Interpretation ID: aiam2384
106 North 12th Street
Marshalltown
IA 50158;
Dear Mr. Hurlbutt: This is in response to your letter of August 13, 1976, asking whethe Federal regulations prohibit the installation, by a dealer, of a rear seat in a 1976 Chevrolet Blazer.; Federal regulations do not prohibit such installation by a dealer. If dealer installs a seat prior to first purchase of the vehicle, the seat must comply with the performance requirements of Standard No. 207, *Seating Systems*, 49 CFR 571.207.; In this case, you have already taken possession of your vehicle an desire that the dealer now install the seat. Section 108 (a) (2) (A) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. S 1381, et seq.) provides that no manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business shall knowingly render inoperative any device or element of design installed in a motor vehicle in compliance with an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard. This does not prohibit a dealer from installing seats in a vehicle that has already been purchased. It simply means that such installation cannot destroy the vehicle's compliance with any motor vehicle safety standard.; Please contact us if we can be of any further assistance. Sincerely, Frank Berndt, Acting Chief Counsel