Products Liability Law Daily Wrap Up, PROPOSED RULES—MOTOR VEHICLE EQUIPMENT—NHTSA denies rulemaking petition regarding windshield washer fluid, (Aug 26, 2024)

By Susan Engstrom

The petitioner failed to demonstrate a safety need for a standardized winter-specification washer fluid.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has rejected an individual’s request for a rulemaking to require the year-round use of a standardized winter-specification windshield washer fluid to prevent accidents allegedly caused by obstructed visibility from frozen washer fluid. According to the agency, the petitioner failed to present evidence of an unmet safety need or show that a mandated standardized winter-specification windshield washer fluid would effectively decrease or prevent crashes and injuries or fatalities (NHTSA Denial of petition for rulemaking, 89 Fed. Reg. 67867 (Aug. 22, 2024)).

The petitioner asserted that the use of summer and non-standardized winter-specification windshield washer fluid during colder temperatures causes vehicular injuries and fatalities because of reduced or zero visibility. However, he failed to provide any evidence to quantify the extent and scale of the alleged safety issue, such as the nature, cause, size, and potential severity of the alleged hazard, NHTSA said.

In addition, the petitioner failed to acknowledge Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 103, Windshield defrosting and defogging systems, which requires vehicles to have adequate defroster systems meeting minimum performance requirements for windshield clearance in below-freezing conditions, down to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. NHTSA explained that a properly functioning and compliant defroster is specifically designed to prevent accumulation of frost and frozen precipitation on the windshield by actively raising the windshield's temperature. FMVSS No. 103 also requires that the washer system not fail permanently if it does freeze.

Finally, NHTSA acknowledged that the petitioner suggested as a “side note” that methanol should be substituted for ethanol in winter-specification windshield washer fluid because of methanol's potentially dangerous effects on humans. To the extent that the petitioner was suggesting that ethanol should be required under FMVSS No. 104 or under a new FMVSS, the petitioner did not relate that suggestion to an unmet vehicle safety need, as required by the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

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