AGC Glass Company North America, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 15676-15678 [2018-07421]

Agencies

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 11, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15676-15678]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07421]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0101; Notice 1]


AGC Glass Company North America, Receipt of Petition for Decision 
of Inconsequential Noncompliance

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

ACTION: Receipt of petition.

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SUMMARY: AGC Glass Company North America (d.b.a. AGC Automotive 
Americas Co. ``AGC''), has determined that certain rear privacy glass 
manufactured as replacement glass for certain model year (MY) 2013-2017 
Jeep Compass motor vehicles does not fully comply with Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 205, Glazing Materials. AGC filed a 
noncompliance report dated October 13, 2017. AGC also petitioned NHTSA 
on November 8, 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 May 11, 2018.

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) 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 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: AGC, has determined that certain rear privacy glass 
manufactured as replacement glass for certain MY 2013-2017 Jeep Compass 
motor vehicles does not fully comply with FMVSS No. 205, Glazing 
Materials (49 CFR 571.205). AGC filed a noncompliance report dated 
October 13, 2017, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance 
Responsibility and Reports. AGC also petitioned NHTSA on November 8, 
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 AGC'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. Equipment Involved: Approximately 5,000 replacement privacy 
glass parts manufactured for replacement of the rear liftgate glass in

[[Page 15677]]

certain MY 2013-2017 Jeep Compass motor vehicles and manufactured 
between January 16, 2013, and June 30, 2017, are potentially involved.
    III. Noncompliance: AGC explains that the noncompliance is that the 
subject rear privacy glass parts do not fully comply with paragraph S6 
of FMVSS No. 205. Specifically, the replacement rear privacy glass has 
the AS2 (solar glazing) marking when it should have been marked with 
the AS3 (privacy glazing) marking.
    IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraphs S6, S6.1(a)(b), S6.2, and 
S6.3(a)(b) of FMVSS No. 205 include the requirements relevant to this 
petition:
     A Prime glazing material manufacturer must certify, in 
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 30115, each piece of glazing material to 
which this standard applies is designed as:
    A. a component of any specific motor vehicle or camper; or
    B. to be cut into components for use in motor vehicles or items of 
motor vehicle equipment.
     A prime glazing manufacturer certifies its glazing by 
adding to the marks required by section 7 of ANSI/SAE Z26.1-1996, in 
letters and numerals of the same size, the symbol ``DOT'' and a 
manufacturer's code mark that NHTSA assigns to the manufacturer.
     NHTSA will assign a code mark to a manufacturer after the 
manufacturer submits a written request to the Office of Vehicle Safety 
Compliance, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The request 
must include the company name, address, and a statement from the 
manufacturer certifying its status as a prime glazing manufacturer as 
defined in paragraph S4.
     A manufacturer or distributor who cuts a section of 
glazing material to which this standard applies, for use in a motor 
vehicle or camper, must:
    A. mark that material in accordance with section 7 of ANSI/SAE 
Z26.1-1996; and
    B. certify that its product complies with this standard in 
accordance with 49 U.S.C. 30115.
    V. Summary of AGC's Petition: AGC states that after discovering 
this inadvertent error, AGC launched an investigation internally and 
with its core customers who may have received parts with this incorrect 
``AS2'' logo mark to determine if this error occurred on more than one 
occasion and if the parts had been introduced into the stream of 
commerce. AGC performed testing on the parts it had in its possession 
that were not shipped to any customer to confirm the glass met all 
other FMVSSs. The glass met those standards. In addition, AGC's primary 
customer for these parts, conducted its own testing of parts that it 
had in their possession with the incorrect ``AS2'' mark in the logo. 
Those tests also confirmed that the AGC parts with the incorrect 
``AS2'' mark met all other required standards. The only error was 
including the ``AS2'' mark rather than the correct ``AS3'' mark in the 
logo. Thereafter, AGC and its customers went through an investigation 
on how many of these parts with the incorrect logo may have been 
shipped and/or used for replacement glass, and whether a Notice of 
Noncompliance had to be filed with NHTSA as a result. Following this 
investigation and numerous meetings with the customers, AGC determined 
that parts with the incorrect ``AS2'' mark had been shipped and 
installed in vehicles and that a Notice of Noncompliance Report had to 
be filed with NHTSA.
    AGC 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, AGC submitted the following reasoning:
    1. The only error in the logo mark was including the incorrect 
``AS2'' standard. The logo and the parts were otherwise fully 
compliant. All other information was correct. The ``AS3'' mark relates 
to meeting certain light transmission requirements for privacy glass. 
The glass met those requirements as confirmed by both AGC and its 
primary customer, FCA US LLC. The glass also met all other applicable 
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. This error did not change the 
character of the glass or its performance. It was a simple marking 
error and will not in any way impact or affect motor vehicle safety. 
AGC produced up to 5,000 parts to be installed as replacement glass 
over the relevant time period. As soon as AGC found the potential 
error, it was immediately corrected by replacing the print screen that 
included the incorrect ``AS2'' mark and instead using a print screen 
which included the correct ``AS3'' mark in the logo. No parts are 
produced today for these model vehicles for replacement glass without 
the correct ``AS3'' mark in the logo. All parts which AGC had in its 
possession and which were confirmed a customer still had that were not 
already installed were destroyed or returned to AGC.
    There is nothing that would affect or impact vehicle safety 
resulting from this erroneous ``AS2'' mark being included in the logo 
and this error should be classified as inconsequential to motor vehicle 
safety.
    2. The logo error will not mislead or affect consumers. Consumers 
would never look at a logo and know or understand that privacy glass 
with an ``AS2'' logo should have an ``AS3'' mark instead in that logo. 
Only someone trained in the intricate requirements of ANSI and the 
differences in light transmission between a part meeting the ``AS3'' 
standard versus a part meeting the ``AS2'' standard would know whether 
including the ``AS2'' mark was an error or not. Therefore, the fact 
there are vehicles on the road which have the incorrect ``AS2'' mark in 
the logo will not be misleading nor should it require any of those 
parts to be replaced, since the consumer will not know the difference, 
will not be misled by looking at the logo mark for this part, there 
will be no confusion about the performance or compliance of the parts 
with all applicable FMVSSs, and the error does not affect the safety of 
the vehicle. Every consumer that had their rear lift gate replaced with 
privacy glass that included the logo with the incorrect ``AS2'' mark 
still has exactly what they expected to receive and paid for regardless 
of this error--rear privacy glass for their Jeep Compass that does not 
pose any safety risk to them or others who may ride on their vehicle.
    AGC 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.
    AGC's complete petition and all supporting documents are available 
by logging onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) website at: 
https://www.regulations.gov and following the online search 
instructions to locate the docket number listed in the title of this 
notice.
    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 privacy glass parts that AGC 
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,

[[Page 15678]]

or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce 
of the noncompliant privacy glass parts under their control after AGC 
notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.
    Related Submissions: FCA US LLC (FCA US) also filed an 
inconsequential noncompliance petition with NHTSA for 287,064 MY 2013-
2017 Jeep Compass motor vehicles, which were equipped and offered for 
sale with noncompliant privacy glass produced by AGC. Refer to Docket 
No. NHTSA-2017-0098.

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

Claudia Covell,
Acting Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2018-07421 Filed 4-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P