1051.301—When must I test my production-line vehicles or engines?
(a)
If you produce vehicles that are subject to the requirements of this part, you must test them as described in this subpart, except as follows:
(2)
We may exempt engine families with a projected U.S.-directed production volume below 150 units from routine testing under this subpart. Request this exemption in your application for certification and include your basis for projecting a production volume below 150 units. We will approve your request if we agree that you have made good-faith estimates of your production volumes. Your exemption is approved when we grant your certificate. You must promptly notify us if your actual production exceeds 150 units during the model year. If you exceed the production limit or if there is evidence of a nonconformity, we may require you to test production-line engines under this subpart, or under 40 CFR part 1068, subpart E, even if we have approved an exemption under this paragraph (a)(2).
(b)
We may suspend or revoke your certificate of conformity for certain engine families if your production-line vehicles or engines do not meet the requirements of this part or you do not fulfill your obligations under this subpart (see §§ 1051.325 and 1051.340 ).
(c)
Other regulatory provisions authorize us to suspend, revoke, or void your certificate of conformity, or order recalls for engine families, without regard to whether they have passed these production-line testing requirements. The requirements of this subpart do not affect our ability to do selective enforcement audits, as described in part 1068 of this chapter. Individual vehicles and engines in families that pass these production-line testing requirements must also conform to all applicable regulations of this part and part 1068 of this chapter.
(d)
You may use alternate programs for testing production-line vehicles or engines in the following circumstances:
(1)
You may use analyzers and sampling systems that meet the field-testing requirements of 40 CFR part 1065, subpart J, but not the otherwise applicable requirements in 40 CFR part 1065 for laboratory testing, to demonstrate compliance with emission standards if you double the minimum sampling rate specified in § 1054.310(b). Use measured test results to determine whether vehicles or engines comply with applicable standards without applying a measurement allowance. This alternate program does not require prior approval but we may disallow use of this option where we determine that use of field-grade equipment would prevent you from being able to demonstrate that your vehicles or engines are being produced to conform to the specifications in your application for certification.
(2)
You may ask to use another alternate program for testing production-line vehicles or engines. In your request, you must show us that the alternate program gives equal assurance that your products meet the requirements of this part. We may waive some or all of this subpart's requirements if we approve your alternate approach. For example, in certain circumstances you may be able to give us equal assurance that your products meet the requirements of this part by using less rigorous measurement methods if you offset that by increasing the number of test vehicles or engines.
(e)
If you certify an engine family with carryover emission data, as described in § 1051.235(d), and these equivalent engine families consistently pass the production-line testing requirements over the preceding two-year period, you may ask for a reduced testing rate for further production-line testing for that family. The minimum testing rate is one vehicle or engine per engine family. If we reduce your testing rate, we may limit our approval to any number of model years. In determining whether to approve your request, we may consider the number of vehicles or engines that have failed the emission tests.
(f)
We may ask you to make a reasonable number of production-line vehicles or engines available for a reasonable time so we can test or inspect them for compliance with the requirements of this part.
(g)
The requirements of this subpart do not apply to engine families certified under the provisions of § 1051.630.
(h)
Vehicles certified to the following standards are exempt from the production-line testing requirements of this subpart if no engine families in the averaging set have family emission limits that are different than the otherwise applicable standard: