Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

DATES:

Send comments on or before June 3, 2026.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Overview: Volkswagen determined that certain MY 2024-2025 Volkswagen Jetta and MY 2024 Volkswagen Taos motor vehicles do not fully comply with paragraph S4.4(c)(2) of FMVSS No. 138, Tire Pressure Monitoring System (49 CFR 571.138).

Volkswagen filed a noncompliance report dated September 17, 2025, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports. Volkswagen petitioned NHTSA on September 30, 2025, for an exemption from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that this noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part 556, Exemption for Inconsequential Defect or Noncompliance.

This notice of receipt of Volkswagen's petition is published under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or another exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.

II. Vehicles Involved: Approximately 81,456 MY 2024-2025 Volkswagen Jetta and MY 2024 Volkswagen Taos, manufactured between February 20, 2024 and October 11, 2024, were reported by the manufacturer.

III. Rule Requirements: Paragraph S4.4(c)(2) of FMVSS No. 138 includes the requirements relevant to this petition. Paragraph S4.4(c)(2) requires that the telltale provides a warning to the driver of a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) malfunction flash for at least sixty seconds and no more than ninety seconds and then remain illuminated when the vehicle experiences either of the conditions outlined in paragraph S4.4(a) and upon every ignition cycle until the malfunction has been corrected.

IV. Noncompliance: Volkswagen explains that the telltale to alert the driver to low tire pressure or a TPMS malfunction in the subject vehicles does not flash for a period of sixty to ninety seconds, followed by continuous illumination as required by FMVSS No. 138. Specifically, upon detecting a malfunction, the telltale illuminates in a steady burning state.

V. Summary of Volkswagen's Petition: The following views and arguments presented in this section, "V. Summary of Volkswagen's Petition," are the views and arguments provided by Volkswagen. They have not been evaluated by the Agency and do not reflect the views of the Agency. Volkswagen describes the subject noncompliance and contends that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety.

Volkswagen states that the noncompliance was discovered while testing the MY2024 Volkswagen Jetta and Taos. Testers found that the software controlling the TPMS telltale did not operate as required by paragraph S4.4(c)(2) of FMVSS No. 138 because the telltale was illuminated but did not flash for sixty to ninety seconds as required.

Volkswagen states that the subject vehicles alert the driver of a TPMS malfunction or insufficient pressure in ways that is noncompliant with the standard but are still adequate for the purposes of safety. First: the information cluster displays the message "Error: Tire Pressure Monitoring System" for a few seconds during every ignition cycle. Second: the infotainment screen displays the message "Tire Pressure Monitoring is currently not available" for a few seconds during every ignition cycle.

Volkswagen cites a previous inconsequential noncompliance petition filed by Mercedes-Benz USA (Mercedes) in 2011, which they believe to be similar to this petition (see 79 FR 47718). In this petition, Mercedes found that some of their vehicles did not display a flashing TPMS telltale due to software mis-programing. The vehicles did, however, display additional text messages intended to alert the driver of problems with the tire pressure(s) or with malfunctions in the tire pressure monitoring system. According to Volkswagen, NHTSA agreed with MBUSA that this situation was inconsequential to safety. Quoting from NHTSA's decision (italics and bold used in Volkswagen's petition for emphasis):

" Regarding the malfunction telltale that does not initially flash for 60-90 seconds, MBUSA has provided the required visual telltale, a combined telltale which is the plan view of the vehicle, although one that does not flash before it remains continuously "

Volkswagen concludes by stating its belief that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety and its petition to be exempted from providing notification of the noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and a remedy for the noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120, should be granted.

NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively, to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any decision on this petition only applies to the subject vehicles that Volkswagen no longer controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. However, any decision on this petition does not relieve vehicle distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of the noncompliant vehicles under their control after Volkswagen notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.

(Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8)