MotorVehicleRegs.COM

NHTSA Recall Dashboard

On July 1, NHTSA issued a press release announcing the launch of an interactive recall dashboard that will allow users to sort and filter data, search by keyword, and export data in CSV, TSV for Excel, XML, and other formats. The dashboard will be updated daily and is available here.

Regulatory and Legislative Tracking Reports for Vehicle Manufacturers and Suppliers

Since 1999, Kardos & Associates LLC has supplied the auto industry with the most comprehensive regulatory and legislative tracking reports available. We currently offer clients the following:

Motor Vehicle Safety & Emissions Regulatory Update (the REG UPDATE)

The REG UPDATE has been tracking US and Canadian regulatory activity impacting the auto industry for over twenty years. Regulations developed by the NHTSA, FMCSA, EPA, FCC, CARB, Transport Canada, and Environment Canada are the focus. For each rulemaking, the Reg Update provides a description of the rulemaking, comment deadlines, effective dates, a docket reference, and links to documents available online. Deadlines and critical path items are color-coded so that you can quickly identify what’s new and important. In addition to being an excellent tool for tracking regulatory activity, the Reg Update is a great archive of past actions. The report contains information on virtually every rulemaking affecting automakers from the past two decades. Approximately 400 pages in length.

U.S. Safety & Fuel Economy Regulatory & Legislative Update
The U.S. Safety & Fuel Economy Regulatory & Legislative Update provides a snapshot of the past month’s legislative and regulatory activities relating to safety, emissions and fuel economy. The report provides brief summaries of notices issued by DOT, EPA, CARB and others. With regard to federal legislation, the report covers newly introduced bills, information on committee hearings, etc. Activities at the state level pertaining to emerging technologies (e.g., automated vehicles, advance driver assistance systems, EVs and EV infrastructure, etc.) are also covered.

Federal Legislation Tracking Report
Our legislative tracking report focuses on matters relating to environment and energy, safety and fuel economy/climate change. The report covers two years-worth of bills (the length of each Congressional session) and includes summaries and status updates for each tracked bill. Links to bill text and related information are provided.

All of our reports are distributed monthly via email as a PDF. Subscribers also get access to an online archive of past reports.

For pricing, contact Dale Kardos at (202) 3064997 or [email protected]. For more information about Kardos & Associates LLC, see www.kardosllc.com.

For a PDF of this information, click here.

Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act of 2018

On August 2, 2018, Sen. Markey (D-Mass.) and Sen. Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee members, reintroduced the Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act, which is intended to ensure auto manufacturers provide more information about incidents involving fatalities and serious injuries to the public.  According to the press release issued by the two Senators, Consumer Reports reported in June that NHTSA launched only 13 defect investigations in 2017, an all-time low.  The Senator’s legislation will require NHTSA to make the information it receives from auto manufacturers publicly available in a searchable, user-friendly format so that consumers and independent safety experts can evaluate potential safety defects themselves.

Specifically, the Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act:

• Requires automobile and equipment manufacturers to automatically submit the accident report or other document that first alerted them to a fatality or serious injury involving their vehicle or equipment to NHTSA’s Early Warning Reporting database. NHTSA is then required to automatically make those documents public unless they are exempted from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA);
• Requires NHTSA to consider EWR information when it is investigating potential safety defects and when it is evaluating citizen petitions for automobile safety standards or enforcement actions;
• Requires NHTSA to upgrade its online databases to improve searchability, integrate its different databases so they can all be searched at once, and ensure that all documents obtained or created by NHTSA related to a safety incident are both made publicly available and keyword searchable in its databases; and
• Requires NHTSA to provide public, searchable notices of all inspection and investigation activities it undertakes.

For a copy of the bill, click here.

A Review of NHTSA Defect Investigations - Spring 2018 Update

 

Dale Kardos & Associates, Inc. has issued an update to its report, “A Review of NHTSA Defect Investigations.”  The report provides details on approximately 600 investigations conducted by NHTSA over the past 20 years.  It covers 41 categories of defects (e.g., autonomous braking, steering, fuel systems, lighting, stalling, seatbelts, etc.).  For each investigation covered in the report, there is information pertaining to vehicle make/model and model years affected, population size affected, NHTSA case ID#, problem description, investigation outcome including statistics regarding complaint rates, crash rates, injury rates, fatality rates, warranty rates, etc.  Persons interested in purchasing the latest update should contact Dale Kardos at [email protected].

Fiat Chrysler Fined $105 Million over Recalls

Fiat Chrysler Fined $105 Million over Recalls – On July 26, 2015 NHTSA released a Consent Order in regards to FCA recall violations. FCA agreed to pay a record $105 million fine for misleading and obstructing regulators, inadequate and lagging repairs, and failing to alert car owners to recalls in a timely manner. FCA will have to pay $70 million up front and $20 million to industry outreach efforts such as educating manufacturers on meeting legal safety obligations and encouraging suppliers to alert the company to possible defects. The remaining $15 million is deferred but could become payable if FCA violates the consent order. In addition to the financial penalty, FCA will be assigned an independent monitor to audit its recall processes for up to four years and in some cases the auto maker will repurchase recalled vehicles.

Below is a more detailed description of FCA obligations in addition to the penalties:

FCA US Performance Obligations:

• FCA, with an independent third party consultant will develop new written procedures for dealing with and reporting defects which NHTSA then has the authority to comment on and revise if it deems it necessary.
• FCA will make a public commitment to lead best practices in safety, including industry education and outreach.

FCA US Industry and Consumer Outreach Performance Obligations:

• Requires FCA to spend no less than $20 million over a three-year period on Industry Outreach, with the total amount documented by an independent monitor on an annual basis.

FCA US’s Repurchase Program:

• FCA will offer a repurchase program for vehicles affected by recalls 13V-038, 13V-527, and 13V-529; FCA may remedy and resell any vehicle repurchased.

NHTSA Recall Workshop

NHTSA has announced that on April 28, 2015 it will hold a public workshop to discuss options to improve vehicle safety recall completion rates. The workshop will include brief NHTSA presentations outlining recent agency activities aimed at improving recall completion rates as well as recent examples of steps vehicle manufacturers have taken.  

Persons interested in attending the workshop must register prior to April 21.  To register, contact Heather Laca at [email protected]. She will need the following information: Name, title, affiliation, address, e-mail address, and telephone number, and indicate whether you require accommodations such as a sign language interpreter or translator.

For additional details, see the meeting notice (here).  

NHTSA Online VIN Search Tool

 

On August 20, 2014, NHTSA launched a new online search tool consumers can use to find out if a vehicle is directly impacted by a recall.  The new tool is available on www.safercar.gov/vinlookup and provides consumers with another means to identify uncompleted recalls by entering their Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). All major light vehicle and motorcycle brands can be searched.

Per NHTSA’s rules, all major light vehicle and motorcycle manufacturers are required to provide VIN search capability for uncompleted recalls on their own websites. This data must be updated at least weekly. NHTSA’s new VIN look-up tool directly relies on information from all major automakers, and regularly updated information from the automakers is critical to the efficacy of the search tool.

The agency’s announcement builds on recent efforts to provide consumers with information to help them make informed decisions, including the NCAP 5-Star Ratings System, Recall envelope and Safercar mobile apps which provide on-the-spot information on crash protection features, advanced safety features, and recalls on new vehicles and many older models. In addition, NHTSA is working with the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) to help ensure that franchise dealerships across the United States become aware of and understand how to use the new VIN search tool.

A NHTSA Fact Sheet on the new search tool is available here. 

Valukas Report Regarding GM Ignition Switch Recalls

On June 5, 2014, NHTSA posted to its website a redacted version of the Valukas report that explores the ten year plus run-up to the 2014 recall of ignition switches installed on various model year Chevy Cobalt and HHR vehicles, Pontiac G5 and Solstice vehicles, and Saturn Ion and Sky vehicles.  For a copy of the report, click here.

 

NHTSA Recall Reports

On May 27, 2014, NHTSA published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that, beginning August 2014, manufacturers will be required to submit recall reports and associated documents online through a web-based, Internet portal. Through this portal, manufacturers will not only file new reports, but will update and amend those reports, file quarterly reports on the progress of their recall campaigns, submit copies of representative communications they issue to owners and dealers, and conduct a host of other routine filings and communications with the agency attendant to a safety recall campaigns. NHTSA will offer twenty (20) online training sessions to instruct manufacturer staff and representatives on how to obtain accounts and use the new portal between July 28, 2014, and August 8, 2014.  The training sessions will be offered between July 28, 2014, and August 8, 2014.  Participants must register by July 25, 2014.

NHTSA contact: Alex Ansley, Safety Recall Specialist, NHTSA, Phone: 202-493-0481, Email: [email protected].

Docket ref: NHTSA-2012-0068.

Monthly Regulatory & Legislative Tracking Reports Available for 2013 - Sign Up Now!

Since 1995, Dale Kardos & Associates, Inc. (DKA Inc.) has been supplying automakers, automotive suppliers and their trade associations with comprehensive detailed regulatory and legislative tracking reports.  Each month, DKA Inc. publishes the following three related, but uniquely-focused, tracking reports:

The Reg Update

The Reg Update is a monthly report that tracks the status of all North American regulatory activity concerning emissions, fuel economy (CO2) and safety (we track all regulatory actions of NHTSA, EPA, California Air Resources Board, Transport Canada, Environment Canada, and Section 177 States (i.e., states that have adopted CA’s Low Emission Vehicle program rules). For each rulemaking, the Reg Update provides electronic links to the latest official publications and includes information concerning comment period deadlines, anticipated future actions, projected implementation dates, and more.  In print since 1998, the Reg Update also serves as a tremendous archive of past actions. 

U.S. Motor Vehicle Safety and Legislative Update

The U.S. Motor Vehicle Safety & Legislative Update is a monthly report summarizing the past month’s legislative and regulatory activity concerning motor vehicle safety, emissions, and fuel economy/GHG issues.  The report provides brief summaries of and electronic links to key Federal Register notices, Congressional bills, public laws, NHTSA interpretation letters, recall listings, defect reports, NCAP test results, etc.  The report also covers financial incentive program announcements coming out of the Department of Energy, California and elsewhere.

Status of Motor Vehicle Related Legislation in the 113^th Congress

This report is devoted to keeping automakers and supplier up-to-date on the status of all legislation pending in the U.S. Congress that may potentially affect the auto industry.  We cover the introduction of all new bills and track their status over the course of the next two years.  We’ll provide updates on any official new activity related to the bill, increases in sponsorship, etc.  The report typically groups bills into the following categories:  Appropriations, Climate Change/GHG/Environment, Financial Incentive Programs, Biofuels and Flex Fuel Vehicles, Funding for Vehicle Development, Safety, Toxic Chemicals, misc.

 Report samples are available via the links below:

1.  Download REG UPDATE (SAMPLE - DEC 2012)

2. Download US Motor Vehicle Regulatory and Legislative Update (Dec 2012)

3. Download 111TH CONGRESS MOTOR VEHICLE LEGISLATION TRACKING SUMMARY (SAMPLE)

Pricing: The above reports can be purchased individually or at a discount (as a package).  A one year subscription is required (12 monthly updates).  For pricing and/or questions, please send an email to Dale Kardos ([email protected]).