NHTSA issues changes to TPMS rule

Washington, DC -- Interested parties have until Oct. 24 to petition for reconsideration of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration´s changes to the tyre pressure monitoring system standard issued in April 2005.

The changes, themselves initiated by petitions to NHTSA, are mostly technical in nature, relating to methods for testing the accuracy of monitoring systems. The Rubber Manufacturers Association was turned down -- among other things -- in its request for 35-psi minimum activation pressures for light truck tyres in Load Range C, D or E.

The Specialty Market Equipment Association got the agency to confirm that aftermarket malfunction indicator lamps are approved for use. But SEMA was disappointed in its efforts to get NHTSA to mandate that auto makers provide independent repair shops with service information for the monitoring systems, and that the systems can be recalibrated after their first service life to accommodate tyres with different recommended air pressures.

"With a 30-psi tyre, the first owner will receive a warning at 24 psi," said Stuart Gosswein, director of federal government affairs for SEMA. "If that´s replaced with a 36-psi tyre, the TPMS still may only issue a warning at 24 psi if the system can't be reset." 14 psi = 1 bar, so a 30-psi tyre is just over 2 bar pressure.

Gosswein said the recalibration issue would be a panel question at the upcoming SEMA show in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit to throw out the entire TPMS standard -- filed by Public Citizen, the Tire Industry Association, Goodyear, Bridgestone/Firestone, Pirelli Tire LLC and Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. -- is still pending in the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)