United States Department of TransportationInterpretation ID: aiam2703
Director
Product Reliability and Quality
North American Operations
International Harvester
401 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago
IL 60611;
Dear Mr. Smith: This responds to your October 3, 1977, letter questioning the positio of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concerning the public dissemination of defect and noncompliance information by press release prior to a manufacturer's notification as required by Part 577, *Defect and Noncompliance Notification*. In your letter, you refer to a press release issued by the agency concerning defects in some of your vehicles. This release was made prior to your providing notification to the vehicle owners.; The NHTSA through Part 577 requires that manufacturers provid notification to the owners of vehicles involved in defect or noncompliance recalls. This notification must be provided, in the case of a manufacturer- initiated recall, within a 'reasonable time' after a manufacturer discovers the existence of a defect or noncompliance. You conclude that the publication of an agency press release prior to the time that a manufacturer notifies owners of a defect or noncompliance in effect shortens the 'reasonable time' allowed for such notification. This in turn, you suggest, results in unnecessary public concern before the manufacturer is capable of implementing the recall.; The publication of an agency press release does not shorten the tim period allotted a manufacturer under Part 577 for providing notification. A manufacturer is still permitted a 'reasonable time' to comply with the requirements. The NHTSA has adopted the 'reasonable time' approach to manufacturer notification of owners, because it realizes that the amount of preparation to conduct a recall may vary depending upon the complexity of the defect or noncompliance.; The agency operates under different timing considerations than thos applicable to a manufacturer. The NHTSA is under a mandate to ensure that vehicles containing potentially dangerous defects or noncompliances are corrected or removed from highway service as soon as possible. The agency understands that any recall and remedy process is somewhat time- consuming for a manufacturer, and accordingly, vehicles will not be repaired immediately. Therefore, in the interim time between a manufacturer's discovery of a defect or noncompliance and his notice and remedy, the agency must issue warnings to vehicle owners so that they can take the appropriate action. Such action might include checking their vehicle for possible signs of failure or discontinuance of use of the affected vehicle.; In summation, the agency must balance the manufacturer's need for reasonable time to notify and remedy with the vehicle owner's need for immediate information pertaining to any potential safety problems. This balance has taken the form of the NHTSA's issuance of a warning pending a manufacturer's issuance of notification. The NHTSA concludes that through this mechanism safety is preserved and manufacturers are not unduly burdened.; Sincerely, Joan Claybrook