[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 5]
[Revised as of October 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR573.13]

[Page 957-960]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
                   CHAPTER V--NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC
                    SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT
                            OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 573_DEFECT AND NONCOMPLIANCE RESPONSIBILITY AND REPORTS--Table of 
Contents
 
Sec. 573.13  Reimbursement for pre-notification remedies.

    (a) Pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30120(d) and Sec. 573.6(c)(8)(i) of this 
part, this section specifies requirements for a manufacturer's plan 
(including general reimbursement plans submitted pursuant to Sec. 
573.6(c)(8)(i)) to reimburse owners and purchasers for costs incurred 
for remedies in advance of the manufacturer's notification of safety-
related defects and noncompliance with Federal motor vehicle safety 
standards under subsection (b) or (c) of 49 U.S.C. 30118.
    (b) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this section:
    (1) Booster seat means either a backless child restraint system or a 
belt-positioning seat.
    (2) Claimant means a person who seeks reimbursement for the costs of 
a pre-notification remedy for which he or she paid.
    (3) Pre-notification remedy means a remedy that is performed on a 
motor vehicle or item of replacement equipment for a problem 
subsequently addressed by a notification under subsection (b) or (c) of 
49 U.S.C. 30118 and that is obtained during the period for reimbursement 
specified in paragraph (c) of this section.
    (4) Other child restraint system means all child restraint systems 
as defined in 49 CFR 571.213 S4 not included within the categories of 
rear-facing infant seat or booster seat.
    (5) Rear-facing infant seat means a child restraint system that is 
designed to position a child to face only in the direction opposite to 
the normal direction of travel of the motor vehicle.
    (6) Warranty means a warranty as defined in Sec. 579.4(c) of this 
chapter.
    (c) The manufacturer's plan shall specify a period for 
reimbursement, as follows:
    (1) The beginning date shall be no later than a date based on the 
underlying basis for the recall determined as follows:
    (i) For a noncompliance with a Federal motor vehicle safety 
standard, the date shall be the date of the first test or observation by 
either NHTSA or the manufacturer indicating that a noncompliance may 
exist.
    (ii) For a safety-related defect that is determined to exist 
following the opening of an Engineering Analysis (EA) by NHTSA's Office 
of Defects Investigation (ODI), the date shall be the date the EA was 
opened, or one year before

[[Page 958]]

the date of the manufacturer's notification to NHTSA pursuant to Sec. 
573.6 of this part, whichever is earlier.
    (iii) For a safety-related defect that is determined to exist in the 
absence of the opening of an EA, the date shall be one year before the 
date of the manufacturer's notification to NHTSA pursuant to Sec. 573.6 
of this part.
    (2) The ending date shall be no earlier than:
    (i) For motor vehicles, 10 calendar days after the date on which the 
manufacturer mailed the last of its notifications to owners pursuant to 
part 577 of this chapter.
    (ii) For replacement equipment, 10 calendar days after the date on 
which the manufacturer mailed the last of its notifications to owners 
pursuant to part 577 of this chapter (where applicable) or 30 days after 
the conclusion of the manufacturer's initial efforts to provide public 
notice of the existence of the defect or noncompliance pursuant to Sec. 
577.7, whichever is later.
    (d) The manufacturer's plan shall provide for reimbursement of costs 
for pre-notification remedies, subject to the conditions established in 
the plan. The following conditions and no others may be established in 
the plan.
    (1) The plan may exclude reimbursement for costs incurred within the 
period during which the manufacturer's original or extended warranty 
would have provided for a free repair of the problem addressed by the 
recall, without any payment by the consumer unless a franchised dealer 
or authorized representative of the manufacturer denied warranty 
coverage or the repair made under warranty did not remedy the problem 
addressed by the recall. The exclusion based on an extended warranty may 
be applied only when the manufacturer provided written notice of the 
terms of the extended warranty to owners.
    (2)(i) For a motor vehicle, the plan may exclude reimbursement:
    (A) If the pre-notification remedy was not of the same type (repair, 
replacement, or refund of purchase price) as the recall remedy;
    (B) If the pre-notification remedy did not address the defect or 
noncompliance that led to the recall or a manifestation of the defect or 
noncompliance; or
    (C) If the pre-notification remedy was not reasonably necessary to 
correct the defect or noncompliance that led to the recall or a 
manifestation of the defect or noncompliance.
    (ii) However, the plan may not require that the pre-notification 
remedy be identical to the remedy elected by the manufacturer pursuant 
to 49 U.S.C. 30120(a)(1)(A).
    (3)(i) For replacement equipment, the plan may exclude 
reimbursement:
    (A) If the pre-notification remedy did not address the defect or 
noncompliance that led to the recall or a manifestation of the defect or 
noncompliance;
    (B) If the pre-notification remedy was not reasonably necessary to 
correct the defect or noncompliance that led to the recall or a 
manifestation of the defect and noncompliance; or
    (C) In the case of a child restraint system that was replaced, if 
the replacement child restraint is not the same type (i.e., rear-facing 
infant seat, booster seat, or other child restraint system) as the 
restraint that was the subject of the recall.
    (ii) However, the plan may not require that the pre-notification 
remedy be identical to the remedy elected by the manufacturer pursuant 
to 49 U.S.C. 30120(a)(1)(B).
    (4) The plan may exclude reimbursement if the claimant did not 
submit adequate documentation to the manufacturer at an address or 
location designated pursuant to Sec. 573.13(f). The plan may require, 
at most, that the following documentation be submitted:
    (i) Name and mailing address of the claimant;
    (ii) Identification of the product that was recalled:
    (A) For motor vehicles, the vehicle make, model, model year, and 
vehicle identification number of the vehicle;
    (B) For replacement equipment other than child restraint systems and 
tires, a description of the equipment, including model and size as 
appropriate;
    (C) For child restraint systems, a description of the restraint, 
including the type (rear-facing infant seat, booster seat, or other 
child restraint system) and the model; or

[[Page 959]]

    (D) For tires, the model and size;
    (iii) Identification of the recall (either the NHTSA recall number 
or the manufacturer's recall number);
    (iv) Identification of the owner or purchaser of the recalled motor 
vehicle or replacement equipment at the time that the pre-notification 
remedy was obtained;
    (v) A receipt for the pre-notification remedy, which may be an 
original or copy:
    (A) If the reimbursement sought is for a repair, the manufacturer 
may require that the receipt indicate that the repair addressed the 
defect or noncompliance that led to the recall or a manifestation of the 
defect or noncompliance, and state the total amount paid for the repair 
of that problem. Itemization of a receipt of the amount for parts, 
labor, other costs and taxes, may not be required unless it is unclear 
on the face of the receipt that the repair for which reimbursement is 
sought addressed only the pre-notification remedy relating to the 
pertinent defect or noncompliance or manifestation thereof.
    (B) If the reimbursement sought is for the replacement of a vehicle 
part or an item of replacement equipment, the manufacturer may require 
that the receipt identify the item and state the total amount paid for 
the item that replaced the defective or noncompliant item;
    (vi) In the case of items of replacement equipment that were 
replaced, documentation that the claimant or a relative thereof (with 
relationship stated) owned the recalled item. Such documentation could 
consist of:
    (A) An invoice or receipt showing purchase of the recalled item of 
replacement equipment;
    (B) If the claimant sent a registration card for a recalled child 
restraint system or tire to the manufacturer, a statement to that 
effect;
    (C) A copy of the registration card for the recalled child restraint 
system or tire; or
    (D) Documentation demonstrating that the claimant had replaced a 
recalled tire that was on a vehicle that he, she, or a relative owned; 
and
    (vii) If the pre-notification remedy was obtained at a time when the 
vehicle or equipment could have been repaired or replaced at no charge 
under a manufacturer's original or extended warranty program, 
documentation indicating that the manufacturer's dealer or authorized 
facility either refused to remedy the problem addressed by the recall 
under the warranty or that the warranty repair did not correct the 
problem addressed by the recall.
    (e) The manufacturer's plan shall specify the amount of costs to be 
reimbursed for a pre-notification remedy.
    (1) For motor vehicles:
    (i) The amount of reimbursement shall not be less than the lesser 
of:
    (A) The amount paid by the owner for the remedy, or
    (B) The cost of parts for the remedy, plus associated labor at local 
labor rates, miscellaneous fees such as disposal of waste, and taxes. 
Costs for parts may be limited to the manufacturer's list retail price 
for authorized parts.
    (ii) Any associated costs, including, but not limited to, taxes or 
disposal of wastes, may not be limited.
    (2) For replacement equipment:
    (i) The amount of reimbursement ordinarily would be the amount paid 
by the owner for the replacement item.
    (ii) In cases in which the owner purchased a brand or model 
different from the item of motor vehicle equipment that was the subject 
of the recall, the manufacturer may limit the amount of reimbursement to 
the retail list price of the defective or noncompliant item that was 
replaced, plus taxes.
    (iii) If the item of motor vehicle equipment was repaired, the 
provisions of paragraph (e)(1) of this section apply.
    (f) The manufacturer's plan shall identify an address to which 
claimants may mail reimbursement clams and may identify franchised 
dealer(s) and authorized facilities to which claims for reimbursement 
may be submitted directly.
    (g) The manufacturer (either directly or through its designated 
dealer or facility) shall act upon requests for reimbursement as 
follows:
    (1) The manufacturer shall act upon a claim for reimbursement within 
60 days of its receipt. If the manufacturer denies the claim, the 
manufacturer

[[Page 960]]

must send a notice to the claimant within 60 days of receipt of the 
claim that includes a clear, concise statement of the reasons for the 
denial.
    (2) If a claim for reimbursement is incomplete when originally 
submitted, the manufacturer shall advise the claimant within 60 days of 
receipt of the claim of the documentation that is needed and offer an 
opportunity to resubmit the claim with complete documentation.
    (h) Reimbursement shall be in the form of a check or cash from the 
manufacturer or a designated dealer or facility.
    (i) The manufacturer shall make its reimbursement plan available to 
the public upon request.
    (j) Any disputes over the denial in whole or in part of a claim for 
reimbursement shall be resolved between the claimant and the 
manufacturer. NHTSA will not mediate or resolve any disputes regarding 
eligibility for, or the amount of, reimbursement.
    (k) Each manufacturer shall implement each plan for reimbursement in 
accordance with this section and the terms of the plan.
    (l) Nothing in this section requires that a manufacturer provide 
reimbursement in connection with a fraudulent claim for reimbursement.
    (m) A manufacturer's plan may provide that it will not apply to 
recalls based solely on noncompliant or defective labels.
    (n) The requirement that reimbursement for a pre-notification remedy 
be provided to an owner does not apply if, in the case of a motor 
vehicle or replacement equipment other than a tire, it was bought by the 
first purchaser more than 10 calendar years before notice is given under 
49 U.S.C. 30118(c) or an order is issued under section 49 U.S.C. 
30118(b). In the case of a tire, this period shall be 5 calendar years.

[67 FR 64063, Oct. 17, 2002]