[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 169 (Thursday, September 4, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42788-42790]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-16912]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket Nos. NHTSA-2023-0048 and NHTSA-2023-0053; Notice 1]
Cristales Inastillables de M[eacute]xico and Volkswagen Group of
America, Inc., Receipt of Petitions 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: Cristales Inastillables de M[eacute]xico (Cristales), formerly
Vitro Automotriz, S.A. de C.V. (Vitro), and Volkswagen Group of
America, Inc., (Volkswagen) (collectively referred to as ``the
petitioners'') have determined that the Vitro Taos Door Glass panes in
certain model year (MY) 2022-2023 Volkswagen Taos motor vehicles do not
fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No.
205, Glazing Materials. Vitro filed a noncompliance report dated May
30, 2023, and Volkswagen filed a noncompliance report on July 21, 2023.
Cristales petitioned NHTSA (the ``Agency'') in June 2023, and
Volkswagen petitioned NHTSA on August 14, 2023, for a decision that the
subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle
safety. This document announces receipt of Cristales and Volkswagen's
petitions.
DATES: Send comments on or before October 6, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data,
views, and arguments on these petitions. Comments must refer to the
docket and notice number cited in the title of this notice and may be
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://
[[Page 42789]]
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 petitions are 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 dockets. The docket ID number for these petitions are
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: Jack Chern, General Engineer, NHTSA,
Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, (202) 366-0661.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview: The petitioners determined that Vitro Taos Door Glass
panes equipped in certain MY 2022-2023 Volkswagen Taos motor vehicles
do not fully comply with paragraph S6.2 of FMVSS No. 205, Glazing
Materials (49 CFR 571.205).
Vitro filed a noncompliance report dated May 30, 2023, and
Volkswagen filed a noncompliance report dated July 21, 2023, pursuant
to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and
Reports. Cristales petitioned NHTSA on June 2023,\1\ and Volkswagen
petitioned NHTSA on August 14, 2023, 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.
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\1\ The exact date the paper filing was submitted to NHTSA
cannot be discerned; the filing was scanned into the manufacturer
portal on July 6, 2024.
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This notice of receipt of the petitioners' petitions is published
under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency
decision or another exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the
petitions.
II. Equipment and Vehicles Involved: Approximately 46,400 Taos
Front Door Tintex Glass, Taos Rear Door Tintex Glass, and Taos Rear
Door Filtraplus Glass with incorrect glazing manufacturer DOT code
manufactured by Cristales between June 20, 2022, and May 1, 2023; and
approximately 62,685 MY 2022-2023 Volkswagen Taos motor vehicles with
front and rear door window glass that included the incorrect glazing
manufacturer DOT code were reported by the vehicle manufacturer.
III. Rule Requirements: Paragraph S6.2 of FMVSS No. 205 includes
the requirements relevant to these petitions. A prime glazing
manufacturer certifies its products by adding the symbol ``DOT'' and a
manufacturer's code assigned by NHTSA to the required markings
specified in section 7 of ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996.
IV. Noncompliance: The petitioners explain that the subject glazing
material contains a manufacturer's code that is incorrect, and
therefore, does not comply with paragraph S6.2 of FMVSS No. 205.
Specifically, the subject glazing materials contain the manufacturer's
code ``DOT287,'' when they should be marked with the manufacturer's
code ``DOT540.''
V. Summary of the Petitioners' Petitions: The following views and
arguments presented in this section, ``V. Summary of the Petitioners'
Petitions,'' are the views and arguments provided by the petitioners.
They have not been evaluated by the Agency and do not reflect the views
of the Agency. The petitioners describe the subject noncompliance and
contend that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to
motor vehicle safety.
The petitioners explain that the subject glazing material is
incorrectly marked with the manufacturer's code assigned to Vitro Flex
because the labels were not updated following the relocation of
production from one Cristales plant to another on June 20, 2022.
The petitioners believe that the subject noncompliance is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety because the certification mark
on the subject glazing materials, despite having an incorrect
manufacturer's code, contains the correct part and model number and
meets the performance requirements prescribed by FMVSS No. 205. Because
the subject glazing materials contain the accurate part number, the
petitioners argue that the subject noncompliance is unlikely to lead to
the use of an incorrect replacement part in an original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) application since parts would be ordered using the
OEM's unique part number rather than the ``DOT'' number.
Volkswagen states that the subject window glass meets all technical
specifications and performance requirements of FMVSS No. 205 and also
points out that the stated purpose of FMVSS No. 205 is ``to reduce
injuries resulting from impact to glazing surfaces, to ensure a
necessary degree of transparency in motor vehicle windows for driver
visibility, and to minimize the possibility of occupants being thrown
through the vehicle windows in collisions.'' Volkswagen asserts that,
because the subject glass panes meet all transparency and impact
requirements, Volkswagen does not believe that the incorrect
manufacturer's code marking impacts the ability of the subject glass
panes to satisfy the stated purpose of FMVSS No. 205.
After determining the noncompliance, Volkswagen took steps to stop
the sale of new vehicles impacted by this noncompliance until the
repair could be completed by dealers. Volkswagen mailed dealers new
labels for the window glass that contain the correct prime glazing
manufacturer DOT code. Cristales has since updated the FMVSS 205
required certification mark to contain the correct manufacturer's code.
Taos vehicles produced after July 14, 2023, have front and rear window
glass containing the correct manufacturer's code mark. Volkswagen also
states that it has not received any consumer complaints, claims, or
warranty claims related to the subject noncompliance.
The petitioners conclude by stating their belief that the subject
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety
and their petitions to be exempted from providing notification of the
noncompliance, as
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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
these petitions only apply to the subject equipment that the
petitioners no longer controlled at the time it determined that the
noncompliance existed. However, any decision on these petitions does
not relieve equipment and vehicle distributors and dealers of the
prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, or introduction or delivery
for introduction into interstate commerce of the noncompliant equipment
and vehicles under their control after the petitioners 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. 2025-16912 Filed 9-3-25; 8:45 am]
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