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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10615-10616]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4030]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2011-0054; Notice 2]

Cooper Tire & Rubber Tire Company, Grant of Petition for Decision 
of Inconsequential Noncompliance

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Grant of Petition.

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SUMMARY: Cooper Tire & Rubber Tire Company, (Cooper) \1\, has 
determined that approximately 6,964 passenger car replacement tires 
manufactured between January 23, 2011 and March 26, 2011, do not fully 
comply with paragraph S5.5(f) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 
(FMVSS) No. 139, New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Cooper 
has filed an appropriate report dated March 31, 2011, pursuant to 49 
CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.
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    \1\ Cooper Tire & Rubber Tire Company (Cooper) is a replacement 
equipment manufacturer incorporated in the state of Delaware.
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    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see implementing rule 
at 49 CFR part 556), Cooper has petitioned 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.
    Notice of receipt of Cooper's petition was published, with a 30-day 
public comment period, on May 17, 2011, in the Federal Register (76 FR 
28502). No comments were received. To view the petition and all 
supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System Web 
site at: http://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online search 
instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2011-0054.''
    For further information on this decision, contact Mr. George 
Gillespie, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-5299, 
facsimile (202) 366-7002.
    Affected are approximately 6,964 size LT285/75R16 Cooper brand 
Discoverer S/T MAXX model passenger car replacement tires manufactured 
between January 23, 2011 and March 26, 2011, at Cooper's plant located 
in Texarkana, Arkansas.
    Cooper explains that the noncompliance is that, due to a mold 
labeling error, the sidewall marking on the reference side of the 
tires, required by paragraph S5.5(f), incorrectly describes the actual 
number of plies in the tread area of the tires. Specifically, the tires 
in question were inadvertently manufactured with ``TREAD 1 PLY NYLON + 
2 PLY STEEL + 3 PLY POLYESTER; SIDEWALL 3 PLY POLYESTER.'' The labeling 
should have been ``TREAD 2 PLY NYLON + 2 PLY STEEL + 3 PLY POLYESTER; 
SIDEWALL 3 PLY POLYESTER.''
    Cooper also explains that while the non-compliant tires are 
mislabeled, the tires do in fact have 2 Nylon tread plies and meet or 
exceed all other applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
    Cooper reported that this noncompliance was discovered during a 
review of the specified stamping requirements and visual inspection of 
tire stamping.
    Cooper argues that this noncompliance is inconsequential to motor 
vehicle safety because the noncompliant sidewall marking does not 
create an unsafe condition and all other labeling requirements have 
been met.

[[Page 10616]]

    Cooper points out that NHTSA has previously granted similar 
petitions for non-compliances in sidewall marking.
    In summation, Cooper believes that the described noncompliance of 
its tires to meet the requirements of FMVSS No. 139 is inconsequential 
to motor vehicle safety, and that its petition, to exempt 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 Decision: The agency agrees with Cooper that the 
noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. The agency 
believes that the true measure of inconsequentiality to motor vehicle 
safety in this case is that there is no effect of the noncompliances on 
the operational safety of the vehicles on which these tires are 
mounted. The safety of people working in the tire retread, repair, and 
recycling industries must also be considered. Although tire 
construction affects the strength and durability, neither the agency 
nor the tire industry provides information relating tire strength and 
durability to the number of plies and types of ply cord material in the 
tread and sidewall.
    Therefore, tire dealers and customers should consider the tire 
construction information along with other information such as load 
capacity, maximum inflation pressure, and tread wear, temperature, and 
traction ratings, to assess performance capabilities of various tires. 
In the agency's judgment, the incorrect labeling of the tire 
construction information will have an inconsequential effect on motor 
vehicle safety because most consumers do not base tire purchases or 
vehicle operation parameters on the ply material in a tire.
    The agency also believes the noncompliance will have no measurable 
effect on the safety of the tire retread, repair, and recycling 
industries. The use of steel cord construction in the sidewall and 
tread is the primary safety concern of these industries. In this case, 
since the tire sidewalls do not contain steel plies, this potential 
safety concern does not exist.
    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, this decision 
only applies to the 6,964 \2\ tires that Cooper no longer controlled at 
the time that it determined that a noncompliance existed in the subject 
tires.
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    \2\ Cooper's petition, which was filed under 49 CFR part 556, 
requests an agency decision to exempt Cooper as a manufacturer from 
the notification and recall responsibilities of 49 CFR part 573 for 
the affected tires. However, a decision on this petition cannot 
relieve 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 Cooper notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.
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    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that Cooper 
has met its burden of persuasion that the subject FMVSS No. 139 
labeling noncompliances are inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. 
Accordingly, Cooper's petition is granted and the petitioner is 
exempted from the obligation of providing notification of, and a remedy 
for, the subject noncompliance under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120.

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at 
CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

    Issued on: February 15, 2012.
Claude H. Harris,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2012-4030 Filed 2-21-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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