The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration granted Toyota’s petition concerning incorrect tire-size labels on about 3,981 C-HR vehicles. The decision provides limited relief from federal notification and remedy duties for this specific labeling problem.
Key Facts
- Affected vehicles: The decision covers certain model-year 2020–2021 Toyota C-HRs.
- Label error: The vehicles came with 17-inch wheels, but their tire placards identified 18-inch tires.
- Agency finding: NHTSA determined that this specific noncompliance was inconsequential to motor-vehicle safety.
- Limited effect: The decision does not declare the placards compliant or remove sales restrictions for affected vehicles still controlled by distributors or dealers.
What was wrong with the placards
The affected C-HRs were manufactured from September 16, 2019, through November 30, 2020.
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 110 requires a permanent placard that includes the original tire-size designation.
The affected vehicles had 17-inch original wheels, while their placards incorrectly listed 18-inch tires.
Toyota filed a noncompliance report on February 3, 2021. It petitioned NHTSA on February 26, 2021, seeking an exemption from applicable notification and remedy duties.
An inconsequential-noncompliance decision means the agency found that the identified failure to meet a federal standard was inconsequential to motor-vehicle safety.
Why NHTSA granted the petition
NHTSA determined that the tires originally installed on the vehicles met the applicable performance requirements. The agency also found that the placards stated the correct cold inflation pressure.
NHTSA said an 18-inch tire could not be mounted on the original 17-inch wheel. Installing the placard-listed tire would therefore require a different wheel.
The agency also determined that both tire-and-wheel combinations could support the vehicles’ maximum loads.
Toyota argued that owners could find the correct size on the installed tires’ sidewalls and in the owner’s manual. It also said the incorrectly listed tire size was used on other C-HR versions with the same maximum loading requirements.
NHTSA reported receiving no comments after it announced the petition and opened a public-comment period in 2021.
What the decision does
The August 13, 2026, Federal Register notice grants Toyota’s petition at the agency level.
The grant relieves Toyota of applicable federal notification and remedy duties for covered vehicles it no longer controlled when it identified the noncompliance.
The decision is not a recall or a finding that the placards complied with the federal standard. It addresses only whether the specified noncompliance was consequential to motor-vehicle safety for purposes of Toyota’s petition.
The grant also does not remove federal restrictions on distributors or dealers selling affected noncompliant vehicles still under their control.
How the proceeding developed
NHTSA announced receipt of Toyota’s petition in April 2021. That earlier notice invited public comments but did not decide the petition’s merits.
The 2026 notice is the agency’s decision granting the petition.
