[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 239 (Monday, December 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77415-77416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31349]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2015-0113; Notice 1]


Nitto Tire U.S.A, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

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

ACTION: Receipt of petition.

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SUMMARY: Nitto Tire U.S.A., Inc. (Nitto), has determined that certain 
Nitto NT05 passenger car tires manufactured between December 14, 2014 
and August 1, 2015, do not fully comply with paragraph S5.5(e) of 
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New Pneumatic 
Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Nitto filed a report \1\ pursuant to 
49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.
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    \1\ Originally dated September 15, 2015 under the name of its 
parent company Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas Inc., and refiled 
under its own name on November 5, 2015).

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is January 13, 
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2016.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data, 
views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the 
docket and notice number cited at the beginning of this notice and 
submitted by any of the following methods:
     Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to: U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Deliver: Deliver comments by hand to: U.S. Department 
of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. The 
Docket Section is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. except 
Federal Holidays.
     Electronically: Submit comments electronically by: Logging 
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at http://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments. Comments may also be faxed to (202) 493-2251.
    Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater 
than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of 
necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in 
hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish 
to receive confirmation that your comments were received, please 
enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the comments. Note that 
all comments received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
    Documents submitted to a docket may be viewed by anyone at the 
address and times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the 
Internet at http://www.regulations.gov by following the online 
instructions for accessing the dockets. DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement is available for review in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000, (65 FR 19477-78).
    The petition, supporting materials, and all comments received 
before the close of business on the closing date indicated above 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Overview

    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see implementing rule 
at 49 CFR part 556), Nitto submitted a petition 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 Nitto'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.

II. Tires Involved

    Affected are approximately 1,059 Nitto NT05 size 295/35ZR18 99W 
passenger car tires manufactured between December 14, 2014 and August 
1, 2015.

III. Noncompliance

    Nitto explains that the noncompliance is that the sidewall markings 
on the subject tires do not include the correct generic name for the 
plies in the tread and sidewall area of the tires as required by 
paragraph S5.5(e) of FMVSS No. 139. Specifically, the subject tires are 
marked with ``Tread 2 Steel 2 Rayon 1 Nylon; Sidewall 3 Rayon.'' The 
correct marking should be ``Tread 2 Steel 2 Polyester 1 Nylon; Sidewall 
3 Polyester.''

IV. Rule Text

    Paragraph S5.5(e) of FMVSS No. 139 requires in pertinent part:

    S5.5 Tire markings. Except as specified in paragraphs (a) 
through (i) of S5.5, each tire must be marked on each sidewall with 
the information specified in S5.5(a) through (d) and on one sidewall 
with the information specified in S5.5(e) through (i) according to 
the phase-in schedule specified in S7 of this standard. . . .
    (e) The generic name of each cord material used in the plies 
(both sidewall and tread area) of the tire; . . .

V. Summary of Nitto's Analyses

    Nitto stated its belief that the subject noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for the following reasons:
    (1) Nitto believes that in the Safety Act Congress acknowledged 
that there are cases where a vehicle or equipment may fail to comply 
with a safety standard, but that the impact on motor vehicle safety is 
so slight that an exemption from the notice and remedy requirements of 
the Safety Act is justified.
    (2) Nitto states that the subject tires meet all other performance 
and regulatory requirements of FMVSS No. 139.
    (3) Nitto has not received any complaints, claims, or warranty 
adjustments related to this noncompliance.
    (4) Nitto believes that NHTSA has previously granted 
inconsequential noncompliance petitions for noncompliances that it 
believes are similar to the subject noncompliance.
    Nitto has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the 
noncompliance so that future production of the subject tires will 
comply with all applicable labeling requirements of FMVSS No. 139.
    In summation, Nitto believes that the described noncompliance of 
the subject tires is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that 
its petition, to exempt Nitto from providing recall notification of 
noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and remedying the recall 
noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120 should be granted.
    NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 
30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a 
determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers 
only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, 
to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance 
and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any decision on 
this petition only applies to

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the subject tires that Nitto no longer controlled at the time it 
determined that the noncompliance existed. However, any decision on 
this petition does not relieve equipment distributors and dealers of 
the prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, or introduction or 
delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of the noncompliant 
tires under their control after Nitto notified them that the subject 
noncompliance existed.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: Delegations of authority at 
49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8.

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2015-31349 Filed 12-11-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P