Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1038)

Notice of Non-compliance

• 15.01 (1) For the purposes of subsection 10.1(1) of the Act, a person, other than the first retail purchaser, who obtained a vehicle from a company is a prescribed person.

• (2) A notice of non-compliance that is required to be given under subsection 10.1(1) of the Act shall be in writing, in either paper or electronic form, and

  • (a) in the case of a notice given to the Minister, be in either official language; and

  • (b) in the case of a notice given to the vehicle’s current owner or a prescribed person,

    • (i) be in the person’s official language of choice, if it is known, or

    • (ii) be in both official languages.

• (3) Unless the notice of non-compliance contains a statement under subparagraph (4)(j)(i), a company shall give the notice of non-compliance to the vehicle’s current owner and to the prescribed person as soon as feasible, but not later than 60 days after the day on which the company gives the notice of non-compliance to the Minister.

• (3.1) If the notice of non-compliance contains a statement under subparagraph (4)(j)(i) and the Minister advises the company that the Minister has determined that the non-compliance is not inconsequential to safety, the company shall give the notice of non-compliance to the vehicle’s current owner and to the prescribed person as soon as feasible after the day on which the company receives the Minister’s determination, but not later than 60 days after that day.

• (4) A notice of non-compliance that is given to the Minister shall contain the following information:

  • (a) the company’s name and its contact information for the purpose of correspondence;

  • (b) the number, title or other identification that is assigned by the company to the notice;

  • (c) for each vehicle that may be non-compliant, its prescribed class, make, model and model year and any other information that is necessary to permit its identification;

  • (d) the period during which the vehicles were manufactured;

  • (e) the estimated number of vehicles that could potentially be non-compliant;

  • (f) the estimated percentage of the vehicles referred to in paragraph (e) that are non-compliant;

  • (g) a description of the non-compliance, including the applicable regulatory requirement, and the causes and contributing factors, if known;

  • (h) the vehicle systems or components that may be affected by the non-compliance;

  • (i) a chronology of the principal events that led to the determination of the non-compliance, including the test results, observations, inspections and any other relevant information;

  • (j) as the case may be,

    • (i) a statement that the non-compliance is inconsequential to safety, including detailed information in support of the statement, or

    • (ii) a description of the safety risk to persons arising from the non-compliance;

  • (k) a description of the corrective measures to be taken in respect of the non-compliance and how they are to be implemented;

  • (l) any precautions that may be taken to minimize the safety risk until the corrective measures are implemented; and

  • (m) the estimated date on which the notice of non-compliance will be sent to the vehicle’s current owner and the estimated date on which the notice of non-compliance will be sent to a prescribed person.

• (5) The company is not required to provide the Minister with the information referred to in paragraphs (4)(i), (k) and (l) if it is not available on the day on which the notice is given but shall provide that information as soon as it is available.

• (5.1) The company is not required to provide the Minister with the information referred to in paragraph (4)(m) if the notice of non-compliance contains a statement under subparagraph (4)(j)(i), but if the Minister advises the company that the Minister has determined that the non-compliance is not inconsequential to safety, the company shall provide that information within five working days after the day on which the company receives the Minister’s determination.

• (6) A notice of non-compliance that is given to the vehicle’s current owner shall contain the following information:

  • (a) the company’s name;

  • (b) the make, model, model year and the vehicle identification number;

  • (c) the following statements:

    • (i) “This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.”, and

    • (ii) “This is to inform you that your vehicle may be non-compliant with the requirements of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations and that the non-compliance could affect the safety of a person.”;

  • (d) the number, title or other identification that is assigned by the company to the notice;

  • (e) the motor vehicle safety recall number that is issued by the Department of Transport;

  • (f) a description of the non-compliance, including the causes;

  • (g) the vehicle systems or components that may be affected by the non-compliance;

  • (h) operating conditions or other factors that may cause a malfunction of the vehicle system or component;

  • (i) the warning signs, if any, of the malfunction that could arise as a result of the non-compliance;

  • (j) a description of the safety risk to persons arising from the non-compliance, if any;

  • (k) a statement that the non-compliance could cause a crash, if applicable;

  • (l) if the non-compliance is not likely to cause a crash, the type of injury that may result from the non-compliance;

  • (m) a description of the corrective measures to be taken in respect of the non-compliance and how they are to be implemented, including,

    • (i) a general description of the work involved,

    • (ii) the estimated time required in order to take the corrective measures,

    • (iii) a statement that the company will cover the costs of the corrective measures or an estimate of the cost of the corrective measures to the vehicle’s current owner, and

    • (iv) information identifying the persons who can implement the corrective measures;

  • (n) any precautions that may be taken to minimize the safety risk until the corrective measures are implemented; and

  • (o) a statement indicating that if the vehicle’s current owner has leased the vehicle, the owner shall send to the lessee a copy of the notice and any subsequent notice within 10 working days after the day on which the notice is received.

• (7) The company is not required to provide to the current owner the information referred to in paragraph (6)(m) if it is not available on the day on which the notice is given but shall provide that information

  • (a) as soon as it is available; or

  • (b) at the same time as the company provides the information required under subsection 10.4(1) of the Act.

• (8) The words “SAFETY”, “RECALL”, “RAPPEL” and “SÉCURITÉ” are required to be clearly visible

  • (a) on the envelope, or through a window of the envelope, in upper case and in a font size that is larger than the one used for the recipient’s address, if the notice of non-compliance is given to the current owner in paper form; or

  • (b) in the subject line of the communication, in upper case, if the notice of non-compliance is given to the current owner in electronic form.

• (9) A notice of non-compliance that is given to a prescribed person shall contain the following information:

  • (a) the company’s name;

  • (b) for each vehicle that may be non-compliant, its make, model, model year and vehicle identification number and any other information that is necessary to permit its identification;

  • (c) the number, title or other identification that is assigned by the company to the notice;

  • (d) a description of the non-compliance, including the causes;

  • (e) operating conditions or other factors that may cause a malfunction of the vehicle system or component;

  • (f) a description of the safety risk to persons arising from the non-compliance, if any;

  • (g) a description of the corrective measures to be taken in respect of the non-compliance and how they are to be implemented; and

  • (h) any precautions that may be taken to minimize the safety risk until the corrective measures are implemented.

• (10) The company is not required to provide to the prescribed person the vehicle identification number required under paragraph 9(b) if that vehicle identification number is published on the company’s website with the number, title or other identification that is assigned by the company to the associated notice of non-compliance.

• (11) The company is not required to provide to the prescribed person the information referred to in paragraph (9)(g) if it is not available on the day on which the notice is given but shall provide that information as soon as it is available.

Reports

• 15.02 (1) Within five working days after the day on which a company begins sending a notice of defect or non-compliance to current owners, the company shall provide to the Minister a report containing

  • (a) a copy of the notice;

  • (b) a sample of the envelope used to mail the notice;

  • (c) the date on which the company began sending notices;

  • (d) the day on which the company finished, or expects to finish, sending the notices;

  • (e) the number of vehicles that are subject to the notice; and

  • (f) the vehicle identification number for each vehicle that may contain the defect or may be non-compliant, unless that information is provided to the Minister under paragraph (3)(a) or is published in accordance with subsection 15(10) or 15.01(10).

• (2) Despite paragraph (1)(b), a company is not required to provide a sample of the envelope if it uses an envelope that has previously been provided as a sample to the Minister and the report includes the date on which the sample was provided.

• (3) Within five working days after the day on which a company begins sending a notice of defect or non-compliance to prescribed persons, the company shall provide to the Minister a report containing

  • (a) a copy of the notice; and

  • (b) if no notices are sent to current owners, the number of vehicles that are subject to the notice.

• (4) For a period of five years beginning on the 60th day after the day on which a company gives a notice to the Minister under subsection 10(1) or 10.1(1) of the Act, the company shall provide the Minister, within five working days after the day on which they are sent to their recipients, a copy of any of the following communications, with the date on which they were sent to their recipients:

  • (a) communications sent to more than one current owner relating to the defect or non-compliance; and

  • (b) communications sent to more than one prescribed person relating to

    • (i) the information set out in subsection 15(9) or 15.01(9), and

    • (ii) the defect or non-compliance.

• 15.03 (1) For the purposes of section 10.2 of the Act, a company that gives a notice of defect or non-compliance to a current owner or a prescribed person shall provide the Minister with quarterly reports that contain the following information:

  • (a) the motor vehicle safety recall number issued by the Department of Transport;

  • (b) the number, title or other identification that is assigned by the company to the notice;

  • (c) the number of vehicles that are subject to the notice, including the day on which the number was updated by the company; and

  • (d) the number of vehicles for which corrective measures have been taken, including vehicles that required only an inspection, and the day on which that number was determined by the company.

• (2) The company shall provide the Minister with quarterly reports, in accordance with the following schedule, for a period of two years beginning on the 60th day after the day on which the company gives a notice to the Minister under subsection 10(1) or 10.1(1) of the Act:

  • (a) for the first calendar quarter, from January 1 through March 31, on or before April 30;

  • (b) for the second calendar quarter, from April 1 through June 30, on or before July 30;

  • (c) for the third calendar quarter, from July 1 through September 30, on or before October 30; and

  • (d) for the fourth calendar quarter, from October 1 through December 31, on or before January 30 of the following year.

Test Methods

• 15.1 (1) Documents that contain motor vehicle safety test methods shall be published by the Department of Transport under the main title Test Method, followed by an identification number, a descriptive title and the publication date.

• (2) [Repealed, SOR/2008-104, s. 4]

Technical Standards Documents

• 16 (1) For the purposes of section 12 of the Act, every technical standards document, including all of the amendments to it, shall be published by the Department of Transport and have the main title Technical Standards Document, followed by an identification number, a descriptive title and the publication date.

• (2) [Repealed, SOR/2008-104, s. 5]

17 The Department of Transport shall publish a notice in the Canada Gazette Part I each time the Department amends a technical standards document.

Owner’s Manual

• 18 (1) For the purposes of paragraph 5(1)(f) of the Act, for each vehicle that a company imports into Canada before the vehicle is sold to the first retail purchaser and for each vehicle to which a company applies a compliance label, the company shall provide, in written, electronic or optical form, an owner’s manual containing the information required by these Regulations relating to the operation of the vehicle.

• (2) The owner’s manual shall be available in both official languages.

• (3) If the owner’s manual is available only in electronic or optical form, it shall be capable of being used inside the occupant compartment using a device installed in or supplied with the vehicle.

• (4) As of September 1, 2020, the owner’s manual shall contain instructions on how the owner can contact the Department of Transport in order to report a safety concern relating to a vehicle.

19 [Repealed, SOR/95-147, s. 2]

20 [Repealed, SOR/93-274, s. 2]