Interpretation ID: 571-108 - outdoor exposure test - Koito - 05-006676
Mr. Kiminori Hyodo
Deputy General Manager, Regulations & Certification
Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
4-8-3, Takanawa
Minato-ku Tokyo
Japan
Dear Mr. Hyodo:
This responds to your recent letter, in which you asked whether it would be necessary to carry out a three-year, outdoor exposure test on a new combination of plastic lens and coating material under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment. Specifically, your letter stated that you plan to use two existing types of polycarbonate materials, each of which independently meets the requirements of S5.1.2 of Standard No. 108 (i.e., Material A with a coating, and Material B without a coating). However, we understand that you now intend to combine these materials, such that Material A is used as an inner lens without a coating, and Material B is used as an outer lens with the same coating that had been applied to Material A. In response to your question, FMVSS No. 108 does not specifically require manufacturers to conduct testing, but it is the manufacturers responsibility to produce a product that complies with all applicable requirements of our standard when tested in accordance with the standard, and to properly certify compliance.
By way of background, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is authorized to issue FMVSSs that set performance requirements for new motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment. NHTSA does not provide approval of motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment. Instead, it is the responsibility of manufacturers to self-certify that their products conform to all applicable safety standards that are in effect on the date of manufacture (see 49 U.S.C. 30115 and 49 CFR Part 567, Certification).
We note further that the agencys safety standards specify the test conditions and procedures that NHTSA will use to evaluate the performance of the vehicle or equipment being tested for compliance with the particular safety standard. NHTSA follows the test procedures and conditions applicable and in effect at the time of certification when conducting its compliance testing.
A manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that its product complies with applicable standards when tested in accordance with NHTSA procedures. A manufacturer may choose a valid means other than NHTSA performance test procedures for evaluating its products to determine whether the vehicle or equipment will comply with the safety standards when tested by the agency according to the procedures specified by the standard and to provide a basis for its certification of compliance.
If the agency has reason to believe that an apparent noncompliance exists in a vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment, the manufacturer is asked to show the basis for its certification that the vehicle or equipment complies with the relevant safety standard(s). If in fact the vehicle or equipment does not comply with a Federal motor vehicle safety standard when tested according to procedures specified by the standard, the manufacturer will have to recall the product to bring it into compliance at no charge to the customer.
In addition, the manufacturer will be subject to civil penalties, unless it can establish that it had no reason to know, despite exercising reasonable care in the design and manufacture of the product to ensure compliance, that the product did not in fact comply with the safety standard(s) (49 U.S.C. 30115(a) and 30165). This agency has long said that it is unable to judge what efforts would constitute reasonable care in advance of the actual circumstances in which a noncompliance occurs.
As you are aware, the requirements for lighting equipment are contained in FMVSS No. 108, which provides in relevant part:
S5.1.2 Plastic materials used for optical parts such as lenses and reflectors shall conform to SAE Recommended Practice J576 [Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Recommended Practice J576, Plastic Materials for Use in Optical Parts Such as Lenses and Reflex Reflectors of Motor Vehicle Lighting Devices] JUL91, except that:
(a) Plastic lenses (other than those incorporating reflex reflectors) used for inner lenses or those covered by another material and not exposed directly to sunlight shall meet the requirements of paragraphs 3.3 and 4.2 of SAE J576 JUL91 when covered by the outer lens or other material;
(b) After the outdoor exposure test, the haze and loss of surface luster of plastic materials (other than those incorporating reflex reflectors) used for outer lenses shall not be greater than 30 percent haze as measured by ASTM D 1003-92, Haze and Luminous Transmittance of Transparent Plastic;
. . .
(g) All outdoor exposure tests shall be 3 years in duration, whether the material is exposed or protected. Accelerated weathering procedures are not permitted.
We note that neither SAE J576 nor Standard No. 108 specifically requires use of a coating.
Thus, the standard sets forth the test that NHTSA follows in conducting compliance testing. Specifically, under SAE J576 (incorporated by reference in FMVSS No. 108), the agency will subject plastic materials used for optical parts to an unaccelerated, three-year outdoor exposure test.
In short, Koito must ensure that its lamps as manufactured conform to all applicable requirements of FMVSS No 108, including that the plastic materials meet the exposure test requirements under S5.1.2. Again, our standards do not compel manufacturers to test the motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment that they produce under NHTSAs test procedures, although many choose to do so in order to provide a basis for their certification. However, if the agency subjected the lamp in question to compliance testing, the lamps plastic materials would need to meet the requirements of FMVSS No. 108, as certified.
If you have further questions, please feel free to contact Eric Stas of my staff at this address or by telephone at (202) 366-2992.
Sincerely,
Stephen P. Wood
Acting Chief Counsel
Dated: October 4, 2005
Ref: Standard No. 108