NHTSA Alters Portions of TPMS Rule

(Akron/Tire Review) In response to petitions, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced several changes to its tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) rule. First, the agency will roll back the compliance date for requiring TPMS information in vehicle owners’ manuals to 1 September 2006.

Also, NHTSA is clarifying language detailing test procedures for malfunction detection and amending language to indicate that the same illumination sequence will be required for various malfunctions.

The agency has also reduced the standard’s testing pressure adjustment from two to one psi. NHTSA stated that the one-psi adjustment will allow testing while still maintaining the standard’s 25 per cent under-inflation threshold.

NHTSA also revised reporting requirements to delineate more clearly between the two phase-in periods – 5 October to 1 September 2006, and 1 September 2006 to 1 September 2007. “The reporting of this information directly relates to determining compliance with the requirements of FMVSS 138,” NHTSA stated.