[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 76 (Thursday, April 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27831-27833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08275]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2021-0065; Notice 1]


Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Formerly Cooper Tire & Rubber 
Company, 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: Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (Goodyear), who acquired Cooper 
Tire & Rubber Company (Cooper Tire), has determined that certain Cooper 
Discoverer SRX replacement passenger car tires do not fully comply with 
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New Pneumatic 
Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Cooper Tire filed a noncompliance 
report dated August 19, 2021, and amended it on August 24, 2021. 
Additionally, Goodyear petitioned NHTSA on August 20, 2021, for a 
decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it 
relates to motor vehicle safety. This notice announces receipt of 
Goodyear's petition.

DATES: Send comments on or before May 20, 2024.

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-

[[Page 27832]]

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, General Engineer, 
NHTSA, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, (325) 655-0547, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Overview: Goodyear has determined that certain Cooper Discoverer 
SRX 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). Cooper Tire filed a noncompliance 
report dated August 19, 2021, and amended it on August 24, 2021, 
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility 
and Reports. Goodyear additionally petitioned NHTSA on August 20, 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 Goodyear'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 730 Cooper Discoverer SRX, size 
255/55R20 110H XL, replacement passenger car tires, manufactured 
between March 28, 2021, and April 24, 2021, are potentially involved.
    III. Noncompliance: Goodyear explains that the noncompliance is 
that the Tire Information Number (TIN) on the subject tires exceeds the 
number of characters allowed and therefore, does not fully comply with 
part 574.5(g)(3), as required by S5.5.1 of FMVSS No. 139. Specifically, 
the 4-symbol curing press ID (C13R) was transposed with the 4-symbol 
numeric date code resulting in a TIN that appears to contain 15 
characters, thus containing three more characters than permitted in 49 
CFR 574.5 for TINs that utilize the two-symbol plant code.
    IV. Rule Requirements: Section 49 CFR 574.5(a) and paragraph 
S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139 include 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 Goodyear's Petition: The following views and 
arguments presented in this section, ``V. Summary of Goodyear's 
Petition,'' are the views and arguments provided by Goodyear. They have 
not been evaluated by the Agency and do not reflect the views of the 
Agency. Goodyear describes the subject noncompliance and contends that 
the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle 
safety.
    In support of its petition, Goodyear submits the following 
reasoning:
    According to Goodyear, the subject tires ``meet or exceed'' the 
applicable FMVSS performance requirements and the noncompliance does 
not affect ``the performance of the tires or the safe operation of the 
vehicles on which they are installed.''
    Additionally, in the event of a field action, the noncompliant TIN 
marking could be included in the notification letter sent to the 
consumer.
    Goodyear cites the following previously granted inconsequentiality 
petitions which it says pertain to noncompliances that are similar to 
the subject noncompliance:
     Bridgestone Firestone North America Tire, LLC, Grant of 
Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance; 71 FR 4396 
(January 26, 2006).
     Cooper Tire & Rubber Company; Grant of Application for 
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance; 63 FR 29060, (May 27, 1998).
    Goodyear 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 Goodyear no longer 
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. 
However,

[[Page 27833]]

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 Goodyear 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. 2024-08275 Filed 4-17-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P