Interpretation ID: nht73-1.10

DATE: 07/23/73

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; R. B. Dyson; NHTSA

TO: Mr. Gorou Utsunomiya

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT: This is in reply to your letter of June 11, 1973, regarding the application of section 114 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. @ 1403) to Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 107 "Reflecting Surfaces". You refer to language in a letter dated April 10, 1973, from this agency to Mr. Kazushi Sakashita of Toyo Kogyo., Ltd., in which we indicated that certification of replacement vehicle parts pursuant to section 114 is required only with respect to parts to which a safety standard specifically applies.

Standard No. 107 applies to motor vehicles -- passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses (paragraph S2 of Standard No. 107) -- and not to items of motor vehicle equipment. Consequently the certification of conformity to the standard required by section 114 is accomplished by the label affixed to each vehicle in accordance with 49 CFR Part 567, "Certification". That label represents a certification of conformity to all standards, including Standard No. 107, applicable to the vehicle. There is no requirement that the individual components listed in S4 of the standard, i.e. the windshield wiper arms and blades, the inside windshield moldings, the horn ring and hub of the steering wheel assembly, and the inside rearview mirror frame and mounting bracket, be certified independently.

Yours truly,

June 11, 1973

Richard B. Dyson -- Assistant Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator, U.S. Government of Transportation

Dear Mr. Dyson:

Re: Replacement Vehicle Parts.

Enclosed is a letter from NHTSA, which states:

"There are no requirements for the certification of replacement vehicle parts, unless the parts themselves are subject to a safety standard. At present, Standards Nos. 106, 108, 109, 116, 117, 205, 211, and 213 apply to items of motor vehicle equipment subject to these standards that certification is required under Section 114 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act."

By the way, is MVSS 107 Reflecting Surfaces, a requirement under S. 114 of Safety Act, or not? Your answer to this question would be appreciated. Thank you.

Yours truly

Gorou Utsunomiya --

Branch Manager,

Toyo Kogyo U.S.A. Representative Office