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Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance Publication: Federal Register Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Byline: Otto G. Matheke III Date: 14 March 2022 Subjects: American Government  , Safety, Tires
Topic: Cooper Tires |
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 49 (Monday, March 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14323-14325]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05305]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2020-0083; Notice 1]
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Receipt of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Receipt of petition.
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SUMMARY: Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (Cooper Tire) has determined that
certain Cooper Discoverer AT3 tubeless radial light truck tires do not
fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No.
139, New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles. Cooper Tire filed a
noncompliance report dated July 6, 2020. Cooper subsequently petitioned
NHTSA on July 31, 2020, and supplemented its petition on May 28, 2021,
for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it
relates to motor vehicle safety. This notice announces receipt of
Cooper Tire's petition.
DATES: Send comments on or before April 13, 2022.
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).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 14324]]
I. Overview
Cooper Tire has determined that certain Cooper Discoverer AT3
tubeless radial light truck tires do not fully comply with the
requirements of paragraph S.5.5.1 of FMVSS No. 139, New Pneumatic
Radial Tires for Light Vehicles (49 CFR 571.139). Cooper Tire filed a
noncompliance report dated July 6, 2020, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573,
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Cooper Tire
subsequently petitioned NHTSA on July 31, 2020, and supplemented its
petition on May 28, 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 Cooper Tire'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 271 Cooper Discoverer AT3 tubeless radial light truck
tires, size LT 245/75R16, manufactured between May 3, 2020, and May 31,
2020, are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance
Cooper Tire explains that the noncompliance is that the subject
tires were manufactured having additional characters representing the
press location inserted into the tire identification number (TIN) and
therefore, do not meet the requirements of paragraph S5.5.1 of FMVSS
No. 139. Specifically, the additional grouping of characters
representing the press location are insterted before the date code. The
subject tires were manufactured with ``UT 11 1M1 V02R 1820,'' when they
should have been manufactured with ``UT 11 1M1 1820,'' followed by
V02R.
IV. Rule Requirements
Paragraph S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139 includes the requirements
relevant to this petition for tires having an intended outboard
sidewall. Each tire must be labeled with the tire identification number
required by 49 CFR part 574 on the intended outboard sidewall of the
tire. 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.
V. Summary of Cooper Tire's Petition
The following views and arguments presented in this section, ``V.
Summary of Cooper Tire's Petition,'' are the views and arguments
provided by Cooper Tire. They have not been evaluated by the Agency and
do not reflect the views of the Agency. Cooper Tire described the
subject noncompliance and stated their belief that the noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
In support of its petition, Cooper Tire submitted the following
reasoning:
1. Cooper Tire says that while the 271 tires in the subject
population contain an additional grouping of letters/numbers before
the required date code on the intended outboard sidewall, these
tires are in all other respects properly labeled and meet all
performance requirements under the FMVSSs. The additional press
location grouping has no bearing on the performance or operation of
the tires 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 recycling
industry.
2. Tires produced by manufacturers that continue to use two-
digit plant codes (available through 2025) can have TINs that vary
in length depending on the use of the optional brand name owner
code. The addition of the press location (V02R), while incorrectly
placed on the tire, will not cause confusion for the consumer or
dealer that is selecting and mounting the tire. Consumers/dealers
will continue to see the date code appear at the end of the series
of letters and numbers that begin with ``DOT.'' NHTSA's guidance
states that ``the last four digits of the TIN show the week and year
of manufacture.'' \1\ That guidance is still accurate here.
Consumers and dealers will be able to easily identify the date of
manufacture (week/year).
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\1\ See NHSTA's ``Safety in Numbers,'' June 2013, Volume 1,
Issue 3, available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/Safety1nNum3ers/june2013/9719_images/9719_S1N_Tires_Nwsltr_June13_062713_v4_tag.pdf.
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3. Tire registration and traceability will not be interrupted.
Cooper Tire's internally controlled online registration system has
been modified to be able to accept the TINs with the additional
press location grouping. Any tires registered with that TIN will be
identified and recorded properly. This will ensure that Cooper Tire
is able to identify these tires in the event they must be recalled.
4. Cooper states that NHTSA has granted a number of previous
inconsequentiality petitions relating to out-of-order or mislabeled
TINs, provided that the mislabeling does not affect the
manufacturer's ability to identify the tires. ``The purpose of the
date code is to identify a tire so that, if necessary, the
appropriate action can be taken in the interest of public safety-
such as, a safety recall notice.'' \2\ Accordingly, Cooper states
that NHTSA has explained in multiple instances that ``[t]he Agency
believes that the true measure of inconsequentiality to motor
vehicle safety in this case is the effect of the noncompliance on
the ability of the tire manufacturer to identify the tires in the
event of recall.'' \3\
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\2\ See Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.; Grant of Application for
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 64 FR 29080 (May 28,
1999); see also Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Grant of Application
for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 68 FR 16115 (April 2,
2003) (same).
\3\ See Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., Grant of Application, 66 FR
45076 (Aug. 27, 2001).
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5. As a result, Cooper states that NHTSA has granted petitions
and found that TIN noncompliance is inconsequential to safety in
cases where the TIN is out of sequence or mislabeled. Cooper cited
the following examples:
a. Bridgestone Firestone North America Tire, LLC, Grant of
Petition, 71 FR 4396, January 26, 2006, (granting petition where
date code was missing because manufacturer could still identify and
recall the tires).
b. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Grant of Application, 68 FR
16115, April 2, 2003, (granting petition where tires were labeled
with wrong plant code, because ``'the tires have a unique DOT
identification'').
c. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., Grant of Application for
Decision That Noncompliance Is Inconsequential to Motor Vehicle
Safety, 66 FR 45076, August 27, 2001, (granting petition where the
date code was labeled incorrectly, because ``the information
included on the tire identification label and the manufacturer's
tire production records is sufficient to ensure that these tires can
be identified in the event of a recall'').
d. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.; Grant of Application for
Decision of Inconsequntial Noncompliance, 64 FR 29080, May 28, 1999,
(granting petition where the wrong year was marked in date code on
the tires).
e. Cooper Tire & Rubber Company; Grant of Application for
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 63 FR 29059, May 27,
1998, (granting petition where date code was missing where tires had
a unique TIN for recall purposes).
f. Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc.; Grant of Application for
Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 60 FR 57617, Nov. 16,
1995, (granting petition where date code was out of sequence).
g. Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company; Grant of Petition for
Determination of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 59 FR 64232,
December 13, 1994, (granting petition where week and year were
mislabeled on tires).
6. Cooper will be able identify the tires that are the subject
of this petition in the event of recall. As described above, these
tires will have a unique DOT identifier that will allow for Cooper
to identify and recall them in the event that any issues arise in
the future.
7. Cooper Tire states that it has taken steps over the last few
years to add additional checks in its processes to prevent TIN
errors. Cooper tire is undertaking additional process
[[Page 14325]]
reviews at this time including measures such as color coding
portions of the mold, makding software changes to remove manual data
entry, and adding additional visual quality checks of the molds when
information is changed. Cooper Tire is also reviewing its inspection
processes to ensure that any errors are identified earlier and/or
prevented before they occur.
Cooper Tire concluded by expressing the belief that the subject
noncompliances are inconsequential as they relate 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 Tire 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 buses under their control after Cooper
Tire 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. 2022-05305 Filed 3-11-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P