Interpretation ID: 86-3.12

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 05/02/86

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Erika Z. Jones; NHTSA

TO: Sidney K. Saksenberg -- Manager of Regulatory Affairs, CSA Limited, Inc.

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT:

Mr. Sidney R. Saksenberg Manager of Regulatory Affairs CSA Limited, Inc. P.O. Box 690347 Houston, Texas 77269-0347

This responds to your November 12 1985 letter to NHTSA's Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance concerning the packaging requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 116 Brake Fluid . You asked whether the brake fluid container 'you enclosed would comply with the standard. Your letter has been referred to my office for reply.

By way of background information, I must explain that NHTSA does not pass approval on the compliance of any vehicle or equipment with a safety standard before the actual events that underlie certification. Under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, it is your responsibility as a manufacturer to determine whether your products comply with all applicable safety standards and regulations, and to certify your products in accordance with that determination. Therefore, the following interpretation only represents the agency's opinion based on your letter and enclosure.

The sample container you enclosed is plastic and has a resealable screw cap. The cap is attached to a plastic band, or ring, encircling the opening of the container, and the attachment is broken when the cap is twisted open. The cap itself is lined with an inner seal which you have indicated is impervious to the packaged brake fluid.

Standard No. 116 specifies performance and labeling requirements for motor vehicle brake fluids and their containers. Paragraph S5.2.1 of the standard sets forth specific requirements for container sealing of brake fluid packages:

Each brake fluid or hydraulic system mineral oil container with a capacity of 6 fluid ounces or more shall be provided with a resealable closure that has an inner seal impervious to the packaged brake fluid. The container closure shall include a tamper-proof feature that will either be destroyed or substantially altered when the container closure is initially opened.

The container you enclosed appears to be provided with a resealable closure, i.e., the twist-off cap, and an impervious inner seal. The cap's tamper-proof feature is the attachment to the plastic ring that would be broken (and thus "destroyed or substantially altered") when the cap is initially opened. Although not required by the standard, you have taken the commendable extra step of including a statement on the cap that warns purchasers not to accept the container if the seal is broken, we would suggest that you ensure that the warning is clearly legible.

Sincerely,

Erika Z. Jones Chief Counsel

November 12, 1985

To: John Messera (NES-32) Nat. Hwy. Safety Adm. 400 7th St., SW Washington, DC 20590

Dear Mr. Messera:

With reference to our recent phone conversation:

Enclosed find several bottles and caps we would like to use to package DOT-3 Brake Fluid.

I would like an opinion as to the acceptability of these bottles and caps for packaging DOT-3 Brake Fluid.

Sincerely yours,

Sidney K. Saksenberg Manager of Regulatory Affairs Enc.

SKS/rdc