Document ID: NHTSA-2017-0027-0004
Agency: nhtsa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Petitions for Decisions of Inconsequential Noncompliance: Cooper Tire and Rubber Co.
Posted Date: 2017-06-05T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 106 (Monday, June 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25909-25911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-11526]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0027; Notice 1]

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

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Department of 
Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Receipt of petition.

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SUMMARY: Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (Cooper), has determined that 
certain Cooper Mastercraft Courser HSX Tour brand tubeless radial tires 
do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 
No. 139, New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Cooper filed a

[[Page 25910]]

noncompliance report dated April 12, 2017. Cooper also petitioned NHTSA 
on April 12, 2017, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is 
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.

DATES: The closing date for comments on the petition is July 5, 2017.

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 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 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 
Federal Holidays.
     Electronically: Submit comments electronically by logging 
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site 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 dockets. 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).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    I. Overview: Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (Cooper), has determined 
that certain Cooper Mastercraft Courser HSX Tour brand tubeless radial 
tires do not fully comply with paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139, 
New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Cooper filed a 
noncompliance report dated April 12, 2017, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, 
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Cooper also 
petitioned NHTSA on April 12, 2017, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 
30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, 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.
    This notice of receipt of Cooper'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. Tires Involved: Approximately 484 Cooper Mastercraft Courser 
HSX Tour brand tubeless radial tires, size 275/55R20, manufactured 
between March 6, 2017, and March 15, 2017, are potentially involved.
    III. Noncompliance: Cooper explains that the noncompliance is that 
the inboard sidewalls of the subject tires are labeled with an 
incorrect manufacturer's identification mark, and therefore do not 
fully meet all applicable requirements of paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS 
No. 139. Specially, the tires are labeled with the manufacturer's 
identification mark ``UP'' instead of ``UT.''
    IV. Rule Text: Paragraph S5.5.1 of FMVSS No. 139 states, in 
pertinent part:

    S5.5.1 Tire Identification Number.
    . . .
    (b) Tires manufactured on or after September 1, 2009. Each tire 
must be labeled with the tire identification number required by 49 
CFR part 574 on the intended outboard sidewall of the tire. Except 
for retreaded tires, either the tire identification number or a 
partial tire identification number, containing all characters in the 
tire identification number, except for the date code and, at the 
discretion of the manufacturer, any optional code, must be labeled 
on the other sidewall of the tire. Except for retreaded tires, if a 
tire does not have an intended outboard sidewall, the tire must be 
labeled with the tire identification number required by 49 CFR part 
574 on one sidewall and with either the tire identification number 
or a partial tire identification number, containing all characters 
in the tire identification number except for the date code and, at 
the discretion of the manufacturer, any optional code, on the other 
side wall.

    V. Summary of Cooper's Petition: Cooper described the subject 
noncompliance and stated its belief that the noncompliance is 
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
    In support of its petition, Cooper submitted the following 
reasoning:
    a) While the 484 tires in the subject population contain an 
improper plant code on the inboard side of the tire, they are in all 
other respects properly labeled and meet all performance requirements 
under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Plant code 
identification has no bearing on the performance or operation of a tire 
and does not create a safety concern to either the operator of the 
vehicle on which the tires are mounted, or the safety of personnel in 
the tire repair, retread and recycle industry.
    b) Tire registration and traceability could be a concern in some 
instances where there are plant code errors; however, in this instance, 
the incorrect plant code is still tied to a Cooper Tire manufacturing 
facility. Consumers will be able to accurately identify the responsible 
manufacturer and there will be no issues with registering the tires. 
Cooper Tire has modified its internal registration systems to allow for 
the proper registration of the affected tires. Cooper Tire accepts tire 
registration in a number of ways including electronically via the 
company's Web site. Cooper Tire's online database has been modified to 
accept registrations from consumers which include an incorrectly listed 
UP plant code when the other identifying information (brand, serial 
week) are accurately reported. Cooper Tire also accepts hard copy tire 
registration cards, which it processes manually. As long as the 
remaining identifying information (brand, serial and week) are listed 
accurately on the registration card, Cooper Tire will process the 
registration. All internal personnel responsible for manual processing 
of tire registration cards have been made aware of the plant code error 
and have been trained on how to accurately process and register tires 
with the

[[Page 25911]]

incorrect plant code information. Lastly, Cooper Tire receives some 
registration cards through Computerized Information and Management 
Services, Inc. (``CIMS''), a third-party vendor that collects and 
provides tire registration cards to a number of manufacturers, 
including Cooper Tire. CIMS has been made aware of the plant code 
error. CIMS has informed Cooper Tire that they will provide all 
registration cards to Cooper Tire that have a Cooper Tire plant code 
listed.
    c) In the event Cooper Tire has to conduct a safety related recall 
in connection with the 484 subject tires, Cooper Tire will include TINs 
UT Yl FXJ 1017 to 1117 and UP Yl FXJ 1017 to 1117 in its recall 
universe, so that there will be no issues with regard to identifying 
the recall population. Should Cooper Tire receive any affected tires in 
its service facilities for adjustments, the service technician will 
record the proper TIN number to accurately record the data.
    d) Cooper Tire has taken steps over the last year to add additional 
checks in its processes to prevent TIN errors. One of those checks 
includes implementing software that only allows for the plant to choose 
the plant code from a drop down menu that includes only its specific 
plant code. In this instance, however, the molds were transferred from 
one Cooper Tire facility (Findlay) to another (Texarkana). The 
Texarkana employee responsible for preparing the mold for use in the 
Texarkana facility only modified the mold on one side and the error 
went undetected. The mold containing the error was in production from 
March 6th through March 15th and when the error was detected on March 
30th, the plug error was corrected in the mold to prevent future 
issues. Responsible Cooper Tire personnel will receive additional 
training on these processes.
    Cooper concluded by expressing the belief 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 tires that Cooper no longer 
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. 
However, any decision on this petition does not relieve equipment 
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.

    Authority:  (49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at 
49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8)

Jeffrey M. Giuseppe,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2017-11526 Filed 6-2-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P