Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 155 / Monday, August 16, 2021 / Notices 45817 

By Order of the Acting Maritime 

Administrator. 

T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr., 

Secretary, Maritime Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2021–17463 Filed 8–13–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–81–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2021–0038; Notice 1] 

Porsche Cars North America, Inc., 

Receipt of Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Receipt of petition. 

SUMMARY: Porsche Cars North America, 

Inc., (‘‘Porsche’’), has determined that 

certain model year (MY) 2017–2021 

Porsche Panamera, MY 2019–2021 

Porsche Cayenne, and MY 2020–2021 

Porsche Taycan motor vehicles do not 

fully comply with Federal Motor 

Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 

135, Light Vehicle Brake Systems. 

Porsche filed an original noncompliance 

report dated March 10, 2021. 

Subsequently, Porsche petitioned 

NHTSA on April 1, 2021, for a decision 

that the subject noncompliance is 

inconsequential as it relates to motor 

vehicle safety. This notice announces 

receipt of Porsche’s petition. 

DATES: Send comments on or before 

September 15, 2021. 

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– 

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: 

Vince Williams, General Engineer, 

NHTSA, Office of Vehicle Safety 

Compliance, (202) 366–2319. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Overview 

Porsche has determined that certain 

MY 2017–2021 Porsche Panamera, MY 

2019–2021 Porsche Cayenne, and MY 

2020–2021 Porsche Taycan motor 

vehicles do not fully comply with the 

requirements of paragraph S5.5.5(d)(5) 

of FMVSS No. 135, Light Vehicle Brake 

Systems (49 CFR 571.135). Porsche filed 

a noncompliance report dated March 10, 

2021, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, 

Defect and Noncompliance 

Responsibility and Reports. Porsche 

subsequently petitioned NHTSA on 

April 1, 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 Porsche’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. Vehicles Involved 

Approximately 80,666 of the 

following MY 2017–2021 Porsche motor 

vehicles manufactured between October 

23, 2016, and February 9, 2021, are 

potentially involved: 

• MY 2017–2021 Panamera 4 

• MY 2017–2021 Panamera 

• MY 2017–2021 Panamera 4 S 

• MY 2017–2020 Panamera Turbo 

• MY 2017–2020 Panamera 4 S 

Executive 

• MY 2017–2020 Panamera Turbo 

Executive 

• MY 2018–2021 Panamera 4 Hybrid 

• MY 2018–2020 Panamera Turbo S 

Hybrid 

• MY 2018–2021 Panamera 4 

Executive 

• MY 2018–2020 Panamera 4 Hybrid 

Executive 

• MY 2018–2020 Panamera Turbo S 

Hybrid Executive 

• MY 2018–2020 Panamera 4 Sport 

Turismo 

• MY 2018–2020 Panamera 4 S Sport 

Turismo 

• MY 2018–2020 Panamera 4 Hybrid 

Sport Turismo 

• MY 2018–2020 Panamera Turbo 

Sport Turismo 

• MY 2018–2020 Panamera Turbo S 

Hybrid Sport Turismo 

• MY 2019–2021 Panamera GTS 

• MY 2020 Panamera GTS Sport 

Turismo 

• MY 2019–2021 Cayenne 

• MY 2019–2021 Cayenne S 

• MY 2019–2021 Cayenne Hybrid 

• MY 2019–2021 Cayenne Turbo 

• MY 2020 Panamera 10 Year Special 

Model 

• MY 2020 Panamera 4 10 Year 

Special Model 

• MY 2020–2021 Taycan 4S 

• MY 2020 Taycan Top S 

• MY 2020 Taycan Top 

• MY 2020 Panamera 4 Hybrid 10 

Year Special Model 

• MY 2020 Cayenne Turbo S Hybrid 

• MY 2020–2021 Cayenne Coupe 

• MY 2020–2021 Cayenne S Coupe 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
45818 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 155 / Monday, August 16, 2021 / Notices 

• MY 2020–2021 Cayenne Hybrid 

Coupe 

• MY 2020–2021 Cayenne Turbo 

Coupe 

• MY 2020 Cayenne Turbo S Hybrid 

Coupe 

• MY 2021 Taycan 

• MY 2021 Taycan Turbo S 

• MY 2021 Taycan Turbo 

• MY 2021 Panamera Turbo S 

• MY 2021 Panamera 4S Hybrid 

• MY 2021 Cayenne GTS 

• MY 2021 Cayenne GTS Coupe 

III. Noncompliance 

Porsche explains that the 

noncompliance is that the subject 

vehicles are equipped with brake wear 

indicators that do not meet the 

minimum lettering height requirements, 

as specified in paragraph S5.5.5(d)(5) of 

FMVSS No. 135. Specifically, the 

lettering height for the brake wear 

indicators range in height from 1.7 mm 

to 2.2 mm, when the required minimum 

height is 3.2 mm. 

IV. Rule Requirements 

Paragraph S5.5.5(d)(5) of FMVSS No. 

135 includes the requirements relevant 

to this petition. Each visual indicator 

shall display a word or words in 

accordance with the requirements of 

FMVSS No. 101 (49 CFR 571.101) and 

FMVSS No. 135, which shall be legible 

to the driver under all daytime and 

nighttime conditions when activated. 

Unless otherwise specified, the words 

shall have letters not less than 3.2 mm 

(1⁄8 inch) high and the letters and 

background shall be of contrasting 

colors, one of which is red. Words or 

symbols in addition to those required by 

FMVSS No. 101 and FMVSS No. 135 

may be provided for purposes of clarity. 

If a separate indicator is provided to 

indicate brake lining wear-out as 

specified in S5.5.1(d), the words ‘‘Brake 

Wear’’ shall be used. 

V. Summary of Porsche’s Petition 

The following views and arguments 

presented in this section, ‘‘V. Summary 

of Porsche’s Petition,’’ are the views and 

arguments provided by Porsche. They 

have not been evaluated by the Agency 

and do not reflect the views of the 

Agency. Porsche describes the subject 

noncompliance and contends that the 

noncompliance is inconsequential as it 

relates to motor vehicle safety. 

In support of its petition, Porsche 

submitted the following reasoning: 

1. Multi-Function Display: In addition 

to the brake wear indicator required by 

FMVSS No. 135, the Porsche vehicles 

also have a multi-functional display that 

provides brake wear information. 

Information about brake wear is 

provided in this display, which is 

readily visible to drivers, on the subject 

vehicles. Although the brake wear 

message can be confirmed and then 

suppressed by the vehicle operator at 

the next ignition cycle, doing so would 

necessarily require the operator to read 

and understand the message. Therefore, 

it can be assured that the need to check 

the vehicle’s brake lining wear has been 

received. The brake wear message is 

presented in a display that expresses the 

need to change the brake pads, with 

continued driving possible/permitted. 

2. Conspicuous, Accurate 

Information: The brake wear warning 

symbol is the correct color as required 

by paragraph S5.5.5 of FMVSS No. 135. 

The warning symbol lettering is red, and 

the lettering and background are of 

contrasting colors. This makes the 

symbol conspicuous to the driver, as 

does its readily visible position 

immediately adjacent to fuel, 

temperature, and other critical vehicle 

data displays. The information provided 

by the brake wear symbol is also correct; 

the brake lining wear detection ability of 

the vehicle is entirely functional and 

completely unaffected by the lettering 

size issue. 

3. Uniform Height: All letters in the 

brake wear warning indicator are 

capitalized, so the height is preserved 

across the width of the words ‘‘brake’’ 

and ‘‘wear,’’ making the words are more 

easily seen and read. 

4. Owner’s Manual: Information about 

the brake wear warning symbol is 

displayed in the owner’s manual, which 

ensures that vehicle owners understand 

the symbol despite the smaller size of 

the lettering. For instance, the Panamera 

owner’s manual explains the symbol 

and notifies the vehicle owner to have 

the brake pads replaced immediately. 

5. Labeling: This type of labeling 

noncompliance is precisely the type that 

NHTSA generally finds more 

appropriate for a determination of 

inconsequentiality. See, Porsche Cars 

North America, Inc., Grant of Petition 

for Decision of Inconsequential 

Noncompliance, 85 FR 62365, 62366 

(Oct. 2, 2020), where NHTSA states ‘‘We 

note that the noncompliance at issue 

concerns a failure to meet a performance 

requirement. The burden of establishing 

the inconsequentiality of a failure to 

comply with a performance requirement 

in a standard—as opposed to a labeling 

requirement—is more substantial and 

difficult to meet. Accordingly, the 

Agency has not found many such 

noncompliances inconsequential.’’ 

(Emphasis in original). 

6. Issue Corrected: The 

noncompliance issue has been corrected 

in production vehicles and all vehicles 

currently being produced meet 

applicable lettering height requirements. 

7. NHTSA Precedent: Finally, and 

most significantly, NHTSA precedent 

supports granting this petition. The 

described noncompliance is very similar 

to others that NHTSA has found to be 

inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. 

See 81 FR 92964 (Dec. 20, 2016) (grant 

of inconsequentiality petition to General 

Motors for parking brake indicator 

labeling below the required size, where 

corresponding driver information was 

provided in the instrument cluster); 67 

FR 72026 (Dec. 3, 2002) (grant of 

inconsequentiality petition to MercedesBenz, U.S.A, Inc., where some letters in 

brake indicator warning were smaller 

than the required size, but additional 

messaging was provided in a message 

center). 

Porsche 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 vehicles that Porsche no 

longer controlled at the time it 

determined that the noncompliance 

existed. However, any decision on this 

petition does not relieve 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 vehicles under their 

control after Porsche 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. 2021–17476 Filed 8–13–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 


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