49 U.S.C. § 30102

Verified against govinfo.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on govinfo.gov ↗

(a)In this chapter—
1. (1)“covered rental vehicle” means a motor vehicle that—
  1. (A)has a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less;
  2. (B)is rented without a driver for an initial term of less than 4 months; and
  3. (C)is part of a motor vehicle fleet of 35 or more motor vehicles that are used for rental purposes by a rental company.
2. (2)“dealer” means a person selling and distributing new motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment primarily to purchasers that in good faith purchase the vehicles or equipment other than for resale.
3. (3)“defect” includes any defect in performance, construction, a component, or material of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment.
4. (4)“distributor” means a person primarily selling and distributing motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment for resale.
5. (5)“interstate commerce” means commerce between a place in a State and a place in another State or between places in the same State through another State.
6. (6)“manufacturer” means a person—
  1. (A)manufacturing or assembling motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment; or
  2. (B)importing motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment for resale.
7. (7)“motor vehicle” means a vehicle driven or drawn by mechanical power and manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways, but does not include a vehicle operated only on a rail line.
8. (8)“motor vehicle equipment” means—
  1. (A)any system, part, or component of a motor vehicle as originally manufactured;
  2. (B)any similar part or component manufactured or sold for replacement or improvement of a system, part, or component, or as an accessory or addition to a motor vehicle; or
  3. (C)any device or an article or apparel, including a motorcycle helmet and excluding medicine or eyeglasses prescribed by a licensed practitioner, that—
    1. (i)is not a system, part, or component of a motor vehicle; and
    2. (ii)is manufactured, sold, delivered, or offered to be sold for use on public streets, roads, and highways with the apparent purpose of safeguarding users of motor vehicles against risk of accident, injury, or death.
9. (9)“motor vehicle safety” means the performance of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment in a way that protects the public against unreasonable risk of accidents occurring because of the design, construction, or performance of a motor vehicle, and against unreasonable risk of death or injury in an accident, and includes nonoperational safety of a motor vehicle.
10. (10)“motor vehicle safety standard” means a minimum standard for motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment performance.
11. (11)“rental company” means a person who—
  1. (A)is engaged in the business of renting covered rental vehicles; and
  2. (B)uses for rental purposes a motor vehicle fleet of 35 or more covered rental vehicles, on average, during the calendar year.
12. (12)“State” means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands.
13. (13)“United States district court” means a district court of the United States, a United States court for Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa, and the district court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
(b)
1. (1)In sections 30117(b), 30118–30121, and 30166(f) of this title—
  1. (A)“adequate repair” does not include repair resulting in substantially impaired operation of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment;
  2. (B)“first purchaser” means the first purchaser of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment other than for resale;
  3. (C)“original equipment” means motor vehicle equipment (including a tire) installed in or on a motor vehicle at the time of delivery to the first purchaser;
  4. (D)“replacement equipment” means motor vehicle equipment (including a tire) that is not original equipment;
  5. (E)a brand name owner of a tire marketed under a brand name not owned by the manufacturer of the tire is deemed to be the manufacturer of the tire;
  6. (F)a defect in original equipment, or noncompliance of original equipment with a motor vehicle safety standard prescribed under this chapter, is deemed to be a defect or noncompliance of the motor vehicle in or on which the equipment was installed at the time of delivery to the first purchaser;
  7. (G)a manufacturer of a motor vehicle in or on which original equipment was installed when delivered to the first purchaser is deemed to be the manufacturer of the equipment; and
  8. (H)a retreader of a tire is deemed to be the manufacturer of the tire.
2. (2)The Secretary of Transportation may prescribe regulations changing paragraph (1)(C), (D), (F), or (G) of this subsection.