[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 111 (Thursday, June 9, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35283-35284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-12405]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2021-0042; Notice 1]


Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, 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: Continental Tire the Americas, LLC (``CTA''), has determined 
that certain Altimax RT 43 replacement passenger car tires do not fully 
comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New 
Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. CTA filed an original 
noncompliance report dated April 20, 2021, and subsequently petitioned 
NHTSA on May 13, 2021, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is 
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. This notice 
announces receipt of CTA's petition.

DATES: Send comments on or before July 11, 2022.

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 in the title of this notice and 
submitted by any of the following methods:
     Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to the 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 Delivery: Deliver comments by hand to the 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 for Federal holidays.
     Electronically: Submit comments electronically by logging 
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) website at https://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 comments you have submitted by mail were 
received, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the 
comments. Note that all comments received will be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.
    All comments and supporting materials received before the close of 
business on the closing date indicated above will be filed in the 
docket and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials 
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be 
considered to the fullest extent possible.
    When the petition is granted or denied, notice of the decision will 
also be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority 
indicated at the end of this notice.
    All comments, background documentation, and supporting materials 
submitted to the docket may be viewed by anyone at the address and 
times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the internet at 
https://www.regulations.gov by following the online instructions for 
accessing the docket. The docket ID number for this petition is shown 
in the heading of this notice.
    DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement is available for review in a 
Federal Register notice published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jayton Lindley, Office of Vehicle 
Safety Compliance, NHTSA, (325) 655-0547, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Overview

    CTA has determined that certain Altimax RT43 replacement passenger 
car tires do not fully comply with the requirements of paragraph 
S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139, New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light 
Vehicles (49 CFR 571.139). CTA filed a noncompliance report dated April 
20, 2021, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance 
Responsibility and Reports. CTA subsequently petitioned NHTSA on May 
13, 2021, for an exemption from the notification and remedy 
requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that this 
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety, 
pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, 
Exemption for Inconsequential Defect or Noncompliance.
    This notice of receipt of CTA'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

    Approximately three (3) Altimax RT43 replacement passenger car 
tires, size 175/65R14 82T, manufactured between March 8, 2020, and 
March 14, 2020, are potentially involved.

[[Page 35284]]

III. Noncompliance

    CTA explains that the noncompliance is due to a mold error in which 
the subject tires contain a tire identification number (TIN) that omits 
the 3-digit plant code and the 6-symbol manufacturer's identification 
mark as required by paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139 and paragraph 
574.5(b). Specifically, the subject tires should have been labeled 
``DOT 036 0F934V 1020'' on the outboard sidewall and ``DOT 036 0F934V'' 
on the inboard sidewall but were instead labeled ``DOT 1020'' on the 
outboard sidewall and ``DOT'' on the inboard sidewall.

IV. Rule Requirements

    Paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139 includes the requirements 
relevant to this petition.
     For tires manufactured on or after September 1, 2009, each 
tire must be labeled with the tire identification number required by 49 
CFR part 574 on the intended outboard sidewall of the tire.
     Except for retreaded tires, if a tire does not have an 
intended outboard sidewall, the tire must be labeled with the tire 
identification number required by 49 CFR part 574 on one sidewall and 
with either the tire identification number or a partial tire 
identification number, containing all characters in the tire 
identification number except for the date code and, at the discretion 
of the manufacturer, any optional code, on the other sidewall.

V. Summary of CTA's Petition

    The following views and arguments presented in this section, ``V. 
Summary of CTA's Petition,'' are the views and arguments provided by 
CTA. They have not been evaluated by the Agency and do not reflect the 
views of the Agency. CTA describes the subject noncompliance and 
contends that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to 
motor vehicle safety.
    In support of its petition, CTA submitted the following reasoning:
    CTA says that in most instances, it ``tests its tires to standards 
which exceed the FMVSS minimums.'' CTA asserts that ``the subject tires 
contain all the necessary sidewall markings to show compliance with 
FMVSS testing'' and that other than the incorrect TIN marking, the 
tires ``meet or exceed'' FMVSS No. 139 performance and labeling 
requirements.
    According to CTA, the serial sidewall of the subject tires displays 
the correct DOT production week and year and when combined with other 
markings available on the tire, they can be uniquely identified.
    CTA cites the following previous inconsequentiality petitions to 
support its argument:
    a. Michelin North America, Inc., 85 FR 37495 (June 22, 2020).
    b. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 82 FR 52966 (November 15, 2017).
    c. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, 82 FR 17510 (April 11, 2017).
    CTA states that it is not aware of any tire failures related to 
performance that resulted in an accident, injury, property damage, 
customer complaint, or any field reports associated with the 
mislabeling.
    CTA says that they have quarantined its current inventory of the 
noncompliant tires leaving three tires remaining in the market.
    CTA concludes that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as 
it relates to motor vehicle safety and that its petition to be exempted 
from providing notification of the noncompliance, as required by 49 
U.S.C. 30118, and a remedy for the 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 the subject tires that CTA 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 CTA 
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)

Otto G. Matheke III,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2022-12405 Filed 6-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P