[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 25, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24253-24254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-10245]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2000-7164; Notice 1]


Suzuki Motor Corp.; Receipt of Application for Decision of 
Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Suzuki Motor Corporation of Hamamatsu, Japan, has determined that 
1,595 vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
Standard (FMVSS) No. 225, ``Child Restraint Anchorage Systems,'' and 
has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, ``Defect 
and Noncompliance Reports.'' Suzuki has also applied to be exempted 
from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 
301--``Motor Vehicle Safety'' on the basis that the noncompliance is 
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
    This notice of receipt of an application 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 application.

    FMVSS No. 225, S4.1, requires that:

    Each tether anchorage and each child restraint anchorage system 
installed, either voluntarily or pursuant to this standard, in any 
new vehicle manufactured on or after September 1, 1999, shall comply 
with the configuration, location, marking and strength requirements 
of this standard. The vehicle shall be delivered with written 
information, in English, on how to appropriately use those 
anchorages and systems.

    FMVSS No. 225, S12, requires that:

    The vehicle must provide written instructions, in English, for 
using the tether anchorages and the child restraint anchorage system 
in the vehicle. If the vehicle has an owner's manual, the 
instructions must be in that manual. The instructions shall:
    (a) Indicate which seating positions in the vehicle are equipped 
with tether anchorages and child restraint anchorage systems;
    (b) In the case of vehicles required to be marked as specified 
in paragraphs S4.1, S9.5(a), or S15.4, explain the meaning of 
markings provided to locate the lower anchorages of child restraint 
anchorage systems; and
    (c) Include instructions that provide a step-by-step procedure, 
including diagrams, for properly attaching a child restraint 
system's tether strap to the tether anchorages.

    At the start of production for the 2000 model year, Suzuki began 
installing user-ready tether anchorages as standard equipment in Suzuki 
Swift vehicles. Due to an oversight, however, Suzuki neglected to 
update the Suzuki Swift owner's manual in conjunction with this 
production change. As a result, the owner's manual for 1,595 Suzuki 
Swift vehicles manufactured between August 1999 and February 2000, and 
shipped prior to March 2000 do not comply with the information 
requirements in FMVSS No. 225.
    Suzuki supports its application for inconsequential noncompliance 
with the following:

    The vehicle owner's manual for the subject Suzuki Swift vehicles 
contains the following text relating to the use of child restraint 
systems that require use of a top tether:
    ``Some child restraint systems require the use of a top strap. 
If you use such a restraint system and your vehicle is not equipped 
with the top tether strap anchor bracket, have your dealer install 
the top strap anchor bracket, or contact your dealer for 
instructions on how to install the anchor bracket.''
    In addition to the text message, the owner's manual contains two 
illustrations (one for the hatchback model and one for the sedan 
model) showing a child restraint system

[[Page 24254]]

positioned at one of the rear seating positions, with its tether 
strap attached to the tether anchorage.
    Although the Swift owner's manual does not mention that user-
ready tether anchorages are provided as standard equipment and does 
not show all of the seating positions that are equipped with a 
tether anchorage, the illustrations in the manual do show the tether 
anchorage location for one of the rear seating positions. Suzuki 
believes that vehicle owners will assume, based on the 
illustrations, that anchorages are provided for both rear seating 
positions. In addition, when you look at the actual vehicle, it is 
obvious that user-ready anchorages are provided as standard 
equipment for both rear seating positions. Since the tether 
anchorages are easily recognizable in the vehicle, Suzuki believes 
that failure to fully illustrate the location of each tether 
anchorage in the vehicle owner's manual is inconsequential.
    The Swift owner's manual also does not fully comply with the 
requirement for ``...provide a step-by-step procedure, including 
diagrams, for properly attaching a child restraint system to the 
tether anchorages...''. Typically, because there are differences in 
child restraint system design, the vehicle owner's manual can only 
provide general instructions to hook the tether strap hook into the 
anchor bracket and tighten the tether strap. These steps are 
somewhat obvious, and should be intuitively understood by vehicle 
owners.
    Also, each child restraint system is required to be accompanied 
with its own installation instructions. S5.6.1 of FMVSS No. 213, 
Child Restraint Systems, requires that each child restraint system 
``...must be accompanied by printed installation instructions in the 
English language that provide a step-by-step procedure, including 
diagrams, for installing the system in motor vehicles...''. Suzuki 
believes that vehicle owners rely on the installation instructions 
provided with the child restraint system, rather than those provided 
in the vehicle owner's manual, for information about how to install 
the child restraint system in their vehicle. As a result, Suzuki 
believes that failure to provide a step-by-step procedure, in the 
vehicle owner's manual, for attaching a child restraint system to 
the vehicle's tether anchorages is inconsequential to safety.

    Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and 
arguments on the application of Suzuki described above. Comments should 
refer to the docket number and be submitted to: U.S. Department of 
Transportation Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, 
Washington, DC 20590. It is requested, but not required, that two 
copies be submitted.
    All comments received before the close of business on the closing 
date indicated below will be considered. The application and supporting 
materials, and all comments received after the closing date, will also 
be filed and will be considered to the extent possible. When the 
application is granted or denied, the notice will be published in the 
Federal Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.
    Comment closing date: May 25, 2000.

(49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 
and 501.8)

    Issued on: April 19, 2000.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 00-10245 Filed 4-24-00; 8:45 am]
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