National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation (DOT).
Receipt of petition.
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche), has determined that certain model year (MY) 2008–2019 Porsche Cayenne and Macan motor vehicles do not comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 110,
Send comments on or before November 14, 2019.
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the docket and notice number cited in the title of this notice and may be submitted by any of the following methods:
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• Comments may also be faxed to (202) 493–2251.
Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish to receive confirmation that comments you have submitted by mail were received, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the comments. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to
All comments and supporting materials received before the close of business on the closing date indicated above will be filed in the docket and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials received after the closing date will also be filed and will be considered to the fullest extent possible.
When the petition is granted or denied, notice of the decision will also be published in the
All comments, background documentation, and supporting materials submitted to the docket may be viewed by anyone at the address and times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the internet at
DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement is available for review in a
This notice of receipt of Porsche's petition is published under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
• MY 2008–2014 Porsche Cayenne;
• MY 2017–2018 Porsche Cayenne “Platinum Edition;”
• MY 2014 Porsche Cayenne Diesel “Platinum Edition;”
• MY 2014 Porsche Cayenne “Platinum Edition;”
• MY 2013–2016 Porsche Cayenne Diesel;
• MY 2019 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid;
• MY 2008–2010 Porsche Cayenne GTS;
• MY 2013–2014 Porsche Cayenne GTS;
• MY 2010 Porsche Cayenne GTS “Porsche Design Edition 3;”
• MY 2008–2010 Porsche Cayenne GTS;
• MY 2016–2018 Porsche Cayenne GTS;
• MY 2015–2018 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid;
• MY 2011–2014 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid;
• MY 2010 Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia;
• MY 2008–2018 Porsche Cayenne S;
• MY 2017–2018 Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid “Platinum Edition;”
• MY 2008–2019 Porsche Cayenne Turbo;
• MY 2009–2010 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S;
• MY 2016–2018 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S;
• MY 2014 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S;
• MY 2015–2018 Porsche Macan Turbo;
• MY 2017–2018 Porsche Macan;
• MY 2018 Porsche Macan “Sport Edition;”
• MY 2017–2018 Porsche Macan GTS;
• MY 2015–2018 Porsche Macan S; and
• MY 2017–2018 Porsche Macan Turbo Plus Performance Package.
In support of its petition, Porsche submitted the following reasoning:
1. With respect to FMVSS No. 110, paragraph S4.4.2(c), the DOT marking signifies that the manufacturer of the rim has certified that the rim complies with all applicable FMVSSs. As the DOT marking is a “certification,” it is a violation of 49 U.S.C. 30115 (“Certification”), which does not require notification or remedy. Porsche asserts that this is consistent with NHTSA's prior decision on petitions for the same issue. (
2. With respect to FMVSS No. 110, paragraph S4.4.2(a), Porsche believes that the omission of the designation symbol “E” will not prevent the proper matching of tires and rims because sufficient information about rim size is available from other markings on the rim and the corresponding owner's manual instructions. More specifically, Porsche states, the rims are marked correctly with the size designation; the correct tire size information is listed on the Tire and Loading Information placard, and the tire size is marked on the tire sidewall. The vehicles' Certification label also contains the correct tire and rim sizes. Importantly, the omitted marking does not affect the ability to identify the rims in the event of a recall and is not likely to have any effect on motor vehicle safety. Porsche asserts that this is again consistent with NHTSA's prior decision on petitions for the same. (
3. The tire and rim of the affected spare wheels are properly matched, and are appropriate for the load-carrying characteristics of the subject vehicle. Porsche asserts that the incorrect association marking has no effect on the performance of the tire/rim combination.
4. The subject tire/rim assembly meets paragraph S4.4.1(b) rapid air loss requirement of FMVSS No. 110. All other applicable requirements of FMVSS Nos. 109 and 110 have been met.
5. Lastly, Porsche is unaware of any accidents, injuries, or customer complaints related to the omitted markings.
Porsche's complete petition and all supporting documents are available by logging onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) website at
Porsche concluded by expressing the belief that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety, and that its petition to be exempted from providing notification of the noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and a remedy for the noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120, should be granted.
NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any decision on this petition only applies to the subject vehicles that Porsche no longer controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, any decision on this petition does not relieve vehicle distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of the noncompliant vehicles under their control after Porsche notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.
(49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8)