Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 36594-36595 [2021-14743]

Agencies

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 130 (Monday, July 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36594-36595]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14743]



[[Page 36594]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2020-0114; Notice 1]


Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., 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: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen), has determined 
that certain model year (MY) 2020-2021 Volkswagen motor vehicles do not 
fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 
138, Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems. Volkswagen filed a noncompliance 
report dated October 23, 2020, and later amended it on November 11, 
2020. Volkswagen also petitioned NHTSA on November 16, 2020, for a 
decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it 
relates to motor vehicle safety. This notice announces receipt of 
Volkswagen's petition.

DATES: Send comments on or before August 11, 2021.

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).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kerrin Bressant, Compliance Engineer, 
NHTSA, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, (202) 366-1110.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    I. Overview: Volkswagen has determined that certain MY 2020-2021 
Volkswagen motor vehicles do not fully comply with the requirements of 
Paragraph S4.5(a) of FMVSS No. 138, Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems 
(49 CFR 571.138). Volkswagen filed a noncompliance report dated October 
23, 2020, and later amended it on November 11, 2020, pursuant to 49 CFR 
part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. 
Volkswagen subsequently petitioned NHTSA on November 16, 2020, 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 Volkswagen'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. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 115,855 of the following MY 
2020-2021 motor vehicles, manufactured between December 16, 2019, and 
August 28, 2020, are potentially involved:
     MY 2020 Volkswagen Arteon;
     MY 2020 Volkswagen Passat;
     MY 2021 Volkswagen Atlas;
     MY 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport;
     MY 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan;
     MY 2020 Volkswagen Jetta; and
     MY 2020 Volkswagen Jetta GLI.
    III. Noncompliance: Volkswagen explains that the noncompliance is 
due to an error in the owner's manual editing process and that the 
subject motor vehicles may have received an owner's manual that did not 
have the exact statement in English as required by paragraph S4.5(a) of 
FMVSS No. 138. Specifically, the written instructions to vehicle 
operators about the functionality of the tire pressure monitoring 
system was not included in the exact wording per paragraph S4.5(a).
    IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraph S4.5(a) of FMVSS No. 138 includes 
the requirements relevant to this petition. Beginning on September 1, 
2006, the owner's manual in each vehicle certified as complying with 
paragraph S4 of FMVSS No. 138 must provide an image of the Low Tire 
Pressure Telltale symbol (and an image of the TPMS Malfunction Telltale 
warning (TPMS), if a dedicated telltale is utilized for this function) 
with the following statement in English:
    Each tire, including the spare (if provided), should be checked 
monthly when cold and inflated to the inflation pressure recommended by 
the vehicle manufacturer on the vehicle placard or tire inflation 
pressure label. (If your vehicle has tires of a different size than the 
size indicated on the vehicle placard or tire inflation pressure label, 
you should determine the proper tire inflation pressure for those 
tires.)
    As an added safety feature, your vehicle has been equipped with a 
tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) that illuminates a low tire 
pressure telltale when one or more of your tires is significantly 
under-inflated. Accordingly, when the low tire pressure telltale 
illuminates, you should stop and check your tires as soon as possible, 
and inflate them to the proper pressure. Driving on a significantly 
under-inflated tire causes the tire to overheat and can lead to tire 
failure. Under-inflation also reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread

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life, and may affect the vehicle's handling and stopping ability.
    Please note that the TPMS is not a substitute for proper tire 
maintenance, and it is the driver's responsibility to maintain correct 
tire pressure, even if under-inflation has not reached the level to 
trigger illumination of the TPMS low tire pressure telltale.
    [The following paragraph is required for all vehicles certified to 
the standard starting on September 1, 2007, and for vehicles 
voluntarily equipped with a compliant TPMS MIL before that time.] Your 
vehicle has also been equipped with a TPMS malfunction indicator to 
indicate when the system is not operating properly. [For vehicles with 
a dedicated MIL telltale, add the following statement: The TPMS 
malfunction indicator is provided by a separate telltale, which 
displays the symbol ``TPMS'' when illuminated.] [For vehicles with a 
combined low tire pressure/MIL telltale, add the following statement: 
The TPMS malfunction indicator is combined with the low tire pressure 
telltale. When the system detects a malfunction, the telltale will 
flash for approximately one minute and then remain continuously 
illuminated. This sequence will continue upon subsequent vehicle start-
ups as long as the malfunction exists.] When the malfunction indicator 
is illuminated, the system may not be able to detect or signal low tire 
pressure as intended. TPMS malfunctions may occur for a variety of 
reasons, including the installation of replacement or alternate tires 
or wheels on the vehicle that prevent the TPMS from functioning 
properly. Always check the TPMS malfunction telltale after replacing 
one or more tires or wheels on your vehicle to ensure that the 
replacement or alternate tires and wheels allow the TPMS to continue to 
function properly.
    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 
have not been evaluated by the Agency and do not reflect the views of 
the Agency. Volkswagen describes the subject noncompliance and contends 
that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor 
vehicle safety.
    In support of its petition, Volkswagen submitted the following 
reasoning:
    1. Volkswagen states that the affected manuals all have sections 
devoted to describing appropriate tire pressures and the functionality 
of the tire pressure monitoring system and that the affected manuals 
contain equivalent instructions to those set forth in S4.5(a), just in 
different words. Volkswagen compared the required language and the 
actual language and believes that the comparable text present in the 
owner's manuals is consistent with the rationale and intent of the 
FMVSS No. 138 requirements, even though the exact words required by the 
standard are not used.
    2. Volkswagen asserts that NHTSA has granted similar petitions in 
the past in which required owner's manual text was not present in 
verbatim form, but an equivalent version of the text was present. See 
65 FR 14009 (label and owner's manual missing FMVSS No. 303 required 
text but include substantive equivalent) and 80 FR 68602 (owner's 
manual missing description required by FMVSS No. 226).
    3. Volkswagen states that as of the last dates of production for 
the subject vehicles, the condition has been corrected and that any 
affected vehicles held at the factory have been corrected, and unsold 
units in dealer inventory will be corrected prior to sale.
    4. Additionally, Volkswagen says it 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 concludes 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.
    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 vehicles that Volkswagen 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 motor 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. 2021-14743 Filed 7-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P