SLIDE 1 STATUS OF TPMS RULEMAKING 2005 SAE Government/Industry Meeting May 10, 2005 Presented By: Samuel Daniel, NHTSA, Office of Crash Avoidance Standards SLIDE 2: TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS – BACKGROUND 2002 Final Rule (Vacated) On June 5, 2002, NHTSA published a final rule establishing FMVSS No. 138, Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems, in response to the TREAD Act of 2000 (67 FR 38704) FMVSS No. 138 required installation of tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) on light vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 10,000 lbs or less SLIDE 3: TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS – BACKGROUND 2002 Final Rule (Vacated) Compliance phase-in was to begin in November 2003 13 Petitions for Reconsideration were received Petitioners’ main areas of concern were: * Replacement tire requirements * Compliance Test Procedure needed more details SLIDE 4: TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS – BACKGROUND Court Decision On August 6, 2003, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an opinion in Public Citizen v. Mineta, which vacated FMVSS No. 138 The Court ruled that a TPMS must be capable of detecting low tire pressure in one to four tires, in order to meet the TREAD Act’s requirements SLIDE 5: TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS – BACKGROUND Court Decision (Cont’d) Court supported NHTSA’s decision to require TPMS telltale to illuminate at 25% below placard pressure NHTSA published a notice in November 2003 (68 FR 65404), which vacated the standard SLIDE 6: TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS – 2004 NPRM On September 16, 2004, NHTSA published a new NPRM for TPMS that conforms with the Court’s decision (69 FR 55896) The NPRM also responded to relevant issues in the Petitions for Reconsideration filed in response to the 2002 final rule SLIDE 7: TPMS -2005 FINAL RULE HIGHLIGHTS Final Rule was published on April 8, 2005 (70 FR 18136) The new standard is technology-neutral and allows any TPMS design that complies with the performance requirements SLIDE 8: TPMS -2005 FINAL RULE HIGHLIGHTS The standard requires TPMS performance testing with original tires only A Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) is required for all vehicles, effective September 1, 2007 (MY08) SLIDE 9: TPMS -2005 FINAL RULE HIGHLIGHTS The standard designates the Southern Loop of the Uniform Tire Quality Grading Treadwear Course in San Angelo, Texas, as the site for all compliance testing Procedures for conducting system calibration, low tire pressure detection, and system malfunction testing are specified SLIDE 10: TPMS -2005 FINAL RULE HIGHLIGHTS The standard allows for a vehicle to be driven under normal conditions in order to calibrate the TPMS, and to detect low tire pressure/TPMS malfunction Test conditions for ambient temperature, and vehicle speed range during calibration and detection phases are established SLIDE 11: TPMS -2005 FINAL RULE HIGHLIGHTS A minimum activation pressure (MAP) for ‘P-metric’ and ‘LT’ tires is included in the standard The standard requires that a statement about TPMS be placed in the vehicle owner’s manual of all compliant vehicles The acronym “TPMS” is required by the standard as the telltale for a dedicated malfunction indicator lamp SLIDE 12: MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) The purpose of the MIL is to warn the driver when the TPMS is not functioning properly Malfunctions may be caused by incompatible tires or a failure of TPMS components SLIDE 13: MALFUNCTION INDICATOR LAMP (MIL) The standard allows two types of MILs, one with a dedicated telltale and one that combines the MIL with the low tire pressure telltale When a vehicle manufacturer chooses to use a combined Low tire warning/MIL telltale, the telltale is required to ‘flash’ when a system malfunction is detected SLIDE 14: COMPLIANCE TEST PROCEDURE The time period allowed for system calibration, low tire pressure detection, and system malfunction detection is 20 minutes, while the vehicle is being driven, if necessary Procedures are specified for determining elapsed driving time during the calibration procedure, the low tire detection test, and the malfunction detection test SLIDE 15: COMPLIANCE TEST PROCEDURE Final Rule Phase-in Schedule 20% MY06 70% MY07 100% MY 08 and thereafter The owner’s manual statement must reflect the two types of MIL telltales, and advise consumers that tire pressure should be checked regularly SLIDE 16: MINIMUM ACTIVATION PRESSURE The standard requires that the low tire warning lamp illuminate when tire pressure is 25% below placard pressure or when a minimum activation pressure specified in the standard is reached, whichever is higher The MAP is based on tire testing that has established a minimum pressure for safe tire operation SLIDE 17: SYMBOL FOR DEDICATED MIL The symbol for the dedicated MIL telltale proposed in the NPRM has been replaced in the final rule by the acronym ‘TPMS’ Comments argued that the proposed symbol was confusing because of its close resemblance to the symbol for the low tire pressure warning telltale SLIDE 18: PETITIONS FOR RECONSIDERATION Agency allows 45 days after Final Rule for submitting Petitions for Reconsideration May 23, 2005 is the closing date for TPMS Petitions for Reconsideration SLIDE 19: TPMS FINAL RULE DOCKET THE TPMS FINAL RULE AND ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE INTERNET WEBSITE: http://dms.dot.gov Click on ‘simple search’ Enter docket number ‘20586’