Notice2026-08582
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance
Primary source
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Published
May 4, 2026
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Abstract
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Volkswagen) has determined that certain model year (MY) 2024-2025 Volkswagen Jetta and MY 2024 Volkswagen Taos motor vehicles do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 138, Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Volkswagen filed a noncompliance report dated September 17, 2025, and subsequently petitioned NHTSA (the "Agency") on September 30, 2025, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. This document announces receipt of Volkswagen's petition.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 85 (Monday, May 4, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 85 (Monday, May 4, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24029-24031]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-08582]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2026-0203; 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) 2024-2025 Volkswagen Jetta and MY 2024
Volkswagen Taos motor vehicles do not fully comply with Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 138, Tire Pressure Monitoring
System. Volkswagen filed a noncompliance report dated September 17,
2025, and subsequently petitioned NHTSA (the ``Agency'') on September
30, 2025, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is
inconsequential as it
[[Page 24030]]
relates to motor vehicle safety. This document announces receipt of
Volkswagen's petition.
DATES: Send comments on or before June 3, 2026.
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 may be
submitted by any of the following methods:
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> 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.
<bullet> Electronically: Submit comments electronically by logging
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) website at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/">https://www.regulations.gov/</a>. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
<bullet> 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 <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, 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
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> 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).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kamna Ralhan, General Engineer, NHTSA,
Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance, (202) 366-6443.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview: Volkswagen determined that certain MY 2024-2025
Volkswagen Jetta and MY 2024 Volkswagen Taos motor vehicles do not
fully comply with paragraph S4.4(c)(2) of FMVSS No. 138, Tire Pressure
Monitoring System (49 CFR 571.138).
Volkswagen filed a noncompliance report dated September 17, 2025,
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility
and Reports. Volkswagen petitioned NHTSA on September 30, 2025, 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
another exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
II. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 81,456 MY 2024-2025 Volkswagen
Jetta and MY 2024 Volkswagen Taos, manufactured between February 20,
2024 and October 11, 2024, were reported by the manufacturer.
III. Rule Requirements: Paragraph S4.4(c)(2) of FMVSS No. 138
includes the requirements relevant to this petition. Paragraph
S4.4(c)(2) requires that the telltale provides a warning to the driver
of a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) malfunction flash for at
least sixty seconds and no more than ninety seconds and then remain
illuminated when the vehicle experiences either of the conditions
outlined in paragraph S4.4(a) and upon every ignition cycle until the
malfunction has been corrected.
IV. Noncompliance: Volkswagen explains that the telltale to alert
the driver to low tire pressure or a TPMS malfunction in the subject
vehicles does not flash for a period of sixty to ninety seconds,
followed by continuous illumination as required by FMVSS No. 138.
Specifically, upon detecting a malfunction, the telltale illuminates in
a steady burning state.
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.
Volkswagen states that the noncompliance was discovered while
testing the MY2024 Volkswagen Jetta and Taos. Testers found that the
software controlling the TPMS telltale did not operate as required by
paragraph S4.4(c)(2) of FMVSS No. 138 because the telltale was
illuminated but did not flash for sixty to ninety seconds as required.
Volkswagen states that the subject vehicles alert the driver of a
TPMS malfunction or insufficient pressure in ways that is noncompliant
with the standard but are still adequate for the purposes of safety.
First: the information cluster displays the message ``Error: Tire
Pressure Monitoring System'' for a few seconds during every ignition
cycle. Second: the infotainment screen displays the message ``Tire
Pressure Monitoring is currently not available'' for a few seconds
during every ignition cycle.
Volkswagen cites a previous inconsequential noncompliance petition
filed by Mercedes-Benz USA (Mercedes) in 2011, which they believe to be
similar to this petition (see 79 FR 47718). In this petition, Mercedes
found that some of their vehicles did not display a flashing TPMS
telltale due to software mis-programing. The vehicles did, however,
display additional text messages intended to alert the driver of
problems with the tire pressure(s) or with malfunctions in the tire
pressure monitoring system. According to Volkswagen, NHTSA agreed with
MBUSA that this situation was inconsequential to safety. Quoting from
NHTSA's decision (italics and bold used in Volkswagen's petition for
emphasis):
``Regarding the malfunction telltale that does not initially flash
for 60-90 seconds, MBUSA has provided the required visual telltale, a
combined telltale which is the plan view of the vehicle, although one
that does not flash before it remains continuously
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illuminated, but instead adds several additional text messages that
clearly communicate a system malfunction and continue to be displayed
until the malfunction has been corrected. NHTSA believes that because
the subject vehicles contain this additional information, the failure
of the vehicle's malfunction telltale to initially flash has an
inconsequential impact on safety.''
Volkswagen concludes by stating its belief that the subject
noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety
and 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 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. 2026-08582 Filed 5-1-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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