Notice2024-24310
Jayco, Inc., Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance
Primary source
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Published
October 21, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Abstract
Jayco, Inc., (Jayco) has determined that certain model year (MY) 2020 travel trailers, manufactured by Jayco, 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. Jayco filed a noncompliance report dated July 16, 2019. In coordination with Jayco, Starcraft RV (Starcraft) and Highland Ridge RV (Highland), subsidiaries of Jayco, also filed noncompliance reports dated July 17, 2019. Jayco subsequently petitioned NHTSA on July 31, 2019, and later amended that petition on September 26, 2019, and November 6, 2019, for a decision that the subject noncompliances are inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. This document announces the grant of Jayco's petition.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 203 (Monday, October 21, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 203 (Monday, October 21, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84242-84244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-24310]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0078; Notice 2]
Jayco, Inc., 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: Jayco, Inc., (Jayco) has determined that certain model year
(MY) 2020 travel trailers, manufactured by Jayco, 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. Jayco filed a noncompliance report
dated July 16, 2019. In coordination with Jayco, Starcraft RV
(Starcraft) and Highland Ridge RV (Highland), subsidiaries of Jayco,
also filed noncompliance reports dated July 17, 2019. Jayco
subsequently petitioned NHTSA on July 31, 2019, and later amended that
petition on September 26, 2019, and November 6, 2019, for a decision
that the subject noncompliances are inconsequential as it relates to
motor vehicle safety. This document announces the grant of Jayco's
petition.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ahmad Barnes, Office of Vehicle Safety
Compliance, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
telephone (202) 366-7236.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview
Jayco has determined that certain MY 2020 travel trailers,
manufactured by Jayco, do not fully comply with paragraph S4.3.5 of
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 (49 CFR
571.110). Jayco filed a noncompliance report dated July 16, 2019, and
in addition, Starcraft and Highland, subsidiaries of Jayco, also filed
noncompliance reports dated July 17, 2019, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573,
Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Jayco subsequently
petitioned NHTSA on July 31, 2019, and later amended that petition on
September 26, 2019, and November 6, 2019, for an exemption from the
notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the
basis that these noncompliances are inconsequential as they relate 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.
As far as the subsequent petitions are concerned, the September 26,
2019, amended petition removed affected Canadian units. The November 6,
2019, amended petition modified an attachment provided with the
petition.
Notice of receipt of Jayco's petition was published with a 30-day
public comment period, on January 6, 2020, in the Federal Register (85
FR 554). No comments were received. To view the petition and all
supporting documents log onto the Federal Docket Management System
(FDMS) website at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/">https://www.regulations.gov/</a>. Then follow the online
search instructions to locate docket number ``NHTSA-2019-0078.''
II. Trailers Involved
Approximately 6,354 MY 2020 Jayco, approximately 1,006 Starcraft,
and approximately 814 Highland travel trailers, manufactured between
May 1, 2019, and June 27, 2019, were reported by the manufacturer.
In its petition, Jayco states that the total number of vehicles
affected is 8,983. However, that number also includes travel trailers
sold in Canada. NHTSA can only grant exemption for vehicles sold in the
United States, totaling approximately 8,174 vehicles.
III. Noncompliance
Jayco explains that the noncompliances are that the subject travel
trailers are equipped with vehicle placards that state the incorrect
vehicle capacity weight and contain an extra character in the
recommended tire inflation pressure, therefore, do not meet the
requirements set forth in paragraph S4.3.5 of FMVSS No. 110.
Specifically, the vehicle placards state that the vehicle weight
capacity as 80 kg when it should be 807 kg. Also, the recommended tire
inflation pressure for the rear tire states ``552 IKPA,'' and the spare
tire states ``552 7KPA'' when they should read 552 KPA.
IV. Rule Requirements
Paragraph S4.3.5 of FMVSS No. 110 includes the requirements
relevant to this petition. Each trailer, except for an incomplete
vehicle, must show the information specified in paragraphs S4.3(c)
through (g) and may show the information specified in paragraphs
[[Page 84243]]
S4.3(h) and (i), on a placard permanently affixed proximate to the
certification label. Each trailer, on the vehicle placard, contains a
cargo capacity statement expressed as ``The weight of cargo should
never exceed XXX kilograms or XXX pounds.'' A vehicle manufacturer's
recommended cold tire inflation pressure for front, rear, and spare
tires is subject to the limitations of paragraph S4.3.4.
V. Summary of Jayco's Petition
The following views and arguments presented in this section, ``V.
Summary of Jayco's Petition,'' are the views and arguments provided by
Jayco.
Jayco describes the subject noncompliances and contends that the
noncompliances are inconsequential as they relate to motor vehicle
safety. Jayco argues that although the vehicle weight capacity stated
on the vehicle placard is incorrect, the correct value is displayed on
the cargo carrying capacity (CCC) label.
Jayco believes that the extra character shown in the cold tire
inflation pressure is inconsequential because the correct information
is also provided on the sidewall of the tire.
Jayco argues that the top section of the certification label
provides the same information as the tire and loading information label
and states the correct tire size dimensions and the cold pressure
inflation values. Additionally, Jayco says that the bottom section of
the certification label displays the CCC of the trailer, which includes
the weight values with the fresh water and the waste water tanks
filled.
Furthermore, Jayco says that the owner's manual for the subject
vehicles includes instructions on how to load the vehicle and where to
find the required ratings that are shown on the certification label.
Jayco adds that the owner's manuals are also available on the company
website at <a href="http://www.jayco.com">www.jayco.com</a>.
Jayco adds that the Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin (MCO)
includes the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and the unloaded
vehicle weight (UVW). The difference between these two values would
also provide the CCC of the trailer.
Jayco says that all of the trailers affected by the subject
noncompliance have been purchased and Jayco has not received any
complaints or inquiries regarding CCC from any owners or dealers of the
subject trailers.
Jayco contends that NHTSA has granted similar inconsequential
petitions in the past, citing a petition from General Motors that was
granted in 2019 as an example.\1\
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\1\ See General Motors, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance, 84 FR 25117 (May 30, 2019).
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Jayco concludes that the subject noncompliances are inconsequential
as they relate 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
Jayco explains that the noncompliances are that the ``THE COMBINED
WEIGHT OF CARGO SHOULD NEVER EXCEED: XXX kg or XXX lbs.'' figures
represented on the required FMVSS No. 110 vehicle placard label
manufactured for their RV travel trailers are incorrect and the ``cold
tire pressure'' on the same vehicle placards were printed with an extra
character for the rear and spare tire line items.
In this particular case, the error pertaining to weight capacity is
not deleterious to the safety and well-being of the vehicle operator
and its occupants. First, the information on the label required by
S4.3.5 of FMVSS No. 110 is more restrictive (80 kg vice the correct
figure of 807 kg), allows less weight (cargo) to be present on the
vehicle and is obviously wrong. Further, a small search effort by the
vehicle user provides an accurate determination of the correct maximum
cargo carrying capacity.
FMVSS No. 110 paragraph S9 mandates that each motor home and RV
trailer must affix either a motor home occupant and cargo carrying
capacity label or an RV trailer CCC label to its vehicles. Among the
items of information which the labels must display is the statement
that ``THE COMBINED WEIGHT OF CARGO SHOULD NEVER EXCEED: XXX kg or XXX
lbs.'' In the case of the Jayco manufactured trailers, the trailers'
CCC labels display the correct information--807 kg.
In reference to tire pressure the error present here is the display
of an ``extra'' character. To the extent this extra character may
confuse an owner or user, an accurate display of the vehicle's cold
tire pressure may be found on the vehicle's certification label
typically found adjacent to the required FMVSS No. 110 vehicle placard.
An additional source of a trailer's weight and loading
characteristics may be found physically in the form of a book in the
vehicle's owner's manual, or more often are typically found online.
Jayco notes that NHTSA has previously granted similar
inconsequential petitions with respect to this error. The noted example
was that of a General Motors, LLC grant of petition for inconsequential
noncompliance due to vehicle tire placards that incorrectly stated the
spare tire size and cold tire pressure. In that case, the agency agreed
with the petitioner that there were several alternative locations to
retrieve the desired information.
In this case, the agency agrees that the noncompliance is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety as the information which was
the subject of the petition itself--the CCC and the cold tire pressure
values--are available and obtainable by other reasonable means. The
maximum cargo carrying capacity may be obtained from the CCC label and
may be calculated by subtracting the unloaded vehicle weight from the
gross vehicle weight rating. Besides the vehicle's tire and information
placard, the vehicle operator could seek out the certification label,
one of the mounted tires on the vehicle, or the vehicle's owner's
manual for specific information related to the cold tire pressure that
the vehicle may safely be operated with.
VII. NHTSA'S Decision
In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA finds that Jayco has met
its burden of persuasion that the subject FMVSS No. 110 noncompliance
at issue is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
Accordingly, Jayco's petition is hereby granted and Jayco is
consequently exempt 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 trailers that Jayco 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
[[Page 84244]]
the noncompliant trailers under their control after Jayco 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. 2024-24310 Filed 10-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on October 21, 2024.
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