April 8, 2005
All passenger cars must have tire pressure monitoring systems beginning with the 2006 model year according to a new motor vehicle safety standard made final yesterday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA.)
Congress ordered NHTSA to come up with the standard in 2000, as a result of a series of disastrous Ford Explorer rollovers and a subsequent Firestone tire recall. The regulation will require that manufacturers install a system that can detect when one or more of the vehicles tires are 25 percent or more below the recommended inflation pressure.
This is NHTSA's second attempt to follow Congress' instructions. Its first rule relied on "indirect" tire monitors which would have operated off the antilock braking system, as opposed to the current rule, which requires sensors attached to each wheel.
Public Citizen sued NHTSA over the first rule, saying the indirect monitors were ineffective. A federal appeals court in New York agreed and threw out NHTSA's regulation.
Public Citizen isn't thrilled with this effort either.
"The rule is long overdue and likely would have been issued earlier had it not been for the auto industry lobbying the Bush administration. It is incomprehensible that it required five years and litigation to force the agency to do its job," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen and former head of NHTSA.
"NHTSA should write rules faster and craft them in a fashion that best protects motorists as opposed to looking out for the automakers bottom lines," she said.
Under the new regulation, automakers will be required to attach tiny sensors to each wheel that will signal if a tire falls 25 per cent below the recommended inflation pressure. If any one of the four tires is underinflated, the sensors set off a dashboard warning light.
Tire manufacturers have questioned the current version -- questioning whether the warning system would signal low pressure early enough. Automakers have raised concerns that motorists may ignore the lights if they appear too frequently.
Phase-in of the new regulation will begin Sept. 1, 2005. All new 4-wheeled vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less must be equipped with the monitoring system by the 2008 model year.
According to NHTSA, under-inflated tires can adversely affect fuel economy, lead to skidding and loss of control and hydroplaning on wet surfaces. It can also increase stopping distance and the likelihood of tire failures.
NHTSA estimates that about 120 lives a year will be saved when all new vehicles are equipped with the tire pressure monitoring systems. In addition, consumers should see improved fuel economy and increased tire life. The manufacturers average cost per vehicle is estimated to be between $48.44 and $69.89, depending on the technology used.
Claybrook outlined Public Citizen's objections to NHTSA's latest rule:
• The rule doesnt require the systems to fully operate with replacement tires a potentially dangerous omission, given that tires wear out and inevitably are replaced. Under the rule, a malfunction light will come on to alert motorists that the system is not working with the tires.
• Safety groups asked for the agency to require tire pressure to be measured after the first 10 minutes of driving and alert motorists if a tire is 20 percent underinflated; the agency requires no less than 20 minutes and 25 percent underinflation.
• The systems need not measure tire pressure until a motorist has driven between 30 and 60 miles per hour continuously for 20 minutes.
The rule allows for a phase-in schedule, with systems required to be installed in 20 percent of model year 2006 vehicles, 70 percent of model year 2007 vehicles and all model year 2008 vehicles. The system will cost manufacturers roughly $48-$70 per vehicle to install but will save consumers $30-$35 total because properly inflated tires lead to better fuel efficiency, longer tread life and fewer crashes, NHTSA said.
