National Highway Traffic Safety Administration May 10, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Newell Coach Corporation (Newell) has determined that certain motor homes that it manufactured between June 17, 1996 and August 26, 2008, do not fully comply with paragraph S5.3 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 120 Tire Selection and Rims for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of More than 4,536 Kilograms (10,000 pounds). Newell filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR Part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports on September 9, 2008. Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and the rule implementing those provisions at 49 CFR Part 556, Newell has petitioned 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 the petition was published, with a 30-day public comment period, on December 19, 2008 in the Federal Register (73 FR 77876). No comments were received. To view the petition and all supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at: https:// www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online search instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2008-0210.'' Contact Information: For further information on this decision, contact Mr. John Finneran, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), telephone (202) 366-0654, facsimile (202) 366-5930. Tires Involved: Affected are approximately 456 motor homes manufactured by Newell between June 17, 1996 and August 26, 2008. Newell explains that the noncompliance is that the tire and rim information lettering engraved on the vehicles' certification labels\1\ is only 1.8 millimeters high, as opposed to the 2.4 millimeter height required under paragraph S5.3 of FMVSS No. 120.

Fuji Heavy Industries USA, Inc. (Fuji) has determined that certain model year 2010 Subaru Legacy passenger car and Outback multipurpose Passenger Cars, manufactured from the start of their 2010 model year production through June 30, 2009, did not comply with paragraph S19.2.2 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard FMVSS No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection. Fuji has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports, dated July 16, 2009. Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and the rule implementing those provisions at 49 CFR part 556, Fuji has petitioned 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 Fuji's petition was published, with a 30-day public comment period, on April 19, 2010, in the Federal Register (75 FR 20423). Comments were received from Advocates for Highway & Auto Safety. To view the petition, the comments, and all supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Web site at: https://www.regulations.gov/. Then follow the online search instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA- 2010-0041.'' For further information on this decision, contact Mr. Lawrence Valvo, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, NHTSA, telephone (202) 366- 5359. Vehicles Involved: Affected are approximately 3,405 model year 2010 Subaru Legacy passenger car and Outback multipurpose Passenger Cars, manufactured from the start of their 2010 model year production through June 30, 2009. Fuji also estimated that 0.8% of those 3,405 have the subject noncompliance. Summary of Fuji's Analysis and Arguments: Fuji explained that the noncompliance is that front passenger air bag suppression status telltale lamp did not illuminate as required by paragraph S19.2.2 of FMVSS No. 208. Fuji expressed the belief that the cause of the noncompliance is an open circuit in the power supply to the lamp. The Company said that ``installation of the wiring harness to the multifunction display and passenger air bag suppression status telltale was routed at the instrument panel subsupplier such that tension was put on the wiring harness connector'' which can cause it to come loose. To correct this problem, the Company has re-routed the wiring harness to ``push'' rather than ``pull'' on the wiring harness connector in vehicles manufactured after July 10, 2009. The noncompliance was discovered on July 1, 2009, at the Company's Subaru Indiana plant during a quality inspection process that revealed a number of multi-function displays that did not illuminate and further inspection revealed that this also affected the front passenger air bag suppression status telltale.\1\