Informal Document No. GRRF-56-17 56th GRRF, 20-22 September 2004 Agenda Item 6. Submission by the United States of America for information on the status of rulemaking on tire pressure monitoring systems Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

Background U.S. Congress mandated a final rule to require a warning system “in motor vehicles to indicate to the operator when a tire is significantly under-inflated” be completed by November 1, 2001 Congress mandated that this rule must take effect by November 1, 2003

TPMS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Final Rule published on June 5, 2002 NHTSA sued by Consumer Groups to prevent use of 1-tire 30% under-inflation systems In August 2003, U.S. Court of Appeals invalidated final rule and directed the agency to publish a new final rule The NPRM is in response to the Court ruling

Highlights of the NPRM Proposed requirements are performance-based and allows any design based on performance criteria: Must detect under-inflation in 1 to 4 tires at the greater of 25 percent below placard pressure or minimum activation pressure Must provide a warning within 10 minutes of under-inflation Must provide a yellow Low pressure warning indicator Must provide a yellow Malfunction indicator to warn of TPMS malfunction due to incompatible tires or other malfunction

Other Major Issues Addressed Replacement tire requirement has been dropped Test course specified Calibration procedures Telltale symbols and color Warning activation within 10 minutes Disablement of TPMS Concerns of small volume manufacturers

Effective Dates Proposed phase-in with effective date beginning: September 1, 2005 for 50 percent installation September 1, 2006 for 90 percent installation September 1, 2007 for 100 percent installation Therefore, beginning September 1, 2007 all light vehicles are required to be equipped with a TPMS.

Low Tire Pressure Activation Tire Type Max. Inflation Pressure (kPa) Min. Activation Pressure (kPa) P-metric - Standard 240 300 350 140 P-metric – Extra Load 280 340 160 LT load range C 200 LT load range D 450 260 LT load range E 550 320

Summary NPRM published with 60-day comment period. Submit comments to Docket No. 19054 at website dms.dot.gov or in writing Agency will review all the comments and decide on how to proceed for Final Rule Expect final rule in 2005