Interpretation ID: nht71-5.21

DATE: 12/13/71

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; David Schmeltzer; NHTSA

TO: Truck Body and Equipment Distributors Association

TITLE: FMVSR INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in reply to your letter of November 5, 1971 regarding the Tire Identification and Record Keeping Regulation (49 C.F.R. 574). The questions raised in your letter are repeated below with our answers immediately following each question.

1. Section 574.9 of the above states that anyone who leases a vehicle equipped with new tires for more than 60 days is classified as a tire dealer, and shall meet the requirements specified in Section 574.8. Under the above, what would be the "tire dealer's" responsibility if the customer exchanged these tires, without the knowledge of the leasor, and what should the leasor do re: compliance if the vehicle is returned and he notices that a substitution had been made?

Under these circumstances the leasor would only be responsible for the new tires that were on the vehicle when leased to his customer. It would be the responsibility of the tire dealer selling the replacement tires to the leasee of your vehicle to record the pertinent tire information and forward it to the manufacturer of the tires.

2. A company buys a truck as a "demonstrator" for its own use, but prior to the actual "use" of the vehicle, it is sold under a new title. If the seller of the demonstrator advises the local truck dealer of this sale (to include the customer data), has he satisfied all of his responsibilities under Part 574?

Under these circumstances the person who buys a truck and does not use it, but instead sells it, is considered a vehicle dealer selling a new truck. It would be your responsibility to assure that the dealer who originally sold you the truck notifies the vehicle manufacturer that the vehicle changed hands.

3. A leasor takes a vehicle back after a 12-month lease. After reconditioning it, he leases it to a different customer. The tires were still in good condition and were not removed. Under these circumstances, does the leasor have any responsibility to notify the vehicle manufacturer that the vehicle is now in different hands?

Under these conditions the leasor would be in the same position as a vehicle dealer selling a used vehicle with used tires and the reporting requirements would not apply.

4. It is our interpretation that under the provision of Part 574, the only time that a final stage manufacturer would be required to maintain tire records would be if he becomes the vehicle manufacturer and places new tires onto a vehicle for the first time. (This would be in the case of adding a tandem axle requiring additional tires, or the actual manufacture of a trailer to which he installed the tires.) Is this correct?

Your understanding is not correct. The final stage manufacturer is required to maintain or have maintained for him a record of tires on or in each vehicle he ships to a motor vehicle distributor or dealer, and maintain or have maintained for him a record of the name and address of the first purchaser for purposes other than resale of each vehicle equipped with such tires.

For your information, attached is a letter sent to major chassis manufacturers dealing with this subject for cases where the final stage manufacturer does not deal with the purchaser of the completed vehicle. The replies received from the chassis manufacturers have been, for the most part, cooperative.

a. In the case of a manufactured vehicle, we interpret Section 574.9 to mean that the records kept for three years need not conform with any special format, so long as the customer name and address is evident, and the customer can be contacted by the manufacturer in the event that the tire manufacturer initiated a recall campaign which included the group of tires placed on that vehicle. Is this a correct assumption?

Your understanding is correct, however the requirements for vehicle manufacturers are found in 574.10, not 574.9.

Enclosure