Products Liability Law Daily Wrap Up, FINAL RULES—MOTOR VEHICLES—NHTSA removes obsolete provisions in several regulations, (Jun 4, 2026)

By WK Editorial Staff

Deletions include directives from the agency’s phase-in reporting requirements that pertain only to vehicles manufactured in prior years.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued final rules to remove obsolete provisions from several Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) and other regulations. The rules take effect on July 6, 2026. Petitions for reconsideration must be received by July 20, 2026.

FMVSS. Affected FMVSS include the following:

• No. 205(a), Glazing Equipment Manufactured before September 1, 2006, and Glazing Materials Used in Vehicles Manufactured before November 1, 2006. The entirety of FMVSS No. 205(a) will be removed, and the applicability of FMVSS No. 205, Glazing Materials, will be revised (91 Fed. Reg. 33087 (June 3, 2026)).

• No. 206, Door Locks and Door Retention Components. Paragraph S4.1.3.2, which relates to side rear door locks, will be removed because its requirements are redundant of those in S4.1.2.3(b) (91 Fed. Reg. 33081 (June 3, 2026)).

• No. 207, Seating Systems. Paragraph S4.2, which applies to passenger seats on school buses manufactured before October 21, 2011, will be deleted (91 Fed. Reg. 33098 (June 3, 2026)).

• No. 210, Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages. References to manufacture dates that have long since passed (e.g., September 1, 1987, and October 21, 2011) will be removed (91 Fed. Reg. 33091 (June 3, 2026)).

• No. 214, Side Impact Protection. The final rule removes obsolete requirements and revises other paragraphs. The rule also amends FMVSS No. 305a, Electric-Powered Vehicles: Electric Powertrain Integrity, and FMVSS No. 307, Fuel System Integrity of Hydrogen Vehicles, to delete references to sections of FMVSS No. 214 removed by this final rule (91 Fed. Reg. 33111 (June 3, 2026)).

• Nos. 216, Roof Crush Resistance. FMVSS No. 216 will be removed in its entirety because NHTSA implemented an updated roof crush resistance standard in FMVSS No. 216a, for which a multi-year phase-in required full compliance by model year 2016. FMVSS No. 216a would be amended to clarify its applicability (91 Fed. Reg. 33078 (June 3, 2026)).

• No. 217, Bus Emergency Exits and Window Retention and Release. Requirements applying to school buses manufactured before September 1, 1994, will be deleted (91 Fed. Reg. 33084 (June 3, 2026)).

• No. 222, School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection. The rule removes requirements that apply to school buses manufactured before specific dates (e.g., October 21, 2011, October 21, 2009, and September 1, 1991) (91 Fed. Reg. 33101 (June 3, 2026)).

• No. 301, Fuel System Integrity. Directives from NHTSA’s phase-in reporting requirements that only pertain to vehicles manufactured in prior years will be removed (91 Fed. Reg. 33108 (June 3, 2026)).

• No. 303, Fuel System Integrity of Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles. The agency will delete obsolete directives from its phase-in reporting requirements that pertain only to vehicles manufactured in prior years (91 Fed. Reg. 33094 (June 3, 2026)).

• No. 304, Compressed Natural Gas Fuel Container Integrity. Directives from NHTSA’s phase-in reporting requirements that pertain only to vehicles manufactured in prior years will be removed (91 Fed. Reg. 33105 (June 3, 2026)).

Other regulations. NHTSA is also eliminating directives from expired phase-in reporting requirements for advanced air bags, rear inboard lap/shoulder belts, fuel system integrity, tires for motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or less, tire pressure monitoring systems, side impact protection, electronic stability control systems, head restraints, ejection mitigation, roof crush resistance, and rear visibility improvements (91 Fed. Reg. 33119 (June 3, 2026)).

Finally, the agency is removing obsolete regulatory procedures related to the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act of 2009, as that program has ended (91 Fed. Reg. 33123 (June 3, 2026)).

RegulatoryActivity: FinalRules MotorVehiclesNews MotorEquipmentNews