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Interpretation ID: aiam4652

Mr. John E. Hammer John E. Hammer & Associates 235 W. Hamilton Lane Battle Creek, MI 49015; Mr. John E. Hammer John E. Hammer & Associates 235 W. Hamilton Lane Battle Creek
MI 49015;

"Dear Mr. Hammer: This responds to your inquiry about the attachment o a rigid hood ornament onto a motor vehicle. You explained that you were developing an aftermarket kit to help prevent the theft of such hood ornaments. You asked about the legalities of an individual owner using such a kit to attach a hood ornament. As explained below, while the agency does not regulate the actions of an individual vehicle owner, you as the manufacturer will have responsibilities under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act ('Vehicle Safety Act'). A replacement hood ornament kit would be considered 'motor vehicle equipment' under section 102(4) of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Vehicle Safety Act). That section defines, in relevant part, the term 'motor vehicle equipment' as: any system, part, or component of a motor vehicle as originally manufactured or any similar part or component manufactured or sold for replacement or improvement of such system, part, or component or as any accessory, or addition to the motor vehicle.... The Safety Act gives this agency the authority to issue safety standards applicable to new motor vehicles and new items of motor vehicle equipment. Although NHTSA has issued motor vehicle safety standards for certain types of motor vehicle equipment, there is no standard directly applicable to hood ornaments. Thus, the manufacture and sale of the aftermarket product to a vehicle owner for use with his or her vehicle would not be affected by the requirements of any Federal motor vehicle safety standard. Although no standard directly applies to a hood ornament, there are several statutory provisions of which you should be aware. First, /108(a)(2)(A) of the Vehicle Safety Act states that: 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... If using the hood ornament would adversely affect compliance with a safety standard, then a manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or repair business installing this product would 'render inoperative' a design element in compliance with a Federal motor vehicle safety standard. The person who committed such an act would have violated /108(a)(2)(A), and would be subject to a civil penalty of up to $1000 for each /108 violation where a design element was 'rendered inoperative.' However, the provisions of 108(a)(2)(A) do not apply to the actions of a vehicle owner in adding or otherwise modifying his or her vehicle. Thus, a vehicle owner would not violate the Act by using the hood ornament kit even if doing so would adversely affect some safety feature in his or her vehicle or equipment. Second, you will be a motor vehicle equipment manufacturer if you offer this product for sale. As a manufacturer, you will be subject to the requirements of //151-159 of the Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1411-1419), concerning the recall and remedy of products with defects related to motor vehicle safety. Section 102(11) of the Vehicle Safety Act defines 'defect' as 'any defect in performance, construction, components, or materials in motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment.' (emphasis added). Section 102(1) defines 'motor vehicle safety' as 'the performance of motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment in such a manner that the public is protected against unreasonable risk of accidents occurring as a result of design, construction or performance of motor vehicles...' (emphasis added). If you or the agency determined that the product had a defect related to motor vehicle safety, you would have to notify all product purchasers of the defect, and either: 1. repair the product so that the defect is removed, or 2. replace the product with an identical or reasonably equivalent product that does not have the defect. The manufacturer would have to bear the full expense of the notice-and-recall campaign, irrespective of the option chosen, for any owner who purchased the product less than eight years before the notice-and-recall campaign. The agency does not determine the existence of safety-related defects, except in the context of a defect proceeding. I note that hood ornaments typically are constructed to yield to pressure so as to reduce the risk of injuries to pedestrians. Therefore, it is possible that a rigid, non-yielding ornament might be considered a safety related defect if the rigid design were determined to pose an unreasonable safety risk. I hope you find this information helpful. Sincerely, Stephen P. Wood Acting Chief Counsel";