ID: nht72-6.10

DATE: 02/22/72

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Lawrence R. Schneider; NHTSA

TO: Winnebago Industries Inc.

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: We have received your quarterly report pursuant to section 573.5 of the Defect Reports regulations and note that you have marked "confidential" data submitted concerning a notification campaign conducted on your Model 04 motor home.

The NHTSA does not consider information regarding notification campaigns to be confidential under sections 112 or 113 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. @ 1401, 1402), and is making this information public. The only information that we have agreed to keep confidential, if requested, are production figures submitted pursuant to section 573.5(b).

ID: nht72-6.11

DATE: 01/28/72

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Lawrence R. Schneider; NHTSA

TO: Ernest Holmes Company

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in reply to your letters of September 15, 1971, and January 10, 1972, requesting that information received by NHTSA pursuant to section 573.5(b) of the Defect Reports regulations (49 CFR Part 573), concerning manufacturers' quarterly production figures be kept confidential pursuant to section 112(e) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1401(e)).

Manufacturers' quarterly production figures submitted pursuant to section 573.5(b) will be kept confidential if the manufacturer so requests. This will be true except in those cases where the NHTSA determines that disclosure is necessary to carry out the purposes of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

In the event it is decided to make public such information the NHTSA will, before release of the information, notify the manufacturer in question.

Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding to your letters.

ID: nht72-6.12

DATE: 03/14/72

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Lawrence R. Schneider; NHTSA

TO: Automotive Service Industry Association

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in reply to your letter of February 23, 1972, concerning the requirements of section 573.6 (Owner lists) of the Defect Reports regulations (49 CFR Part 573).

In your letter you describe a situation where manufacturers perform modifications to heavy duty vehicles for dealers and may have difficulty, for competitive reasons, in obtaining the name of the ultimate purchaser. You ask that in this situation, these manufacturers be permitted, in meeting the requirements of section 573.6, to list the dealer as the "first purchaser," ". . . so that if a defect arises, the owners of record will be notified -- and, where applicable, the owners of record could notify the ultimate owners (usually warranty holders) of the defective vehicles."

The requirement that an owner list be maintained under section 573.6 does not arise until a defect notification campaign is undertaken. The compilation of such a list at that time, however, would of necessity be based on some existing source of all owner names. One such source could be, and probably will be in most situations, a list compiled at the time of sale for warranty purposes. This is apparently the situation you have in mind.

If a manufacturer has only the name of his dealer as the first purchaser, then we would consider using that name in his compilation as meeting the owner list requirement. The manufacturer would still be responsible for maintaining and updating the list as specified in section 573.6, and for obtaining the updated information from the dealer if it is the latter who is correcting the vehicles in question. If the manufacturer is making the corrections, of course, the updated information will be readily available to him.

With regard to your assumption," . . . so that if a defect arises, the owners of record will be notified -- and, where applicable, the owners of record could notify the ultimate owners (usually warranty holders) of the defective vehicles," the requirement for notification of owners (Section 113 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act) is separate from the requirement for compiling owners lists, and specifically excludes notification of dealers. While manufacturers may make arrangements with dealers and distributors for conducting notification campaigns, the ultimate responsibility for conducting the campaign lies with the manufacturer, and he does not meet this responsibility by merely notifying dealers.

At the same time, we would expect to be notified at once should a dealer both insist on keeping his customer list confidential from the manufacturer and refuse otherwise to cooperate with the manufacturer, so that notification letters cannot be sent.

ID: nht72-6.13

DATE: 11/15/72

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Robert L. Carter; NHTSA

TO: Department of Commerce; State of Alaska

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in reply to your letter of October 4, 1972, concerning the possible misuse by automobile insurers of vehicle identification numbers (VIN's) which would be available to them under a proposed amendment to NHTSA "Defect Reports" regulations (49 CFR Part 573). You believe that the availability of such numbers could be the basis for some companies to refuse to write or to cancel insurance, and suggest that we notify state insurance commissioners of that possibility.

We appreciate your concern over the possible misuse of information obtained as a result of NHTSA regulations. However, we have no evidence at this time that such practices are occurring, and we believe it inappropriate, without evidence, to take action which raises the implication of impropriety on the part of the insurance industry. Of course, if we find evidence of misuse of information obtained as a result of NHTSA regulations, we will take steps to remedy the situation.

Your letter and our response have been placed in Docket 69-31, which concerns the reporting of VIN's. We appreciate your writing to us regarding this matter.

ID: nht72-6.14

DATE: 11/10/72

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Richard B. Dyson; NHTSA

TO: Truck Equipment & Body Manufacturers Association

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in reply to your letters of September 25 and October 19, 1972. In your letter of September 25, you ask whether persons performing intermediate manufacturing operations are subject to the Defect Reports regulations, specifically that part of the regulations which requires the quarterly reporting of production figures (@ 573.5(b)). The defect reports regulations apply to all manufacturers of complete or incomplete motor vehicles. We consider intermediate manufacturers to be within the latter category, and the reguations therefore apply to them.

Your letter of October 19 asks whether a person who installs a fifth wheel in a pickup truck is considered a "remanufacturer." Under existing regulations, we would not consider the installation of a fifth wheel on a pickup truck to be a significant enough alteration to constitute remanufacturing. Under the recently proposed amendment to the Certification Regulations regarding the certification of altered vehicles (37 F.R. 22800, October 25, 1972), whether such a person would be an alterer and required to affix a new label to the vehicle would depend upon whether the fifth-wheel is a readily attachable component.

ID: nht72-6.15

DATE: 08/16/72

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Richard B. Dyson; NHTSA

TO: Thoroughbred Homes Inc.

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in response to your inquiry of July 26, 1972, concerning the application of defect reporting requirements to mobile home manufacturers

Although mobile homes are not specifically mentioned in the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, they are considered to be motor vehicle subject to the Act. Because of their unique characteristics, mobile house have been categorized as a separate vehicle type, "mobile structure trailer," under the motor vehicle safety standards, 49 CFR Part 571. "Mobile structure trailer is defined in section 571.3 of that part.

The Defect Reports regulations (49 CFR Part 573) apply to manufacturers of all types of motor vehicles, including mobile structure trailers. They require manufacturers to report the number of vehicles manufactured during each calendar quarter. The description of the regulation's requirements in the article you enclosed is somewhat incomplete and accordingly we have enclosed a copy of the regulation for your guidance.

There are no specific forms which we require to be used in the submission of the specified informations. Copies of acceptable formats you may wish to use, however, are also enclosed.

ID: nht72-6.16

DATE: 12/20/72

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Lawrence R. Schneider; NHTSA

TO: Center for Auto Safety

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: Thank you for your letter of 20 November, 1972, concerning alleged non-compliance of the Defect Information Report regarding Volkswagen Windshield Wipers, submitted by Volkswagon of American on October 12, 1972, with the requirements of NHTSA's Defect Reports Regulations, 49 CFR Part 573. We agree that Volkswagen has failed to supply information required by sections 573.4(c)(2) and 573.4(c)(8) of the Regulation, specifically, the months of manufacture of the affected vehicles and a chronology which includes warranty claims, field service bulletins, and other such information. We are contacting Volkswagon to determine why the Company has failed to furnish that information and to attempt to obtain it. We also agree with your conclusion that 100% of 1948-1949 Volkswagens are potentially affected by the windshield wiper defect. However, Volkswagen's statement that 'no information is available" as to either the total number of such vehicles operating in the United States, or the percentage potentially affected satisfies the disclosure requirement of the regulation (49 CFR 573.4(c)(3, 4)).

We cannot agree, however, with your remaining assertions of non-compliance with the Regulations. While the Volkswagen Information Report is lacking in detail and is a poor example of an informational communication, it does contain minimal responses to the enumerated requirements of the Regulations.

Thank you for your interest in motor vehicle safety.

ID: nht72-6.17

DATE: 03/17/72

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Richard B. Dyson; NHTSA

TO: CaraVan Custom Conversions

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in reply to your letter of February 21, 1972, in which you request information on how to comply with the Defect Reports regulations (49 CFR Part 573). You state that your company converts vans into campers and other specialized uses, that some of your work is minor in nature, such as installing paneling, floors, or windows, and vents, and ask how to determine when you have developed a "model" for reporting purposes under the regulations.

The Defect Reports regulations apply to "manufacturers." As a general rule, a person who converts an already complete vehicle will be considered a manufacturer of the converted vehicle if he modifies it in such a way that the vehicle's structure or function is affected, to a significant extent. For example, a person who takes a basic van-type truck and makes extensive interior modifications to provide eating, sleeping, and bathroom facilities -- producing what might be called a motor home, although nomenclature is not determinative -- would be considered a manufacturer by the NHTSA. By contrast, a person who only added a window or some paneling at a customer's request would not be so considered. We recognize that a precise and universal line between these two polar examples is difficult to draw. For purposes of compliance with Part 573, we will accept a reasonable judgment on your part as to where the line should be drawn in your case.

Since your work is done a custom basis, you may consider the "make" and "model" language of the regulation as inapplicable to your production.

ID: nht72-6.18

DATE: 08/31/72

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Douglas W. Toms; NHTSA

TO: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in further response to your letters of May 3 and August 8, 1972, requesting that the NHTSA make available to insurance companies, such as State Farm, "vehicle identification numbers" (VIN's) which the companies could then utilize to independently notify policyholders whose vehicles have been subject to manufacturers' defect notification campaigns.

The NHTSA has reconsidered your request and has determined to propose, as an amendment to our Defect Reports regulations (49 CFR Part 573), that manufacturers be required to submit to the NHTSA the VIN's of vehicles subject to campaigns. The VIN's would be included in our public file and would be available to insurance companies and other groups who would wish to use them.

The NHTSA does not presently require manufacturers to submit the VIN's of campaigned vehicles (although the Defect Reports regulations do require manufacturers to compile the numbers for their own use). Because this will be a new requirement, the NHTSA is obligated by law to initiate rulemaking to provide for comments by interested persons, and to consider such comments in the decision as to whether the rule should be issued. We will take steps to publish the appropriate notice in the nearest possible future.

Your continuing interest in motor vehicle safety is, of course, greatly appreciated.

ID: nht72-6.19

DATE: 09/06/72

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Lawrence R. Schneider; NHTSA

TO: University of Puerto Rico

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in response to your letter of July 20, 1972, requesting that we obtain for you vehicle identification numbers for vehicles involved in certain defect notification campaigns.

At present, manufacturers are not required to furnish vehicle identification numbers to the NHTSA. While they are required to compile them for their own purposes as part of their Owner Lists, as we indicated in our letter to you of July 5, 1972, we do not consider your request to be a justifiable reason for requesting this information from manufacturers. We appreciate your efforts with regard to the survey you have to conduct, but we do not believe it appropriate to require manufacturers to prepare and submit information to us purely on the basis of private individual requests.

Your letters, and others we have received, however, have demonstrated that a legitimate safety purpose can be served if identification numbers of vehicles involved in campaigns are made available to public and other groups. As a result, the NHTSA has determined to process to amend the Defect Reports regulations to require all manufacturers to supply vehicle identification numbers as part of the information they must submit pursuant to those regulations. Vehicle identification numbers would then be available to the public as a matter of course.

We have enclosed copies of quarterly reports which refer to three of the four campaigns you listed (General Motors, campaign number 71-G230: Toyota, campaign number (Illegible Word); and Volkswagen, campaign number 71-0005). Information on the fourth, Ford campaign number 71-0045, was not required to be submitted, and the manufacturer has not voluntarily submitted any to us.