§85.2104. Owners' compliance with instructions for proper maintenance and use. — Inbound Citations

(a) Sections 85.2101 through 85.2111 are applicable to all 1981 and later model year vehicles subject to standards under 40 CFR part 86, subpart S.

(a) As used in §§ 85.2101 through 85.2111 all terms not defined herein shall have the meaning given them in the Act. All terms additionally not defined in the Act shall have the meaning given in 40 CFR 86.1803-01, 1065.1001, or 1068.30:

(1) Act means Part A of Title II of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7421 et seq.

(2) Office Director means the Director for the Office of Transportation and Air Quality in the Office of Air and Radiation of the Environmental Protection Agency or other authorized representative of the Office Director.

(3) Certified part means a part certified in accordance with the aftermarket part certification regulations contained in this subpart.

(4) Emission performance warranty means that warranty described in § 85.2103(c) and 42 U.S.C. 7541(b).

(5) Emission warranty means a warranty given pursuant to this subpart and 42 U.S.C. 7541(a) or (b).

(6) Model year means the manufacturer's annual production period as described in subpart X of this part.

(7) Original equipment part means a part present in or on a vehicle at the time the vehicle is sold to the ultimate purchaser, except for components installed by a dealer which are not manufactured by the vehicle manufacturer or are not installed at the direction of the vehicle manufacturer.

(8) Owner means the original purchaser or any subsequent purchaser of a vehicle.

(9) Owner's manual means the instruction booklet normally provided to the purchaser of a vehicle.

(10) Useful life means that period established under 40 CFR 86.1805.

(11) Vehicle means any vehicle subject to standards under 40 CFR part 86, subpart S.

(12) Warranty booklet means a booklet, separate from the owner's manual, containing all warranties provided with the vehicle.

(13) Written instructions for proper maintenance and use means those maintenance and operation instructions specified in the owner's manual as being necessary to assure compliance of a vehicle with applicable emission standards for the useful life of the vehicle that are:

(i) In accordance with the instructions specified for performance on the manufacturer's prototype vehicle used in certification (including those specified for vehicles used under special circumstances); and

(ii) In compliance with the requirements of 40 CFR 86.1808; and

(14) Emission related parts means those parts installed for the specific purpose of controlling emissions or those components, systems, or elements of design which must function properly to assure continued vehicle emission compliance.

(15) of an emission related repair means all diagnostic information and data, the actual parts replaced during repair, and any other information directly used to support a warranty claim, or to support denial of such a claim.

(16) Valid emission performance warranty claim means a claim in which there is no evidence that the vehicle had not been properly maintained and operated in accordance with manufacturer instructions, the vehicle failed to conform to applicable emission standards as measured by an Office Director-approved type of emission warranty test during its useful life and the owner is subject to sanction as a result of the test failure.

(17) Reasonable expense means any expense incurred due to repair of a warranty failure caused by a non-original equipment certified part, including, but not limited to, all charges in any expense categories that would be considered payable by the involved vehicle manufacturer to its authorized dealer under a similar warranty situation where an original equipment part was the cause of the failure. Included in “reasonable expense” are any additional costs incurred specifically due to the processing of a claim involving a certified aftermarket part or parts as covered in these regulations. The direct parts and labor expenses of carrying out repairs is immediately chargeable to the part manufacturer. All charges beyond the actual parts and labor repair expenses must be amortized over the number of claims and/or over a number of years in a manner that would be considered consistent with generally accepted accounting principles. These expense categories shall include but are not limited to the cost of labor, materials, record keeping, special handling, and billing as a result of replacement of a certified aftermarket part.

(18) has the meaning given for “Designated Compliance Officer” in 40 CFR 1068.30.

(5) Complete instructions as to when and how an owner may bring a claim under the emissions performance warranty, as governed by §§ 85.2104 and 85.2106. These instructions shall include all the following:

(i) An explanation of the point in time at which a claim may be raised.

(ii) Complete procedures as to the manner in which a claim may be raised.

(iii) The provisions for manufacturer liability contained in § 85.2106(f) if the manufacturer fails to respond within the time period set in accordance with § 85.2106(d).

(iv) For battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, the manufacturer-defined value for percentage usable battery energy specified in § 85.2103(d)(3).

(b) Except as provided in § 85.2104(h), a vehicle manufacturer may deny an emission performance warranty claim on the basis of an uncertified aftermarket part used in the maintenance or repair of a vehicle if the vehicle manufacturer can demonstrate that the vehicle's failure to meet emission standards was caused by use of the uncertified part. A warranty claim may be denied if the vehicle manufacturer submits a written document to the vehicle owner that the vehicle owner is unable or unwilling to refute. The document must:

(1) Establish a causal connection between the emissions short test failure and use of the uncertified part, and,

(i) Removal of the uncertified part and installation of any comparable certified or original equipment part previously removed or replaced during installation of the uncertified part will resolve the observed emissions failure in the vehicle, and/or

(ii) Use of the uncertified part has caused subsequent damage to other specified certified components such that replacement of these components would also be necessary to resolve the observed vehicle emissions failure, and,

(3) List all objective evidence as defined in § 85.2102 that was used in the determination to deny warranty. This evidence must be made available to the vehicle owner or EPA upon request.