WASHINGTON—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has granted the petitions of both General Motors L.L.C. and Mercedes-Benz U.S.A. L.L.C. for findings of inconsequential noncompliance involving misprinted tire placards.
The GM petition involved 1,029 Buick Regals, model year 2018, manufactured between Aug. 22, 2017 and Feb. 15, 2018.
Those vehicles have tire placards which state the spare tire size as "None," whereas they should have said "T125/70R17." Also, the placards omitted the spare tire's cold tire pressure, which is "420 kPa, 60 psi."
GM told NHTSA that there was no quality problem with the spare tires per se. The correct size and pressure information is on the tire sidewalls, it said, and also in the owner's manual.
The Mercedes petition involved 142 Mercedes-Benz GLE- and GLS-class vehicles, model years 2016 and 2017, built June 14 and 15, 2016.
On those vehicles, the tire placard on the driver's-side B pillar may not be completely legible. Mercedes argued that though the designations "front/rear/spare" may not be legible, the tire dimensions and pressure values are entirely legible and correct.
The "front/rear/spare" designations are also available on the tank flap to the gas tank, Mercedes said.
The grants of inconsequential noncompliance appeared in the May 30 Federal Register.