Opinion ID: 426344
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Pre-24 Months/24,000 Miles

Text: 25 EPA's emission performance warranty regulations provide that for the first 24 months or 24,000 miles: 26 (a) The manufacturer's obligation under the emission performance warranty shall be to make all adjustments, repairs or replacements necessary to assure that the vehicle complies with applicable emission standards of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, that it will continue to comply for the remainder of its useful life (if proper maintenance and operation are continued), and that it will operate in a safe manner. The manufacturer shall bear all costs incurred as a result of the above obligation   . 27 40 C.F.R. Sec. 85.2107(a) (1982). Petitioners claim that EPA exceeded the authority Congress granted it by requiring, in this regulation, that vehicle manufacturers warrant all components affecting emissions for the first 24 months or 24,000 miles. But we think EPA's regulation is a perfectly reasonable interpretation of the statute. 28 When EPA first proposed the warranty regulations, in March 1977, it suggested that the performance warranty cover any system, assembly, device, or other component thereof which can affect emissions. 42 Fed.Reg. 26761 (May 25, 1977), JA to No. 80-1829 at 20. The aftermarket parts industry reacted adversely to this suggestion because such broad warranty coverage might well leave vehicle manufacturers with a monopoly in the aftermarket parts market. 30 Congress agreed, but rather than uniformly reducing the warranty's scope, it responded by limiting the warranty's coverage after the first 24 months or 24,000 miles. 31 29 Petitioners offer a different interpretation of the statute than does EPA. They argue that Section 207(b) places the more limited burden on manufacturers to warrant only those components that are integral, as opposed to related, to emission control. Joint brief of petitioners and intervenor at 36. They derive this interpretation from Section 207(g), which provides that 30 the owner of any motor vehicle or motor vehicle engine warranted under this section is responsible in the proper maintenance of such vehicle or engine to replace and to maintain at his expense   , such items as spark plugs, points, condensers, and any other part, item, or device related to emission control (but not designed for emission control under the terms of the last three sentences of subsection (a)(1) 32 of this section, unless such part, item, or device is covered by any warranty not mandated by this Act. 31 42 U.S.C. Sec. 7541(g). According to petitioners, the Administrator's interpretation of the warranty provision would render Section 207(g) meaningless while their interpretation would not. 32 But petitioners read Section 207(g)'s scope and intended purpose too broadly. That section is designed to deal only with who is responsible for performing scheduled maintenance--that maintenance which the vehicle manufacturer designates as necessary for the proper performance of the vehicle. 33 If an owner does not maintain his vehicle properly, the manufacturer is free, under Section 207(g), to deny emission performance warranty coverage. But if the vehicle fails an I/M test for other reasons--for example, if components mentioned in Section 207(g) fail prior to the end of their standard design life--then the performance warranty properly covers them during the first 24 months or 24,000 miles. Section 207(g) addresses only the scope of the emission warranty coverage as it relates to scheduled maintenance, and not to services performed and parts replaced under a valid warranty claim. 33 Petitioners' proposed interpretation of Section 207(b) would read the 24-month/24,000-mile limitation right out of the statute. Under petitioners' reading the vehicle manufacturers are responsible only for components integral to emission control. But these are precisely the components that are specified in Section 207(b)(2) as covered for the period after 24 months or 24,000 miles. 34 Thus, if petitioners are correct, the performance warranty would cover the same components both before and after 24 months or 24,000 miles. Such a conclusion is incompatible with congressional intent. Congress intended for the warranty coverage to differ before and after the first 24 months or 24,000 miles. The Administrator's interpretation of the statute, not petitioners', properly implements that intention.