UK makes TPMS part of safety test

London - A faulty tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is now an automatic fail under the UK’s annual MOT (Ministry of Transport) test – a mandatory annual check for the road-worthiness of every vehicle registered in the country.

According to the UK-based TyreSafe organisation, as of 1 Jan 2015 any car displaying a TPMS fault when submitted for its MOT test will result in a test failure.

Although TPMS technology has been around for decades, its inclusion in new model vehicles has only been mandated in Europe since 2012 and on all new cars since 2014.

“This led to a gradual introduction into the market over a period of years and with little or no fanfare to help educate motorists." noted Stuart Jackson, chairman of TyreSafe.

Despite being designed to last for many years, the internal battery within a TPMS sensor can run out and require replacement, said TyreSafe.

Sensors can also become faulty or fail completely as a result of weather damage, corrosion or accidental damage caused when changing tires, the UK safety body added.