Interpretation ID: nht90-4.62

TYPE: Interpretation-NHTSA

DATE: November 20, 1990

FROM: Paul Jackson Rice -- Chief Counsel, NHTSA

TO: Julie Gonzalez -- Keiper Recaro Seating, Inc.

TITLE: None

ATTACHMT: Attached to letter dated 9-21-90 from J. Gonzalez to P.J. Rice (OCC 5253)

TEXT:

This responds to your letter of September 21, 1990 concerning automobile seats your company installs into vehicles on an aftermarket basis. Your letter states;

(t)o complete the installation we use an adapter bracket to mount our seat into the vehicle. In some vehicles we mount our seat onto our adapter bracket and then mount that assembly onto the original equipment manufacturer's seat track. In some of thes e cases the seat belt buckle is attached to the OEM seat. We would like to remove the OEM belt buckle from the OEM seat and attach it to our adapter bracket. ...

In other vehicles we must remove the OEM seat track and use a Recaro seat track. In these cases the Recaro Seat is mounted onto the Recaro seat tracks which mount onto a Recaro adapter bracket that mounts onto the floor. In this situation we would like to mount the OEM seat belt buckle to the adapter bracket which bolts to the floor.

You asked for a list and description of the tests and safety standards which must be met in both of these situations. In subsequent phone conversations with Mary Versailles of my staff, you emphasized that you are only concerned with the effect of movin g the OEM belt buckle, as you have previously determined that the seat itself complies with our standards. Therefore, this letter will be limited to addressing standards relating to safety belts.

The agency has issued the following safety standards that apply to safety belts: Standard No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection, Standard No. 209, Seat Belt Assemblies, and Standard No. 210, Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages. All safety belts sold in the Unite d States must be certified as complying with Standard No. 209, regardless of whether the belts are installed as original equipment in a motor vehicle or sold as a replacement part. However, since you indicate that you do not replace or alter the OEM safe ty belts, it does not appear that you need to be concerned with this standard.

Since Standard No. 208 and Standard No. 210 apply only to new vehicles, they are called vehicle standards. The general rule is that aftermarket equipment does not have to comply with vehicle standards. However, there is one statutory exception to this rule which might affect your modifications. If a vehicle is modified after its first sale, S108(a)(2) (A) of the Vehicle Safety Act provides, in pertinent part:

No manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business shall knowingly render inoperative, in whole or part, any device or

element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment in compliance with an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard...

With respect to Standard No. 208, the safety belts and other related occupant crash protection features, potentially including automatic crash protection, are elements of design installed in a motor vehicle in compliance with this safety standard. The " render inoperative, prohibition requires your company to ensure that the vehicles in question will continue to afford the occupant protection required by Standard No. 208, even with a new seat installed and the OEM safety belt buckle repositioned. Since your proposed repositioning of the buckle will change the geometry of the safety belt system, it could certainly affect the occupant protection capabilities of the vehicle. Your company ought to carefully review the proposed repositioning of the buckle in light of the requirements of Standard No. 208.

With respect to Standard No. 210, the repositioning of the buckle could also raise questions under the "render inoperative" prohibition. The location and strength of the safety belt anchorages are elements of design installed in a vehicle in compliance with Standard No. 210. S3 of Standard No. 210 defines the term "seat belt anchorage" as "the provision for transferring seat belt assembly loads to the vehicle structure." Since, according to your letter, the OEM buckle is attached to the OEM seat, we w ould consider the attachment point on the seat to be the anchorage. It is that attachment point that transfers the seat belt load to the vehicle structure. Your modifications would move the anchorage to another location. The "render inoperative" prohi bition requires you to ensure that after repositioning the OEM buckle, the new attachment point complies with the location and strength requirements of Standard No. 210 that applied to the anchorages in the original configuration of the vehicle's safety belts.

You also asked what kind of testing is required. The "render inoperative" provisions in the Safety Act do not require your company to test vehicles after you install the new seat and reposition the safety belts to ensure that the vehicle continues to co mply with all applicable standards. Instead, the "render inoperative" provision requires your company to carefully compare the installation with the requirements of Standard No. 208 and Standard No. 210, to determine if repositioning the OEM buckle would result in the vehicle no longer complying with either of these standards.

I hope you find this information helpful. If you have further questions, please contact Mary Versailles of my staff at this address or by telephone at (202) 366-2992.