[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 250 (Friday, December 29, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78511-78512]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-22429]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2006-25903; Notice 2]


BMW of North America, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

    BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) has determined that certain 
vehicles that it produced in 2005 and 2006 do not comply with 
S4.5.1(b)(3) and S4.5.1(e)(3) of 49 CFR 571.208, Federal Motor Vehicle 
Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, ``Occupant crash protection.'' 
Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h), BMW 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 a 
petition was published, with a 30-day comment period, on October 2, 
2006, in the Federal Register (71 FR 58048). NHTSA received no 
comments.
    Affected are a total of approximately 27,975 model year 2006 BMW X5 
vehicles produced between September 1, 2005 and June 28, 2006. The 
affected vehicles were produced according to FMVSS No. 208 S14, the 
advanced air bag requirements including air bag suppression and 
telltale. However, the affected vehicles were not equipped with the 
corresponding warning labels, specifically the FMVSS No. 208 
S4.5.1(b)(3) sun visor label identified in

[[Page 78512]]

Figure 11, and the S4.5.1(e)(3) removable label on dash identified in 
Figure 12. Instead, the affected vehicles were equipped with the ``pre-
advanced'' air bag warning labels, specifically the FMVSS No. 208 
S4.5.1(b)(1) sun visor label identified in Figure 6a, and the 
S4.5.1(e)(1) removable label on dash identified in Figure 7. This is 
shown as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUN VISOR LABEL
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Required Label: S4.5.1(b)(3) Figure 11.  Noncompliant Label:
                                          S4.5.1(b)(1) Fig. 6a.
WARNING--EVEN WITH ADVANCED AIR BAGS...  WARNING--DEATH or SERIOUS
                                          INJURY can occur.
Children can be killed or seriously      Children 12 and under can be
 injured by the air bag.                  killed by the air bag.
The back seat is the safest place for    The BACK SEAT is the SAFEST
 children.                                place for children.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in    NEVER put a rear-facing child
 front.                                   seat in front.
Always use seat belts and child          ALWAYS use SEAT BELTS and CHILD
 restraints.                              RESTRAINTS.
See owner's manual for more information  Sit as far back as possible
 about air bags.                          from the air bag.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMOVABLE LABEL ON DASH
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Required Label: S4.5.1(e)(3) Figure 12.  Noncompliant Label:
                                          S4.5.1(e)(2) Figure 7.
This Vehicle is Equipped with Advanced   WARNING.
 Air Bags.
Even with Advanced Air Bags............
Children can be killed or seriously      Children Can be KILLED or
 injured by the air bag.                  INJURED by Passenger Air Bag
The back seat is the safest place for    The back seat is the safest
 children.                                place for children 12 and
                                          under.
Never put a rear-facing child seat in
 the front.
Always use seat belts and child          Make sure all children use seat
 restraints.                              belts or child seats.
See owner's manual for more information
 about air bags..
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    BMW has corrected the problem that caused these errors so that they 
will not be repeated in future production.
    BMW believes that the noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety and that no corrective action is warranted. BMW states 
that the labels it actually used are ``more stringent'' and ``more 
emphatic, which would lead a consumer to act in a more cautious manner, 
and not in a less safe manner.'' BMW says,

    The difference in the warning message texts between the labels 
clearly indicates that the warning message on the affected vehicles' 
labels is stricter when compared to the advanced air bag labels. 
Therefore, even though the labels are incorrect, they would not 
result in a decrease in the safety message. Rather, they provide an 
increased emphasis.

    BMW further states that the vehicles are equipped with passenger 
air bag telltale lamps, and therefore the owners will know from these 
lamps that the vehicles are equipped with an advanced air bag system.
    BMW also says,

    * * * [T]he Owners Manual of the affected vehicles contains a 
description of the advanced air bag system including a description 
of the passenger air bag system telltale lamp. Owners who consult 
the Owners Manual will be able to read a description of the advanced 
air bag system along with a description of the passenger air bag 
system telltale lamp. Therefore, owners will know from their Owners 
Manual that their vehicle is equipped with a FMVSS 208 advanced air 
bag system.

    BMW states that it has no record that customers contacted the 
company with inquiries, complaints, or comments on the air bag warning 
labels.
    NHTSA agrees with BMW that the noncompliance is inconsequential to 
motor vehicle safety. The noncompliant labels lack a statement that the 
vehicle is equipped with advanced airbags. However, as BMW points out 
in its petition, both the passenger air bag telltale lamp and the 
owner's manual indicate the presence of advanced airbags.
    Except for indicating that the vehicle is equipped with advanced 
airbags, the noncompliant permanent sun visor label contains virtually 
the same information as required by S4.5.1(b)(3). Therefore, there is 
no degradation of safety resulting from the sun visor label.
    The noncompliant removable dash label contains similar information 
to that required by S4.5.1(e)(3) other than the statement, ``Never put 
a rear-facing child seat in the front.'' However, this label does state 
that ``The back seat is the safest place for children 12 and under,'' 
and this label is a removable label which most likely will not stay on 
the vehicle once it is purchased. The statement, ``Never put a rear-
facing child seat in the front'' is present on the permanent sun visor 
label, and thus is permanently visible to the vehicle user. Therefore, 
NHTSA agrees with BMW that this noncompliance will not result in 
decreased safety.
    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, 
BMW'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: December 26, 2006.
Daniel C. Smith,
Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
[FR Doc. E6-22429 Filed 12-28-06; 8:45 am]
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