[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 25, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24762-24764]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9946]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2010-0176; Notice 2]


Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc., Grant of Petition for 
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Grant of Petition.

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SUMMARY: Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (Mitsubishi) \1\ has 
determined that an unknown number of replacement seat belts that it 
imported do not include the installation, usage and maintenance 
instructions required by paragraphs S4.1(k) and S4.1(l) of Federal 
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 209, Seat Belt Assemblies. 
Mitsubishi filed an appropriate report dated October 25, 2010, pursuant 
to 49 CFR Part 573 Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.
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    \1\ Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (Mitsubishi), is 
organized under the laws of the state of California. Mitsubishi 
manufactures and imports motor vehicles and replacement equipment.
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    Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and the rule 
implementing those provisions at 49 CFR Part 556, Mitsubishi 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 the petition was published, with a 30-day public comment 
period, on January 7, 2011 in the Federal Register (76 FR 1210). No 
comments were received. To view the petition, and all supporting 
documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site 
at: http://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online search 
instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2010-0176.''
    For further information on this decision contact Ms. Claudia 
Covell, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone

[[Page 24763]]

(202) 366-5293, facsimile (202) 366-7002.
    Equipment involved: Mitsubishi explained that an unknown number of 
nonconforming seat belt assemblies were sold by Mitsubishi to its 
authorized dealers in the United States for resale and replacement 
purposes.
    Noncompliance: Mitsubishi described the noncompliance as the 
failure to provide installation, use and maintenance instructions with 
the seat belt assemblies as required in FMVSS No. 209 S4.1(k) and 
S4.1(l).

Summary of Mitsubishi's Analysis and Arguments

    Mitsubishi argues that this noncompliance is inconsequential to 
motor vehicle safety for the following reasons:
    (1) The service seat belt assemblies in question are only made 
available to Mitsubishi authorized dealerships for their use or 
subsequence resale. The Mitsubishi parts ordering system used by 
Mitsubishi dealers clearly identifies the correct service seat belt 
components for any given model/model year/seat position combination and 
the parts are unique to each seat belt and designed to assemble 
properly only in their intended application.
    (2) When ordering Mitsubishi replacement seat belt parts, the 
dealer must refer to the Mitsubishi parts catalog to identify the 
ordering part number with the information on the specific vehicle model 
type, location and model year. Each replacement seat belt assembly is 
packaged individually with a specific part number label to ensure 
shipping the correct parts. Dealers routinely confirm that the part 
received matches their order to validate that the correct parts were 
received.
    (3) Installation instructions for seat belts are readily available 
in the Mitsubishi workshop manuals. Technicians at Mitsubishi 
dealerships that replace seat belts have access to the installation 
instruction information in the workshop manual. Installers other than 
Mitsubishi dealership technicians also have seat belt installation 
information available in the workshop manuals and are available on the 
Mitsubishi Service Web site (www.mitsubishitechinfo.com). As a result, 
the seat belt parts can be successfully installed with the information 
already available even though installation instructions were not 
accompanied in the replacement seat belt assemblies.
    (4) Instructions for proper use and maintenance are described in 
the owner's manual which is installed in each vehicle. Therefore, 
incorrect usage and maintenance by the vehicle owner is highly 
unlikely.
    Mitsubishi is also not aware of any customer or field reports of 
replacement seat belt assemblies being incorrectly installed in the 
subject applications as a result of the absence of the installation 
instructions in the service part. Mitsubishi also is not aware of any 
reports requesting the installation instructions, which Mitsubishi 
believes is indicative of the availability of this information from the 
other sources mentioned above.
    Finally, Mitsubishi has taken action to ensure that all replacement 
seat belt assemblies are packaged with the required installation 
instructions and has corrected all the replacement seat belt assemblies 
in the inventory for shipment to dealers.\2\
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    \2\ Subsequent to filing the subject petition Mitsubishi 
notified NHTSA that the noncompliance was corrected on Mitsubishi 
Motors Corporation sourced parts on August 27, 2010 and Mitsubishi 
Motors North America Manufacturing Division sourced parts on 
November 2, 2010.
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    In summation, Mitsubishi believes that the described noncompliance 
of its replacement seat belt assemblies 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

    Requirement Background: To help ensure proper selection, 
installation, usage, and maintenance of seat belt assemblies, paragraph 
S4.1(k) of FMVSS No. 209 requires that installation, usage, and 
maintenance instructions be provided with seat belt assemblies, other 
than those installed by an automobile manufacturer.
    NHTSA's Analysis of Mitsubishi's Reasoning: First, we note that the 
subject seat belt assemblies are only made available to Mitsubishi 
authorized dealerships for their use or subsequent resale. Because the 
parts ordering process used by Mitsubishi authorized dealerships 
clearly identifies the correct service part required by model year, 
model, and seating position, NHTSA believes that there is little 
likelihood that an inappropriate seat belt assembly will be provided 
for a specific seating position within a Mitsubishi vehicle.
    Second, we note that technicians at Mitsubishi dealerships have 
access to the seat belt assembly installation instruction information 
in Mitsubishi Shop Manuals. In addition, installers other than 
Mitsubishi dealership technicians can access the installation 
instructions from Mitsubishi service manuals, Mitsubishi dealers or 
from aftermarket service information compilers. We also believe that 
Mitsubishi is correct in stating that the seat belt assemblies are 
designed to be installed properly only in their intended application. 
Thus, we conclude that sufficient safeguards are in place to prevent 
the installation of an improper seat belt assembly.
    NHTSA recognizes the importance of having installation instructions 
available to installers as well as use and maintenance instructions 
available to consumers. The risk created by this noncompliance is that 
someone who purchased an assembly is unable to obtain the necessary 
installation information resulting in an incorrectly installed seat 
belt assembly. However, because the seat belt assemblies are designed 
to be installed properly only in their intended application and the 
installation information is widely available to the public, it appears 
that there is little likelihood that installers will not be able to 
access the installation instructions. Furthermore, we note that 
Mitsubishi has stated that they are not aware of any customer field 
reports of service seat belt assemblies being incorrectly installed in 
the subject applications, nor aware of any reports requesting 
installation instructions. These findings suggest that it is unlikely 
that seat belts have been improperly installed.
    In addition, although 49 CFR Part 571.209 paragraph S4.1(k) 
requires certain instructions specified in SAE Recommended Practice 
J800c be included in seat belt replacement instructions, that 
requirement applies to seat belts intended to be installed in seating 
positions where seat belts do not already exist. The subject seat belt 
assemblies are only intended to be used for replacement of original 
equipment seat belts; therefore, the instructions do not apply to the 
subject seat belt assemblies.\3\
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    \3\ Subaru of America, Inc.; Grant of Application for Decision 
of Inconsequential Non-Compliance (65 FR 67472).
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    With respect to seat belt usage and inspection instructions, we 
note that this information is available in the Owner Handbooks that are 
included with each new vehicle and apply to the replacement seat belt 
assemblies installed in these vehicles. Thus, with respect to usage and 
maintenance instructions, it appears that Mitsubishi has met the intent 
of S4.1(l) of FMVSS No. 209 for the subject vehicles using alternate 
methods for notification.

[[Page 24764]]

    NHTSA has granted similar petitions for noncompliance with seat 
belt assembly installation and usage instruction standards. Refer to 
Hyundai Motor Company (74 FR 9125, March 2, 209); Ford Motor Company 
(73 FR 11462, March 3, 2008); Mazda North America Operations (73 FR 
11464, March 3, 2008); Ford Motor Company (73 FR 63051, October 22, 
2008); Subaru of America, Inc. (65 FR 67471, November 9, 2000); 
Bombardier Motor Corporation of America, Inc. (65 FR 60238, October 10, 
2000); TRW, Inc. (58 FR 7171, February 4, 1993); and Chrysler 
Corporation, (57 FR 45865, October 5, 1992). In all of these cases, the 
petitioners demonstrated that the noncompliant seat belt assemblies 
were properly installed, and due to their respective replacement parts 
ordering systems, improper replacement seat belt assembly selection and 
installation would not be likely to occur. Decision: In consideration 
of the foregoing, NHTSA has decided that Mitsubishi has met its burden 
of persuasion that the FMVSS No. 209 noncompliance in the replacement 
seat belts identified in Mitsubishi's Noncompliance Information Report 
is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, Mitsubishi's 
petition is granted and the petitioner is exempted from the obligation 
of providing notification of, and a remedy for, that noncompliance 
under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120.
    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 replacement seat belt assemblies that Mitsubishi no 
longer controlled at the time that it determined that a noncompliance 
existed in the subject vehicles.

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

    Issued on: April 18, 2012.
Claude H. Harris,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2012-9946 Filed 4-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P