BMW of North America, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance |
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Topics: BMW X5
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Jeffrey M. Giuseppe
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
13 September 2016
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62970-62972]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-21978]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0118; Notice 2]
BMW of North America, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT)
ACTION: Grant of petition.
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SUMMARY: BMW of North America, LLC, (BMW) a subsidiary of BMW AG in
Munich, Germany, has determined that certain Model year (MY) 2015 BMW
model X5 xDrive35i and model X5 xDrive35d multipurpose passenger
vehicles (MPV) do not fully comply with paragraph S4.3.3 of Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, Tire Selection and Rims
and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity
Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000
pounds) or less. BMW filed a report dated October 22, 2014, pursuant to
49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports.
BMW then petitioned NHTSA under 49 CFR part 556 requesting a
[[Page 62971]]
decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor
vehicle safety.
ADDRESSES: For further information on this decision contact Stu Seigel,
Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-5287, facsimile
(202) 366-7002.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. BMW's Petition: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) (see
implementing rule at 49 CFR part 556), BMW submitted a petition for an
exemption from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C.
Chapter 301 on the basis that this noncompliance is inconsequential to
motor vehicle safety.
Notice of receipt of BMW's petition was published, with a 30-day
public comment period, on April 3, 2015 in the Federal Register (80 FR
18294). No comments were received. To view the petition and all
supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System
(FDMS) Web site at: http://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online
search instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2014-0118.''
II. Vehicles Involved: Affected are approximately 68 MY 2015 BMW
model X5 xDrive35i and model X5 xDrive35d MPVs manufactured between
October 3, 2014 through October 7, 2014.
III. Noncompliance: BMW explains that the vehicle certification
labels required by 49 CFR part 567, and some of the tire information
labels required by FMVSS No. 110, affixed to the subject vehicles show
that the vehicles were originally equipped with 18-inch tires and rims.
The vehicles were actually originally equipped with 19-inch tires and
rims. BMW believes that the noncompliance is that the certification
label required by 49 CFR part 567, and in some cases the tire
information labels required by FMVSS No. 110, do not list rim
information for the tires installed on the vehicles as original
equipment as required by paragraph S4.3.3 of FMVSS No. 110.
Rule Text: Paragraph S4.3.3 of FMVSS No. 110 requires in pertinent
part:
S4.3.3 Additional labeling information for vehicles other than
passenger cars. Each vehicle shall show the size designation and, if
applicable, the type designation of rims (not necessarily those on
the vehicle) appropriate for the tire appropriate for use on that
vehicle, including the tire installed as original equipment on the
vehicle by the vehicle manufacturer, after each GAWR listed on the
certification label required by Sec. 567.4 or Sec. 567.5 of this
chapter . . .
V. Summary of BMW's Analyses: BMW stated its belief that the
subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety for
the following reasons:
In the case of the subject vehicles with an incorrect Part 567
certification label but a correct FMVSS No. 110 tire information label,
BMW states that when a person checks or adjusts the inflation of a tire
and uses this (correct) FMVSS No. 110 tire information label, the
person will have the correct inflation pressure available from that
label. If, however, the person only looks at the certification label,
or both the certification and tire information labels, BMW states that
the person may then become unsure of what tires have been installed on
the vehicle. Should this occur, BMW states that a number of information
sources and services are available which can be used to determine the
correct tire size and recommended cold inflation pressure. BMW states
that these information sources include the tires installed on the
vehicle which have the tire size information contained on their
sidewalls, the vehicle's Owner's Manual which contains information
pertaining to the various tire sizes and tire pressure for use on the
affected vehicles, and BMW's Roadside Assistance\TM\ program which is
available 24 hours/day and provides representatives who have
information on all available tire sizes and specifications for a given
model and model year of BMW. BMW states its belief that all of the
above listed sources would lead the driver to obtaining the correct
recommended cold inflation pressure when attempting to inflate the
tires mounted on their vehicle.
For the subject vehicles containing both incorrect 49 CFR part 567
certification labels' and incorrect FMVSS No. 110 tire information
labels BMW states that the driver can use the labeling on the sidewall
of the installed tires, the vehicle's owner's manual, and BMW Roadside
Assistance\TM\ to determine the recommended cold inflation pressure for
the tires installed on their vehicle.
BMW also maintains that if a driver were to use the cold inflation
pressure shown on the incorrect labels for the 18-inch tires when
inflating the 19-inch tires, that pressure would be sufficient to
support vehicle loading. Their calculations using the MY 2015 X5
xDrive35i for example show that the determined load rating for two 19-
inch tires inflated to the pressure meant for 18-inch tires is 1,572
kg. Because the front gross axle weight rating (GAWR) is 1,279 kg, BMW
concludes that the 19-inch tires would be adequately inflated. BMW also
included calculations to demonstrate that the information on the
certification labels is correct for the 18-inch tires mounted on the
subject vehicles.
BMW states that BMW Customer Relations have not received any
contact from vehicle owners regarding this issue and, therefore, are
unaware that any vehicle owner has encountered this issue in the field.
They state that they are also unaware of any accident or injuries that
have occurred as a result of this noncompliance.
BMW has additionally informed NHTSA that it has corrected the
subject noncompliance.
In summation, BMW believes that the described noncompliance of the
subject vehicles is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and that
its petition, to exempt BMW from providing recall notification of
noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118 and remedying the recall
noncompliance as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120 should be granted.
NHTSA's Decision
NHTSA's Analysis: The 68 affected vehicles were all originally
equipped with 19 inch tires but the Part 567 certification label on
these vehicles incorrectly only lists rim type and size information for
an 18 inch tire violating the requirements of FMVSS No. 110 section
S4.3.3., which effectively requires that the rim size on the label be
appropriate for the tire size installed on the vehicle as original
equipment. Additionally, for some of the 68 vehicles, the FMVSS No.110
required vehicle placard lists information for an 18 inch tire,
including tire size and recommended inflation pressure, when a 19 inch
tire was originally installed on the vehicle violating FMVSS No.110
sections S4.3(c) and (d). Section S4.3(c) requires that the placard
identify the manufacturer recommended cold tire inflation pressure for
the fitted tires, and section S4.3(d) requires the tire size
designation for the tires installed at the time of the first purchase.
For all 68 vehicles where the rim type and size is not provided for
the originally installed 19 inch tire, the agency believes the vehicle
owners will not encounter any safety problems if their rims need to be
replaced. First, in addition to the rim size information that was
inadvertently not included on the certification label required by 49
CFR part 567, FMVSS No. 110 requires that the rim size, along with
other information, be stamped on the rim itself. Also, the tire size
stamped on the sidewall of the tire indicates the corresponding rim
diameter.
[[Page 62972]]
Furthermore, BMW mentioned that their owner's manual contains tire
information and that vehicle owners can contact BMW Roadside
Assistance, BMW Assist, and BMW Customer Relations for additional
assistance.
For the vehicles where the FMVSS No. 110 required vehicle placard
lists information for an 18 inch tire, including tire size and
recommended inflation pressure, when a 19 inch tire was originally
installed on the vehicle, a different analysis needs to be considered.
FMVSS No. 110 requires that the original tires installed on a vehicle
and the tires listed on the vehicle placard be the same size, and that
the tires at the manufacturer recommended inflation pressure be
appropriate for the designed vehicle maximum load conditions. If a
customer were to look at the vehicle placard to determine recommended
inflation pressure values they would see values intended for the 18
inch tire and not the 19 inch tire. If that customer did not notice
that their vehicle had 19 inch wheels installed they may use the 18
inch tire inflation values which are less than required for the 19 inch
tires. If this were the case, calculations show that the 19 inch tire
load carrying capacities at the 18 inch tire delineated pressures (with
tire load capacity reduced/divided by a 1.1 reduction factor as
required in FMVSS No. 110 for passenger car tires used on multi-purpose
passenger vehicles) is appropriate for the front and rear specified
GAWR's in all affected vehicle models except for the ``worst case''
model with the heaviest GAWR which is the axle rating assigned by BMW
to the X5xDrive35i 7-seater rear axle. For a 19 inch tire at an 18 inch
recommended inflation pressure of 33 PSI and 41 PSI front and rear
axles respectively, a front tire load rating is 810 kg, then, with a
10% reduction factor results in a value of 736 kg or a total of 1,472
kg front axle load carrying capacity. This value exceeds all four front
GAWR values provided by BMW for the four models of vehicles with the
largest axle rating value of 1334 kg. At 41 psi, the per tire load
rating equates to 950 kg, then with a 10% reduction factor becomes 864
kg per tire or 1727 kg rear axle load carrying capacity. The 1727 kg
value is larger than rear axle GAWR values provided by BMW on three
models, but not on the fourth model, the 7-seat X5 vehicle which has a
rear GAWR of 1742 kg. For this model at full load capacity, the tires
technically, are undersized for the rear axle by 15 kg (1742kg-1727 kg)
or approximately 33 pounds divided by the two tires resulting in
approximately 15 pounds per tire. In follow-up discussions with BMW,
they indicated that only five of the 68 non-compliant vehicles are the
7-seat model, and agreed that for those five vehicles new corrected
FMVSS No. 110 vehicle placard labels will be sent to the owners. On 08/
16/2016, BMW confirmed that the respective five owners were contacted
and new vehicle placards were mailed out.
NHTSA's Decision: Considering the above analysis, the fact that BMW
stated they have no reports of accidents or injuries due to this
noncompliance, and that BMW is providing corrected replacement labels
to the five owners of the 7-seat model X5 which has tire overload
potential, NHTSA finds that BMW has met its burden of persuasion that
the subject FMVSS No. 110 rim and tire size labeling noncompliances on
the subject vehicles are inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
Accordingly, BMW's petition is hereby granted and BMW is consequently
exempted from the obligation of providing notification of, and a free
remedy for, that noncompliance under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120.
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, this decision
only applies to the subject vehicles that BMW no longer controlled at
the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, the
granting of 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 BMW 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. 2016-21978 Filed 9-12-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P