Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems; Controls and Displays

Résumé

This notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposes to establish a new Federal motor vehicle safety standard mandating tire pressure monitoring systems capable of detecting when a tire is significantly under-inflated. A prior version of the standard, adopted by the agency in June 2002 in response to a mandate in the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act, was vacated by a decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in August 2003. This NPRM, which is consistent with the Court's decision, proposes to require installation in new light vehicles of a tire pressure monitoring system capable of four-tire, 25- percent under-inflation detection. This proposed rule differs from the final rule also in that it tentatively responds to issues raised in petitions for reconsideration of the June 2002 final rule and proposes to require a TPMS malfunction indicator.