Interpretation ID: aiam4632
Inc. 11879 Woodbury Avenue Garden Grove
CA 92643;
"Dear Mr. Sazio: This responds to your letter concerning th application of our regulations and Federal motor vehicle safety standards to your company's manufacture of 'convertible vinyl tops for Jeeps and similar vehicles.' I regret the delay in responding. You asked which Federal safety standards apply to these convertible tops that you sell in both the new vehicle market and the aftermarket. You were especially interested in standards for 'windows and door handles.' There are two Federal safety standards (copies enclosed) that would apply to your product: (1) Standard No. 205, Glazing Materials, and (2) Standard No. 302, Flammability of Interior Materials. While the brevity of the description of your product makes it difficult for us to determine whether our standard for door handles (Standard No. 206, Door Locks and Door Retention Components) applies, we believe that the standard does not apply to your product because the tops, which apparently incorporate doors, are readily removable. By way of background information, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has the authority under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (copy enclosed) to establish Federal motor vehicle safety standards for new motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment. NHTSA, however, does not approve motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment. Instead, the Safety Act establishes a 'self-certification' process under which each manufacturer is responsible for certifying that its products meet all applicable safety standards. This process requires each manufacturer to determine in the exercise of due care that its products meet all applicable Federal requirements. The agency periodically tests vehicles and equipment for compliance with the standards, and also investigates other alleged safety-related defects. If you or the agency determines that a noncompliance or safety-related defect exists, you are obligated to notify purchasers of your product and remedy the problem without charge. Manufacturers who fail to provide notification of or remedy for a defect or noncompliance may be subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation. (A general information sheet describing manufacturers' responsibilities under the Safety Act is enclosed.) The Safety Act defines the term 'motor vehicle equipment' as follows: 'Motor vehicle equipment' means any system, part, or component of a motor vehicle as originally manufactured or any similar part or component manufactured or sold for replacement or improvement of such system, part, or component or as any accessory or addition to the motor vehicle ...' (/102(4)) This definition includes the product your company manufactures since the convertible tops are components manufactured and sold either as a replacement or improvement of the convertible top or as an addition to vehicles that have no existing top. Since your product is considered an item of motor vehicle equipment, S.C. Manufacturing Inc., as the manufacturer of the equipment, must ensure that the convertible tops comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards and contain no safety-related defects. If your product contains glazing material, Standard No. 205 (49 CFR /571.205, Glazing Materials) directly applies to that glazing material. Standard No. 205 is an equipment standard which sets performance requirements for glazing materials used in new motor vehicles and glazing materials sold as items of motor vehicle equipment, including glazing used in convertible tops. Any glazing in the convertible tops that your company manufactures for new or used vehicles must therefore conform to the applicable specifications set forth in Standard No. 205. The standard establishes both performance requirements, including those regulating the light transmittance and abrasion resistance of glazing, and labeling requirements applicable to the glazing used in your product. If your convertible top is added to a new vehicle, i.e., before the vehicle is sold for the first time to a consumer, then it must comply with Standard No. 302, Flammability of Interior Materials (49 CFR /571.302). Standard No. 302 applies to certain vehicle occupant compartment components, including convertible tops, on new completed motor vehicles. Persons selling new vehicles equipped with your convertible top must ensure that the vehicles, including your top, conforms to Standard No. 302. Generally speaking, while the requirements of Standard No. 302 apply to convertible tops incorporated in new vehicles, they do not apply to convertible tops added to used vehicles, i.e., vehicles which have been sold for the first time to a consumer. Under this general rule, you are permitted to sell aftermarket convertible tops that do not comply with Standard No. 302 to vehicle owners who will add them to their used vehicles even if the addition of the top by the vehicle owners caused the vehicles to no longer comply with Standard No. 302. This general rule is, however, limited by the application of the provisions of /108(a)(2)(A) of the Vehicle Safety Act. That section specifies: 'No manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business shall knowingly render inoperative ... any device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment in compliance with an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard ...' This section requires manufacturers, distributors, dealers or motor vehicle repair businesses (i.e., any person holding him or herself out to the public as in the business of repairing motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment for compensation) installing your top on new or used vehicles to ensure that the addition of the apparatus would not negatively affect the compliance of any component or design on a vehicle with applicable Federal safety standards. For example, the commercial entity must ensure that the addition of the top does not degrade from the safety provided by flammable-resistant materials in the vehicle's interior compartment which have been installed in accordance with Standard No. 302. Installation of rapidly burning materials could vitiate the compliance of the materials which were present in the vehicle at the time of its sale to the first consumer and were certified as meeting FMVSS No. 302. Section 109 of the Act specifies a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each violation of section 108. You should note that section 108(a)(2)(A) is not limited to Standard No. 302, but applies also to any modification of Federally-required safety systems or devices on new or used vehicles. Section 108(a)(2)(A) prohibits rendering inoperative the compliance of devices or elements of design with any applicable Federal safety standard. Thus, a commercial entity would be permitted to install your product only if the modification would not destroy or degrade from a vehicle's compliance with any applicable Federal requirements, such as those for lamps and reflective devices (Standard No. 108). Standard No. 206 applies to new vehicles, but not to new aftermarket motor vehicle equipment. Therefore, the doors on aftermarket Jeep top covers would not have to meet the standard. Further, doors on new Jeep vehicles would not have to meet the standard if they are 'designed to be easily attached to or removed from' the vehicle, as provided in paragraph S4 of Standard No. 206. To summarize the above discussion, any glazing in the convertible tops you manufacture must meet applicable requirements of Standard No. 205 regardless of whether the tops are sold in the aftermarket or to new vehicle purchasers. The effect of Standard No. 302 on your product depends on the circumstances surrounding installation of the product in new and used motor vehicles. If the convertible top does not meet Standard No. 302, the top cannot be installed in vehicles by any commercial business listed in /108(a)(2)(A) of the Safety Act. However, these convertible tops may legally be installed in vehicles by the owners of the vehicles. Your company would still have the responsibility under the Vehicle Safety Act to recall and remedy its products which are determined to contain a defect relating to motor vehicle safety, even if the convertible tops were installed by vehicle owners themselves. I hope this information is helpful. In addition to the materials described above, I have also enclosed an information sheet describing generally your responsibilities under the Vehicle Safety Act. Please contact my office if we can be of further assistance. Sincerely, Stephen P. Wood Acting Chief Counsel Enclosures";