TPMS servicing debate in Sweden

Following the publication of an informational poster last year on the subject of TPMS, the Scandinavian Tire & Rim Organization (STRO) subsequently issued a market newsletter questioning whether TPMS actually had to be working in order for cars to pass the Swedish national equivalent of the MOT. Writing in a newsletter published on 10 December 2013, the STRO explains that debate broke out at the end of last year and has yet to be resolved, but the gist of it is that there is a significant different of opinion (or perhaps) interpretation.

Writing in that newsletter STRO representatives explained: “After we…received some comments about the contents of [the poster] such that there is no requirement for TPMS on vehicles in use in Sweden, we contacted the Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen) for clarification. Transport Agency confirmed that there is currently no requirement for TPMS for vehicles in use under the Transport Agency’s regulations TSFS 2010:2 that takes over when a vehicle is put into service in Sweden. EU Regulation 661/2009 which requires TPMS systems in vehicles type approved after November 1, 2012 , or vehicles registered, sold or put into service after November 1, 2014 applies only to the approval moment, then TSFS 2010:2 takes over.”

Of course this begs the questions a) what is the point of having a system if it doesn’t have to work and b) why ignore the safety benefits of properly inflated tyres, especially in a country where snow and ice driving, which puts more importance on tyre condition, is so common?

Nevertheless STRO continued: “Transport Agency has had a possible requirement for TPMS under discussion for some time, but confirmed the day before the meeting that they had decided not to impose equirements on TPMS on vehicles in use by TSFS 2010:2 . This means that today and in the close future, there will not have requirements for TPMS in Sweden for the aftermarket, ie only at type approval and when the vehicle is registered, sold or put into service in Sweden.

This sheds some light on the Swedish thinking on this subject, but doesn’t help us understand why a working TPMS is more important on a new vehicle than on a three year old model. All this led to the beginnings of a kind of TPMS apathy in the otherwise strongly growing market, with some suggesting the best way to fix a TPMS warning light in Sweden is to put a piece of tape over the dashboard display.