Ford Motor Company; Denial of Petition for Inconsequentiality

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [Docket No. NHTSA-2017-0093] AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation. ACTION: Denial of petition. SUMMARY: On July 10, 2017, Takata Corporation (“Takata”) filed a defect information report (“DIR”) in which it determined that a safety-related defect ( printed page 6952) exists in phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (“PSAN”) driver-side air bag inflators that it manufactured with a calcium sulfate desiccant and supplied to Ford Motor Company (“Ford”), Mazda North American Operations (“Mazda”), and Nissan North America Inc. (“Nissan”) for use in certain vehicles. Ford petitioned the Agency for a decision that the equipment defect determined to exist by Takata is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety in the Ford vehicles affected by Takata's DIR, and that Ford should therefore be relieved of its notification and remedy obligations under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and its applicable regulations. After reviewing the petition, NHTSA has concluded that Ford has not met its burden of establishing that the defect is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety, and denies the petition. ADDRESSES: For further information about this decision, contact Stephen Hench, Office of Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jerse…