Notice2026-19256
Ford Motor Company, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 21, 2026
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Abstract
Ford Motor Company (Ford) has determined that certain model year (MY) 2024-2025 Ford Ranger motor vehicles do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 101, Controls And Displays. Ford filed a noncompliance report dated September 11, 2025, and subsequently petitioned NHTSA (the "Agency") on October 3, 2025, for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. This document announces receipt of Ford's petition.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 181 (Monday, September 21, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 181 (Monday, September 21, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59833-59834]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19256]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2025-0658; Notice 1]
Ford Motor Company, 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: Ford Motor Company (Ford) has determined that certain model
year (MY) 2024-2025 Ford Ranger motor vehicles do not fully comply with
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 101, Controls And
Displays. Ford filed a noncompliance report dated September 11, 2025,
and subsequently petitioned NHTSA (the ``Agency'') on October 3, 2025,
for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it
relates to motor vehicle safety. This document announces receipt of
Ford's petition.
DATES: Send comments on or before October 21, 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: Ford determined that certain MY 2024-2025 Ford Ranger
motor vehicles do not fully comply with paragraphs S5.1.2 and S5.2.1 of
FMVSS No. 101, Controls And Displays (49 CFR 571.101) and filed a
noncompliance report on September 11, 2025, pursuant to 49 CFR part
573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Ford
petitioned NHTSA on October 3, 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 Ford'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.
[[Page 59834]]
II. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 76,125 MY 2024-2025 Ford
Ranger motor vehicles, manufactured between December 9, 2022, and
August 29, 2025, were reported by the manufacturer.
III. Noncompliance: Ford explains that the subject vehicles are
equipped with an instrument panel cluster (IPC) that temporarily does
not display the speedometer unit of measurement (MPH or km/h) under
certain conditions and therefore does not comply with paragraphs S5.1.2
and S5.2.1 of FMVSS No. 101. Specifically, IPC does not display the
speedometer unit of measurement for approximately four seconds while an
animation displays after the driver changes the vehicle's drive mode.
IV. Rule Requirements: Paragraphs S5.1.2 and S5.2.1 of FMVSS No.
101 include the requirements relevant to this petition. Paragraph
S5.1.2 requires that the telltales and indicators specified in Table 1
and Table 2, including their identifications, must be located to ensure
visibility to a driver under the specified conditions of paragraphs
S5.6.1 and S5.6.2 of FMVSS No. 101 when activated. Paragraph S5.2.1
further requires, in relevant part, that every control, telltale and
indicator listed in column 1 of Table 1 or Table 2, with the exception
of the Low Tire Pressure Telltale, must be identified by either the
symbol in column 2 or the word or abbreviation in column 3 of the
respective table.
V. Summary of Ford's Petition: The following views and arguments
presented in this section, ``V. Summary of Ford's Petition,'' are the
views and arguments provided by Ford. They have not been evaluated by
the Agency and do not reflect the views of the Agency. Ford describes
the subject noncompliance and contends that the noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.
Ford explains that the subject vehicles are equipped with
selectable drive modes, which are controlled by a rotary dial or a
button on the center console and allow the driver to change the
vehicle's handling and suspension dynamics. Ford notes that mode
selection will not change the speed and can be performed in most
instances while the vehicle is in motion or while it is in Park.
Ford explains that when the driver changes drive modes, an
animation appears on the IPC that covers the speedometer's unit of
measurement (e.g., MPH or km/h) for approximately four seconds.
However, the numerical speed display (e.g., ``60'') remains
continuously visible during this animation. To correct this, Ford has
implemented a software update for new production Ranger vehicles to
continuously display the speed units during the animation sequence. The
petition includes images illustrating the affected display and the
corrected display and is available to view on the docket. Ford states
that it is not aware of any field occurrences, accidents, or injuries
related to this condition. Ford also notes that it has reviewed
connected vehicle data from 8,800 MY 2024 Ranger vehicles, and found
that drivers change out of the default Normal drive mode on less than
five percent of all key cycles.
Ford believes that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential to
motor vehicle safety for three primary reasons:
First, the primary speedometer's numerical speed remains
continuously and accurately displayed, ensuring no incorrect
information is presented. Ford explains that the subject noncompliance
is limited solely to the temporary disappearance (up to four seconds)
of the unit of measurement (MPH or km/h), an interval initiated by the
driver's intentional action of changing drive modes.
Second, Ford states that it is unaware of any customer complaints,
crashes, injuries, or fatalities related to this condition. Ford
acknowledges that the absence of complaints is not dispositive but
contends that this is further evidence that the drivers of the subject
vehicle are not confused by the disappearance of the speedometer unit.
Third, Ford cites prior NHTSA grants of petitions for decisions of
inconsequential noncompliances concerning similar noncompliances where
required information was temporarily unavailable or incorrect. These
include a 2022 FCA US LLC \1\ petition concerning speedometers that
could be intentionally switched to display only km/h, and a 2016
General Motors LLC \2\ petition regarding a momentary instrument
cluster reset after a series of driver actions. Ford contends that the
subject noncompliance is similar to these grants.
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\1\ See FCA US LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance, 87 FR 22620 (Apr. 15, 2022).
\2\ See General Motors, LLC, Grant of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance, 81 FR 17761 (Mar. 30, 2016).
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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 Ford no longer
controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed.
However, any decision on this petition does not relieve vehicles
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 Ford
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. 2026-19256 Filed 9-18-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 21, 2026.
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