NHTSA Issues Final TPMS Regulations

(Akron/Tire Review) The National Highway Traffic safety Administration (NHTSA) this morning issued its final regulations concerning installation of tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) on all new passenger vehicles sold in the US.

The precise details of NHTSA’s new regulations must still be determined as a copy of the 187-page document was released only a few hours ago. NHTSA did note that final rule requires automakers to install “a system that can detect when one or more of the vehicle’s tyres are 25 per cent or more below the recommended inflation pressure.”

The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) has already weighed in on NHTSA’s scheme, expressing “strong opposition” to the new rules.

The RMA said that the final regulation’s proposed 25 per cent standard “may leave the tyre so under-inflated that it is unable to carry a fully-loaded vehicle safely. Under NHTSA’s standard, motorists could be driving for thousands of miles on tires that are appreciably under-inflated but still not receive a warning.”

“We support tyre pressure monitors that provide a timely low-pressure warning to motorists,” said Donald Shea, RMA president and CEO. “Unfortunately, this regulation may give motorists a false sense of security that their tyres are properly inflated when they may be significantly under inflated.”

The final regulations had been expected since late last fall. NHTSA had issued preliminary regulations in September 2004, which were widely panned by the tire industry and consumer safety group.

According to NHTSA, the new regulations will take effect 30 days after being posted in the Federal Register. They call for all passenger vehicles (under 10,000 pounds GVW) to have TPMS installed by automakers beginning with the 2006 model year, with all new passenger vehicles so equipped by the 2008 model year.

The phase-in period, said NHTSA in its brief news release this morning, will begin this coming September.