Guidance on OEM-specific test specifications, supplier qualification requirements, program planning, and submission standards for Ford, GM, Stellantis, Rivian, Tesla, and other automotive OEMs.
FMVSS 302 is the U.S. federal standard that governs how fast interior automotive materials are allowed to burn. A material passes when its horizontal burn rate does not exceed 102 mm per minute, or when it stops burning before it reaches the timing zone. What FMVSS 302 Actually Measures FMVSS 302 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety…
A seat fabric qualifies at initial submission. Color holds at specification. Eighteen months later, warranty claims start coming in for fading on door panel trim from the same material family. The fabric passed the test. The trim didn’t get tested the right way. The difference was the method. ISO 105-B06 Procedure 5 is the xenon…
Here’s something that trips up even experienced suppliers. You run xenon arc weathering. You have the hours, the equipment, the data. You submit to GM. The submission comes back invalid, not because the test was wrong, but because it was the wrong test. Ford doesn’t accept GM’s method. GM doesn’t accept Ford’s. Rivian and Tesla…
Two suppliers submit weathering data for the same OEM program. Both use xenon arc equipment. Both run the same number of hours. One submission is accepted. The other is rejected. The difference isn’t the equipment or the hours. It’s the method. The rejected lab ran a general xenon cycle. The accepted lab ran the specific…
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