Interpretation ID: aiam3111
Stratos Corporation
1451 N. Union Street
Middletown
PA 17057;
Dear Mr. Yingst: This is in response to the questions you raised with Ms. Debra Weine of my office on July 12, 1979, about your company's plans to manufacture auxiliary gasoline tanks for passenger cars. You noted that the tanks will be designed for placement in the trunk above the existing fuel tank and that your company will act primarily as a manufacturer of these tanks but may do some installation. Specifically you asked what Federal regulations or standards would apply to the manufacturer, as well as the placement and installation of auxiliary gasoline tanks in motor vehicles. You also asked whether the we have testing facilities for such tanks and if so, whether the agency would be able to test one of your company's tanks.; The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, as amended 1974 (the Act) authorizes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue motor vehicle safety standards applicable either to entire vehicles or to equipment for installation in vehicles. Safety Standard No. 301-75, *Fuel System Integrity*, (copy enclosed) is a vehicle standard which applies to certain vehicles, including passenger cars, that use fuel with a boiling point above 32 degrees F. The standard applies to completed vehicles rather than to fuel tanks or other fuel system components and thus is inapplicable to the manufacture of auxiliary fuel tanks.; Despite the inapplicability of Safety Standard No. 301-75 to thei manufacture, auxiliary fuel tanks must be designed and manufactured for safety. As a manufacturer of auxiliary fuel tanks, you would be subject to the defects responsibility provisions of the Act (sections 151 *et seq*., copy enclosed). Upon discovery of a safety-related defect by the Secretary of Transportation, the NHTSA Administrator, or yourself, you would be required to notify vehicle owners, purchasers, and dealers and remedy the defect.; If you install an auxiliary fuel tank in a new vehicle, prior to it first purchase in good faith for purposes other than resale, you would be a vehicle alterer under NHTSA regulations. As an alterer, you would be required by 49 CFR 567.7 to affix an additional label to the vehicle stating that, as altered, the vehicle conforms to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards--including Safety Standard No. 301-75. Should a noncompliance or safety- related defect be discovered in such a vehicle, as a result of the modification, you would be required to notify vehicle owners, purchasers, and dealers and to remedy the defect.; If you installed an auxiliary gasoline tank in a used passenge vehicle, you would not be required to attach an alterer's label. However, section 108(a)(2)(A) of the Act would apply. Section 108(a)(2)(A) provides in relevant part that:; >>>No manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repai business shall knowingly render inoperative, in whole or part, 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. . .<<<; Thus, if you added an auxiliary tank to a used passenger vehicl manufactured in compliance with Safety Standard No. 301-75 and other standards, and in the process knowingly rendered inoperative the compliance of the fuel system or another system, you would be in violation of section 108(a)(2)(A).; I would like to point out that in addition to the Federal law discusse above there may be State product liability laws applicable to your company's proposed activities. Therefore, you may wish to consult a lawyer before your company begins manufacturing and installing auxiliary gasoline tanks.; At the present time, NHTSA is not testing auxiliary gasoline tanks, bu the agency is involved in testing vehicles to determine their compliance with Safety Standard No. 301-75. At some point the agency will probably begin testing auxiliary tanks that have been installed in vehicles, but such testing will be done only as part of our enforcement efforts. It is not a policy of the NHTSA to test and approve the products of particular manufacturers of motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment.; In conclusion, please note that, in general, the National Highwa Traffic Safety Administration discourages the use of auxiliary fuel tanks of any kind because of the grave dangers of fire and explosion posed by their improper manufacture or installation. In the near future this agency will be making a press release warning consumers of these hazards and discouraging them from using auxiliary fuel tanks.; I hope that you will find this response helpful and that you have no been inconvenienced by our delay in sending it to you.; Sincerely, Frank Berndt, Chief Counsel