Product category:
Sensors and Data Acquisition
News Release from: Schrader Electronics
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 09 September 2003
US court ruling favours direct tyre
monitoring
Schrader Electronics has welcomed a recent US Court of Appeals decision forcing an immediate review of automobile industry standards for tyre pressure monitoring systems.
Schrader Electronics has welcomed a recent US Court of Appeals decision forcing an immediate review of automobile industry standards for tyre pressure monitoring systems In August 2003, a US appeals court overturned the tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) rule and ordered the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to craft a new one
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 6 Jul 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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The court felt that the agency's regulation permitting both "direct" and "indirect" TPMS to be installed on new vehicles was "arbitrary and capricious" because it let the OEMs decide which technology to deploy.
Direct systems place electronic sensors inside the tyres, and these sensors send accurate pressure readings to a receiver in the car, whereas indirect systems monitor pressure using the antilock brakes system (ABS) to measure the wheel rotation speed.
The original ruling scheduled a date of November 2006 for a final decision to be made on which TPMS requirement would be implemented, but the revised ruling now forces the NHTSA to take more timely action on the matter.
Schrader Electronics has lobbied extensively in favour of direct systems as these systems have already proved their superior safety performance and are readily available today at an affordable price.
"Direct systems have come a long way since NHTSA's initial ruling in 2000, and most OEMs will actually find that system costs have reduced substantially in the past couple of years to well below industry estimates of $120 per system.
By model year 2007 it is envisaged that integrated direct systems costs could be below $50", said Schrader Electronics' Vice-President of Marketing and Sales, Carl Wacker, commenting on the court's decision.
"In addition to this, doubts about direct TPMS supplier capacity are unfounded.
Schrader Electronics and its competitors have all been preparing for large volume production and capacity is already in place for the prior planned phase in requirement dates set by NHTSA for November 2006".
Additional public statements by the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) renewing calls for safer standards in tyre pressure monitoring systems have only strengthened the argument in favour of the more accurate direct systems.
The RMA sponsored a survey which found that the frequency of motorists checking their tyre pressure will likely drop by nearly 25% in vehicles equipped with TPMS.
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