Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 174 / Friday, September 9, 2005 / Notices 53711 

Reports.’’ Notice of receipt of a petition 

was published, with a 30-day comment 

period, on July 27, 2005, in the Federal 

Register (70 FR 43507). NHTSA 

received no comments. 

Affected are a total of approximately 

430 tires produced on May 24, 2005. 

One requirement of S6.5 of FMVSS No. 

119, tire markings, is that the tire 

identification shall comply with 49 CFR 

part 574, ‘‘Tire Identification and 

Recordkeeping,’’ which includes the 

marking requirements of 574.5(b) DOT 

size code, and 574.5(c) DOT tire type. 

The subject tires are incorrectly marked 

for both size code and tire type. The 

markings read ‘‘A3 3T 1WP XXXX’’

when they should read ‘‘A3 55 1N1 

XXXX.’’

Continental Tire explained: 

[T]he curing mold used in the production 

of the tires was being serviced. During the 

service, the interchangeable plugs that 

contain the DOT size and type information 

came out of the mold. The individual 

replacing the plugs inserted plugs engraved 

with the incorrect information. The 

noncompliance was discovered after 430 tires 

had been cured in this mold. 

Continental Tire believes that the 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety and that no 

corrective action is warranted. 

Continental Tire stated that ‘‘[a]ll other 

sidewall identification markings and 

safety information are correct, referring 

to recognizable size markings and load 

carrying capacities. A consumer or 

dealer examining the DOT Code could 

still determine the correct 

manufacturing plant and correct 

manufacturing date.’’

NHTSA agrees with Continental that 

the noncompliance is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety. As Continental 

points out, the tires do have markings 

which provide the correct size and load 

carrying capacities, and the correct 

manufacturing plant and date can be 

determined. Therefore, there should be 

no confusion by the user of this 

information, and Continental should be 

able to identify the tires in the event of 

recall. Continental has corrected the 

problem. 

In consideration of the foregoing, 

NHTSA has decided that the petitioner 

has met its burden of persuasion that 

the noncompliance described is 

inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. 

Accordingly, Continental’s petition is 

granted and the petitioner is exempted 

from the obligation of providing 

notification of, and a remedy for, the 

noncompliance. 

(Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120; 

delegations of authority at CFR 1.50 and 

501.8) 

Issued on: September 2, 2005. 

Ronald L. Medford, 

Senior Associate Administrator for Vehicle 

Safety. 

[FR Doc. 05–17902 Filed 9–8–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA 2005–21926; Notice 2] 

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Grant 

of Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance 

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company 

(Cooper) has determined that the 

markings on certain tires that it 

produced in 2004 and 2005 do not 

comply with S4.3(a) of 49 CFR 571.109, 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 

(FMVSS) No. 109, ‘‘New pneumatic 

tires.’’ Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) 

and 30120(h), Cooper has petitioned for 

a determination that this 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety and has filed an 

appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR 

part 573, ‘‘Defect and Noncompliance 

Reports.’’ Notice of receipt of a petition 

was published, with a 30-day comment 

period, on July 29, 2005 in the Federal 

Register (70 FR 43934). NHTSA 

received no comments. 

Affected are a total of approximately 

2,606 Cooper Discoverer AST II tires in 

the 265/70R16 size, produced between 

October 10, 2004 and April 16, 2005. 

S4.3, Labeling requirements, requires 

compliance with 49 CFR 574.5, ‘‘Tire 

Identification and Record Keeping, Tire 

Identification Requirements.’’ The size 

designation required by Part 574.5 was 

incorrectly marked on the subject tires, 

which were molded with the letters 

‘‘TY’’ as the second grouping of symbols 

in the tire identification number. The 

correct stamping should have been 

‘‘C2.’’

Cooper believes that the 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety and that no 

corrective action is warranted. Cooper 

states that the purpose of the tire 

identification number marking 

requirements is to facilitate the ability of 

the tire manufacturer to identify the 

tires in the event of a recall. Cooper 

asserts that the incorrect size 

designation in this case does not affect 

the ability to identify defective or 

nonconforming tires. Cooper points out 

that the tire size is correctly stamped on 

the sidewalls of the subject tires, and 

states that the tires comply with all 

other requirements of FMVSS No. 109 

and 49 CFR 574.5. 

NHTSA agrees with Cooper that the 

noncompliance is inconsequential to 

motor vehicle safety. As Cooper points 

out, the tires do have sidewall markings 

which provide the correct size for the 

user of this information. In addition, the 

incorrect marking does not affect the 

ability to identify the tires in the event 

of recall. Cooper has corrected the 

problem. 

In consideration of the foregoing, 

NHTSA has decided that the petitioner 

has met its burden of persuasion that 

the noncompliance described is 

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 

noncompliance. 

(Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120; 

delegations of authority at CFR 1.50 and 

501.8) 

Issued on: September 2, 2005. 

Ronald L. Medford, 

Senior Associate Administrator for Vehicle 

Safety. 

[FR Doc. 05–17903 Filed 9–8–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA 2005–21930; Notice 2] 

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Grant 

of Petition for Decision of 

Inconsequential Noncompliance 

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company 

(Cooper) has determined that certain 

tires it produced in 2005 do not comply 

with S4.3(e) of 49 CFR 571.109, Federal 

Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 

No. 109, ‘‘New pneumatic tires.’’

Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 

30120(h), Cooper has petitioned for a 

determination that this noncompliance 

is inconsequential to motor vehicle 

safety and has filed an appropriate 

report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, 

‘‘Defect and Noncompliance Reports.’’

Notice of receipt of a petition was 

published, with a 30-day comment 

period, on July 29, 2005 in the Federal 

Register (70 FR 43934). NHTSA 

received no comments. 

Cooper produced approximately 3,070 

Cooper brand tires during the period 

from January 30, 2005 through May 21, 

2005 that do not comply with FMVSS 

No. 109, S4.3(e). S4.3(e) of FMVSS No. 

109 requires that ‘‘each tire shall have 

permanently molded into or onto both