August 24, 2010 MR. ANDREW ETKIND VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL COUNSEL GARMIN INTERNATIONAL, INC. 1200 EAST 151ST STREET OLATHE, KS 66061 NVS-215kjs 10E-039
SUBJECT: PORTABLE AUTOMOTIVE GPS PRODUCTS/OVERHEATS DEAR MR. ETKIND: This letter serves to acknowledge Garmin International, Inc.s (Garmin) notification to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a safety recall campaign which is being conducted pursuant to Federal law for the equipment listed below. Please review the following information to ensure that it conforms to your records as this information is being made available to the public. If the information does not agree with your records, please contact us immediately to discuss your concerns. Mfgs Report Date: August 17, 2010 and amended report dated August 24, 2010 Makes/Models/Model Years: GARMIN/AVIS NUVI 760/9999 GARMIN/AVIS/BUDGET NUVI 780/9999 GARMIN/EUROPCAR NUVI 760/9999 GARMIN/HERTZ NUVI 765/9999 GARMIN/HONDA NUVI 760/9999 GARMIN/LANDROVER NUVI 750/9999 GARMIN/MAZDA NUVI 760/9999 GARMIN/MERCEDES NUVI 760/9999 GARMIN/MOPAR NUVI 250/9999 GARMIN/NISSAN NUVI 750/9999 GARMIN/NISSAN NUVI 760/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 200W/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 250W/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 260W/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 710/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 715/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 750/9999
GARMIN/NUVI 755/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 755T/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 760/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 765/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 765T/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 770/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 775/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 775T/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 780/9999 GARMIN/NUVI 785T/9999 GARMIN/SMART NUVI 760/9999 GARMIN/SUZUKI NUVI 750/9999 GARMIN/SUZUKI NUVI 760/9999 GARMIN/SUZUKI NUVI 765/9999 GARMIN/VOLKSWAGON NUVI 765/9999 GARMIN/VOLKSWAGON NUVI 765T/9999 GARMIN/VOLVO NUVI 760/9999 GARMIN/VOLVO NUVI 765/9999 NHTSA Campaign Number: 10E-039 Components: EQUIPMENT Potential Number of Units Affected: 796,000 Summary: GARMIN IS RECALLING CERTAIN NUVI MODEL PORTABLE AUTOMOTIVE GPS PRODUCTS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT AND SOLD AND INSTALLED AS ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT IN CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES THAT CONTAIN THIRD-PARTY LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES MANUFACTURED IN A CERTAIN DATE RANGE. IN RARE CIRCUMSTANCES THE BATTERIES CONTAINED IN THE AFFECTED GPS UNITS CAN OVERHEAT. Consequence: OVERHEATED BATTERIES COULD RESULT IN A FIRE. Remedy: GARMIN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF RECORD AND TECHNICIANS WILL REPAIR THE GPS UNITS BY REPLACING THE BATTERY AND INSERTING A SPACER ON TOP OF THE BATTERY FREE OF CHARGE. GARMIN ALSO PLANS TO LAUNCH A PUBLIC NOTIFICATION CAMPAIGN THAT WILL INCLUDE PRESS RELEASES AND WEBSITE POSTINGS, AMONG OTHER MATERIALS. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN LATE AUGUST 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT GARMIN AT 1-913-397-8200.
Notes: OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATIONS VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV. The information in your defect report appears to satisfy the requirements of 49 CFR 573.6. We have reviewed your proposed owner letter and it meets the requirements of 49 CFR Part 577. Copies of all notices, bulletins, dealer notifications, and other communications that relate to this recall, including a copy of the final owner notification letter and any subsequent owner follow-up notification letter(s), are required to be submitted to this office no later than 5 days after they are originally sent (if they are sent to more than one manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or purchaser/owner). Please provide the following additional information and be reminded of the following requirements: Please provide the name and address of the supplier of the subject batteries. As stated in Part 573.7, submission of the first of six consecutive quarterly status reports is required within 30 days after the close of the calendar quarter in which the campaign was initiated. Thereafter, quarterly reports will be due on or before 30 days after close of the calendar quarter. Your contact for this recall will be Kelly Schuler, who may be reached by phone at 202366-5227, by email at Kelly.Schuler@dot.gov, or through the office email at RMD.ODI@dot.gov. We look forward to working with you for successful completion of this recall campaign. Sincerely,
Jennifer Timian Acting Chief, Recall Management Division Office of Defects Investigation Enforcement