Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Light Vehicle Brake Systems

Lucas Varity Light Vehicle Braking Systems (LVBS), a subsidiary of Lucas Varity Automotive of Livonia, MI, submitted a petition for reconsideration and for certain other modifications to the hydraulic brake standard. The petitioner first asked NHTSA to delay the compliance date of the antilock brake system (ABS) malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) activation protocol of the standard until September 1, 2002. The protocol is currently scheduled to become mandatory on and after March 1, 1999. Second, the petitioner asked NHTSA to continue in effect the existing lamp activation protocol and extend that protocol to all hydraulically-braked vehicles. LVBS argued that the new lamp activation protocol presents significant compliance problems both for manufacturers and original equipment (OEM) customers. LVBS was also concerned about what it perceived as lack of coordination between the hydraulic brake standard and the light vehicle braking systems standard. In order to provide LVBS and other manufacturers similarly situated sufficient time to design and test systems that will comply with the MIL activation protocol set forth in the recent amendments to the hydraulic brake standard, NHTSA has decided to delay the mandatory compliance date of the new MIL activation requirements from March 1 until September 1, 1999. This amendment is being issued as an interim final action given the short time remaining before the current March 1, 1999 compliance date. NHTSA also solicits comments on this amendment.