malfunctioning ignition coil. However, revised CSCs were issued to 
dealerships in December 2003 and January 2004, instructing dealerships 
to replace all ignition coils regardless of their performance and to 
include wiring harness modifications needed to perform the campaign on 
specific MY 2002-2003 Jetta vehicles.
    To date, ODI has received a total of 516 consumer complaints 
(including one from the petitioner) about the ignition coil performance 
in MY 2000 to 2003 VW vehicles. ODI analyzed the material and 
identified 133 complaints (25.7% of the total) that experienced the 
same stall event as the petitioner. The remaining reports voiced 
concerns regarding the engine drivability issues (i.e., reduced engine 
power, hesitation and surging), none of which involved a crash, injury, 
or fatality.
    Three of the complainants indicated to ODI that their 
malfunctioning ignition coils overheated but caused no additional 
vehicle damage. A fourth consumer reported an engine fire from a failed 
coil and was able to extinguish the flames, which were localized to the 
top of the engine intake manifold without further incident.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN08DE05.001


[[Page 73061]]


    Within the last 12 months ODI has received only 17 complaints 
regarding either stalling or drivability issues with these ignition 
coils. Within the last two years ODI has received only 38 complaints. 
After the first CSC was sent to dealerships on January 31, 2003, by VW, 
the number of complaints regarding this issue has rapidly declined. 
(Figure 1)
    Although the concerns of the petitioner could theoretically lead to 
a safety problem, two years of real-world data shows very little risk 
due to the fact that in the majority of events the engine continues to 
operate at a reduced power level. The absence of reported real-world 
crash experience is consistent with the minimal consequence on the 
vehicle control systems associated with ignition coil failure. This is 
largely due to the fact that the failure happens on an individual coil 
and there is no trend of multiple and simultaneous coil failures that 
would tend to drive up the rate of reported stalling events. Should the 
vehicle stall, the power brake system will maintain a reserve of two or 
more brake pedal applications before reverting to a manual braking 
application mode. Any loss of power steering assist will increase 
steering effort at low speeds but at highway speeds the increase in 
steering effort will be minimal to none. Once the vehicle operator 
becomes aware of the problem (by experiencing a loss of power due to 
one of the ignition coils malfunctioning), he or she is able to take 
precautionary and compensatory measures and still maintain control of 
the vehicle.
    In sum, VW's service campaign seems to be effectively alleviating 
the problem the petitioner has raised; the frequency of the alleged 
defect has declined considerably; and the alleged defect does not, 
based on current evidence, seem likely to lead to a significant safety 
problem. In view of the foregoing, it is unlikely that the NHTSA would 
issue an order for the notification and remedy of the alleged defect as 
defined by the petitioner at the conclusion of the investigation 
requested in the petition. Therefore, in view of the need to allocate 
and prioritize the NHTSA's limited resources to best accomplish the 
agency's safety mission, the petition is denied.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30162(d); delegations of authority at CFR 
1.50 and 501.8.

    Issued on: December 2, 2005.
Daniel Smith,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 05-23765 Filed 12-7-05; 8:45 am]
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