Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 39675-39676 [2020-14212]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 1, 2020 / Notices
except windshields, and AS3 glazing to
be installed anywhere in motor vehicles
except windshields and certain
specified locations. AS3 glazing is
permitted to be installed in liftgates of
the subject vehicles.
AGC believes that most consumers
likely would not recognize the marking
error while individuals highly trained in
glazing standards would recognize the
marking error. NHTSA does not find
these arguments compelling and
believes that it is reasonable for
someone in the repair industry to rely
on the incorrect AS markings located on
the noncompliant glazing material and
replace it with glazing material
corresponding to those markings. This
would mean that the individual making
the vehicle repair would replace the
liftgate with AS2 glazing instead of AS3
glazing.
However, because compliant AS2
glazing will always meet the
performance requirements of compliant
AS3 glazing, no impact to safety is
anticipated.
VIII. NHTSA’s Decision: In
consideration of the foregoing analysis,
NHTSA finds that FCA and AGC have
met their burden of persuasion that the
FMVSS No. 205 noncompliance is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
Accordingly, the FCA and AGC
petitions are hereby granted. FCA and
AGC are exempted from the obligation
of providing notification of, and a
remedy for, the subject 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 and equipment that FCA and
AGC no longer controlled at the time it
determined that the noncompliance
existed. However, the granting of these
petitions does not relieve vehicle and
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 vehicles and
equipment under their control after FCA
and AGC notified them that the subject
noncompliance existed.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
01:53 Jul 01, 2020
Jkt 250001
(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. 2020–14211 Filed 6–30–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA–2019–0022; Notice 2]
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.,
Grant of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Grant of petition.
AGENCY:
Volkswagen Group of
America, Inc. (Volkswagen), has
determined that certain MY 2017–2019
Audi A3 motor vehicles do not comply
with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) No. 101, Controls
and Displays. Volkswagen filed a
noncompliance report dated February
18, 2019, and later amended it on
September 13, 2019. Volkswagen
subsequently petitioned NHTSA on
February 20, 2019, for a decision that
the subject noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety. This document
announces the grant of Volkswagen’s
petition.
SUMMARY:
Neil
Dold, Office of Vehicle Safety
Compliance, NHTSA, telephone (202)
366–7352, facsimile (202) 366–3081.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview: Volkswagen has
determined that certain MY 2017–2019
Audi A3 motor vehicles do not comply
with paragraph S5.2.1 of FMVSS No.
101, Controls and Displays (49 CFR
571.101). Volkswagen filed a
noncompliance report dated February
18, 2019, and later amended it on
September 13, 2019, pursuant to 49 CFR
part 573, Defect and Noncompliance
Responsibility and Reports. Volkswagen
subsequently petitioned NHTSA on
February 20, 2019, 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 40 U.S.C.
30118 and 49 U.S.C. 30120, Exemption
for Inconsequential Defect or
Noncompliance.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
PO 00000
Frm 00157
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
39675
Notice of receipt of Volkswagen’s
petition was published with a 30-day
public comment period, on October 8,
2019, in the Federal Register (84 FR
53821). No comments were received. To
view the petition and all supporting
documents log onto the Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) website at
https://www.regulations.gov/. Then
follow the online search instructions to
locate docket number ‘‘NHTSA–2019–
0022.’’
II. Vehicles Involved: Approximately
18,379 MY 2017–2019 Audi A3 sedan,
Cabriolet, RS3, and e-Tron motor
vehicles, manufactured between July 7,
2016, and January 7, 2019, are
potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance: Volkswagen
explains that the noncompliance is that
the subject vehicles are equipped with
speedometers that only display the
vehicle’s speed in units of either milesper-hour (mph) or kilometers-per-hour
(km/h) and therefore do not meet the
requirements set forth in paragraph
S5.2.1 and Table 1, Column 3 of FMVSS
No. 101.
IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraphs
S5.2.1 and Table 1, Column 3 of FMVSS
No. 101 provides that each passenger
car, multipurpose passenger vehicle,
truck and bus that is fitted with a
control, a telltale, or an indicator listed
in Table 1 or Table 2 of FMVSS No. 101
must meet the requirements for the
location, identification, color, and
illumination of that control, telltale or
indicator.
Each control, telltale and indicator
that is listed in column 1 of Table 1 or
Table 2 must be identified by the
symbol specified for it in column 2 or
the word or abbreviation specified for it
in column 3 of Table 1 or Table 2.
Specifically, the speedometer must only
allow the speed to be displayed in miles
per hour (MPH) or km/h and MPH.
V. Summary of Volkswagen’s Petition:
The following views and arguments
presented in this section, ‘‘V. Summary
of Volkswagen’s Petition,’’ are the views
and arguments provided by
Volkswagen. They do not reflect the
views of the Agency.
Volkswagen described the subject
noncompliance and stated that the
noncompliance is inconsequential as it
relates to motor vehicle safety.
Volkswagen submitted the following
views and arguments in support of the
petition:
1. All affected Audi A3 vehicles are
initially delivered for first-sale in the
U.S. market in a compliant state (speed
displayed in miles-per-hour). Only
through driver interaction, within the
settings menu, can the speedometer
display be changed from mph to km/h.
E:\FR\FM\01JYN1.SGM
01JYN1
39676
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 127 / Wednesday, July 1, 2020 / Notices
The change between the display settings
must be done intentionally and cannot
be accomplished inadvertently.
2. In the affected 2017–2019 MY Audi
A3 vehicles, the two speedometer scales
are noticeably different. Were the
previous driver to have changed the
display, a subsequent driver would be
able to tell at a glance that the scale is
not in mph.
3. The indicated vehicle speed in km/
h is 1.6 times greater than the speed in
mph [in terms of numeric value
displayed by the speedometer—1km/h
is approximately 0.62 MPH]. Audi
purports that if the vehicle operator
changes the display to indicate km/h
and later has not changed the display
back to mph, the vehicle operator will
clearly recognize that the vehicle is
moving at a lower speed than intended
and adjust their vehicle speed to match
road and traffic conditions. Notice of the
speed differential advises the vehicle
operator to perform the necessary steps
to adjust the speedometer back to mph
(at the next appropriate opportunity).
4. The 2017–2019 MY Audi A3
Owner Manual contains information
and instructions for changing the units
displayed, via the Infotainment system,
using the MMI Settings menu.
Therefore, if a vehicle operator needs to
change the display to indicate mph,
instructions are available.
5. As of January 08, 2019, production
has been corrected, vehicles withheld at
the factory have been corrected and
unsold units will be corrected prior to
sale. The correction for these vehicles is
a software fix that permits display of the
speed in mph or in both mph and km/
h simultaneously.
6. Additionally, Volkswagen is not
aware of any field or customer
complaints related to this condition, nor
has it been made aware of any accidents
or injuries that have occurred as a result
of this issue.
Volkswagen concluded 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.
VI. NHTSA’s Analysis: NHTSA has
reviewed Volkswagen’s petition that the
subject noncompliance is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
Volkswagen explains the Audi A3/RS3
vehicles are initially delivered for firstsale in the U.S. market compliant with
FMVSS No. 101 with the speedometer
display factory-set to mph. The subject
vehicles are noncompliant because the
driver can select an alternative
VerDate Sep<11>2014
01:53 Jul 01, 2020
Jkt 250001
speedometer display in the menu setting
of the ‘‘virtual cockpit.’’
Specifically, in Audi A3/RS3 vehicles
equipped with a ‘‘virtual cockpit,’’ if the
driver selects the alternative
speedometer display in the settings
menu, the speedometer displays only
km/h without simultaneously indicating
mph, as required by FMVSS No. 101.
The purpose of FMVSS No. 101 is to
reduce safety hazards caused by the
diversion of the driver’s attention from
the driving task when using controls,
telltales, and indicators.
Volkswagen further explains that all
vehicles display mph from factory
settings and cannot be changed
inadvertently. Additionally, when
displaying km/h, the scale of the
speedometer is different so it would be
visibly apparent to the driver that the
units of measure are different. NHTSA
agrees with Volkswagen that it is
unlikely that the switch from mph to
km/h could be done inadvertently
because specific interactions with the
menu-driven vehicle settings are
required by the operator to make the
change. We believe that if an operator
were to make this change it would be
done intentionally and with some
understanding of the implications and
would not cause any impact to vehicle
safety. Also, if an operator were
unaware that a speedometer had been
changed to display speed in km/h, they
would be likely to travel at a slower
speed rather than faster speed that
might impact safety because the
indicated numeric value of the speed in
km/h would be 1.6 times greater than
the numeric value of the speed in mph.
For example, a driver attempting to
match a speed limit of 40mph using a
speedometer reading ‘‘40’’ in km/h
would be traveling approximately
25mph and have an opportunity to
safely detect the difference between
their speedometer reading and the speed
of nearby traffic. Furthermore, we
believe that the majority of the owners
of these vehicles will continue to
operate them using the factory-set
display (with the speed identified in
mph) and never attempt to change to the
metric units.
VII. NHTSA’s Decision: In
consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA
finds that Volkswagen has met its
burden of persuasion that the subject
FMVSS No. 101 noncompliance is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
Accordingly, Volkswagen’s petition is
hereby granted and Volkswagen is
exempted from the obligation to provide
notification of and free remedy for, the
subject noncompliance in the affected
vehicles under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and
30120.
PO 00000
Frm 00158
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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 Volkswagen 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 Volkswagen 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. 2020–14212 Filed 6–30–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA–2019–0040; Notice 2]
Kia Motors America, Inc., Grant of
Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Grant of petition.
AGENCY:
Kia Motors America, Inc., and
Kia Motors Corporation (collectively
‘‘Kia’’), has determined that certain
model year (MY) 2020 Kia Telluride
motor vehicles do not fully comply with
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. Kia filed a
noncompliance report dated April 12,
2019, and subsequently petitioned
NHTSA on April 18, 2019, for a
decision that the subject noncompliance
is inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety. This notice announces
the grant of Kia’s petition.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kerrin Bressant, Office of Vehicle Safety
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\01JYN1.SGM
01JYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 1, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39675-39676]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-14212]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0022; Notice 2]
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Grant of Petition for Decision
of Inconsequential Noncompliance
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Grant of petition.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen), has determined
that certain MY 2017-2019 Audi A3 motor vehicles do not comply with
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 101, Controls and
Displays. Volkswagen filed a noncompliance report dated February 18,
2019, and later amended it on September 13, 2019. Volkswagen
subsequently petitioned NHTSA on February 20, 2019, for a decision that
the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety. This document announces the grant of Volkswagen's
petition.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Neil Dold, Office of Vehicle Safety
Compliance, NHTSA, telephone (202) 366-7352, facsimile (202) 366-3081.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview: Volkswagen has determined that certain MY 2017-2019
Audi A3 motor vehicles do not comply with paragraph S5.2.1 of FMVSS No.
101, Controls and Displays (49 CFR 571.101). Volkswagen filed a
noncompliance report dated February 18, 2019, and later amended it on
September 13, 2019, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and
Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Volkswagen subsequently
petitioned NHTSA on February 20, 2019, 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 40 U.S.C. 30118 and 49 U.S.C. 30120,
Exemption for Inconsequential Defect or Noncompliance.
Notice of receipt of Volkswagen's petition was published with a 30-
day public comment period, on October 8, 2019, in the Federal Register
(84 FR 53821). No comments were received. To view the petition and all
supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System
(FDMS) website at https://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online
search instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2019-0022.''
II. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 18,379 MY 2017-2019 Audi A3
sedan, Cabriolet, RS3, and e-Tron motor vehicles, manufactured between
July 7, 2016, and January 7, 2019, are potentially involved.
III. Noncompliance: Volkswagen explains that the noncompliance is
that the subject vehicles are equipped with speedometers that only
display the vehicle's speed in units of either miles-per-hour (mph) or
kilometers-per-hour (km/h) and therefore do not meet the requirements
set forth in paragraph S5.2.1 and Table 1, Column 3 of FMVSS No. 101.
IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraphs S5.2.1 and Table 1, Column 3 of
FMVSS No. 101 provides that each passenger car, multipurpose passenger
vehicle, truck and bus that is fitted with a control, a telltale, or an
indicator listed in Table 1 or Table 2 of FMVSS No. 101 must meet the
requirements for the location, identification, color, and illumination
of that control, telltale or indicator.
Each control, telltale and indicator that is listed in column 1 of
Table 1 or Table 2 must be identified by the symbol specified for it in
column 2 or the word or abbreviation specified for it in column 3 of
Table 1 or Table 2. Specifically, the speedometer must only allow the
speed to be displayed in miles per hour (MPH) or km/h and MPH.
V. Summary of Volkswagen's Petition: The following views and
arguments presented in this section, ``V. Summary of Volkswagen's
Petition,'' are the views and arguments provided by Volkswagen. They do
not reflect the views of the Agency.
Volkswagen described the subject noncompliance and stated that the
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
Volkswagen submitted the following views and arguments in support of
the petition:
1. All affected Audi A3 vehicles are initially delivered for first-
sale in the U.S. market in a compliant state (speed displayed in miles-
per-hour). Only through driver interaction, within the settings menu,
can the speedometer display be changed from mph to km/h.
[[Page 39676]]
The change between the display settings must be done intentionally and
cannot be accomplished inadvertently.
2. In the affected 2017-2019 MY Audi A3 vehicles, the two
speedometer scales are noticeably different. Were the previous driver
to have changed the display, a subsequent driver would be able to tell
at a glance that the scale is not in mph.
3. The indicated vehicle speed in km/h is 1.6 times greater than
the speed in mph [in terms of numeric value displayed by the
speedometer--1km/h is approximately 0.62 MPH]. Audi purports that if
the vehicle operator changes the display to indicate km/h and later has
not changed the display back to mph, the vehicle operator will clearly
recognize that the vehicle is moving at a lower speed than intended and
adjust their vehicle speed to match road and traffic conditions. Notice
of the speed differential advises the vehicle operator to perform the
necessary steps to adjust the speedometer back to mph (at the next
appropriate opportunity).
4. The 2017-2019 MY Audi A3 Owner Manual contains information and
instructions for changing the units displayed, via the Infotainment
system, using the MMI Settings menu. Therefore, if a vehicle operator
needs to change the display to indicate mph, instructions are
available.
5. As of January 08, 2019, production has been corrected, vehicles
withheld at the factory have been corrected and unsold units will be
corrected prior to sale. The correction for these vehicles is a
software fix that permits display of the speed in mph or in both mph
and km/h simultaneously.
6. Additionally, Volkswagen is not aware of any field or customer
complaints related to this condition, nor has it been made aware of any
accidents or injuries that have occurred as a result of this issue.
Volkswagen concluded 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.
VI. NHTSA's Analysis: NHTSA has reviewed Volkswagen's petition that
the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
Volkswagen explains the Audi A3/RS3 vehicles are initially delivered
for first-sale in the U.S. market compliant with FMVSS No. 101 with the
speedometer display factory-set to mph. The subject vehicles are
noncompliant because the driver can select an alternative speedometer
display in the menu setting of the ``virtual cockpit.''
Specifically, in Audi A3/RS3 vehicles equipped with a ``virtual
cockpit,'' if the driver selects the alternative speedometer display in
the settings menu, the speedometer displays only km/h without
simultaneously indicating mph, as required by FMVSS No. 101. The
purpose of FMVSS No. 101 is to reduce safety hazards caused by the
diversion of the driver's attention from the driving task when using
controls, telltales, and indicators.
Volkswagen further explains that all vehicles display mph from
factory settings and cannot be changed inadvertently. Additionally,
when displaying km/h, the scale of the speedometer is different so it
would be visibly apparent to the driver that the units of measure are
different. NHTSA agrees with Volkswagen that it is unlikely that the
switch from mph to km/h could be done inadvertently because specific
interactions with the menu-driven vehicle settings are required by the
operator to make the change. We believe that if an operator were to
make this change it would be done intentionally and with some
understanding of the implications and would not cause any impact to
vehicle safety. Also, if an operator were unaware that a speedometer
had been changed to display speed in km/h, they would be likely to
travel at a slower speed rather than faster speed that might impact
safety because the indicated numeric value of the speed in km/h would
be 1.6 times greater than the numeric value of the speed in mph. For
example, a driver attempting to match a speed limit of 40mph using a
speedometer reading ``40'' in km/h would be traveling approximately
25mph and have an opportunity to safely detect the difference between
their speedometer reading and the speed of nearby traffic. Furthermore,
we believe that the majority of the owners of these vehicles will
continue to operate them using the factory-set display (with the speed
identified in mph) and never attempt to change to the metric units.
VII. NHTSA's Decision: In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA
finds that Volkswagen has met its burden of persuasion that the subject
FMVSS No. 101 noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
Accordingly, Volkswagen's petition is hereby granted and Volkswagen is
exempted from the obligation to provide notification of and free remedy
for, the subject noncompliance in the affected vehicles 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 Volkswagen 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
Volkswagen 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. 2020-14212 Filed 6-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
