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Dealing with the legalities of TPMS ‘Ignorance of the law is no excuse’ By Bob Weber aise your hand and repeat after me, “I will always ask my customer if their vehicle’s tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) warning light is on and I will
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Step one: Ask every customer if their TPMS warning light is on. Step two: check it. Step three: document it. You can avoid a “make inoperative” violation by knowing the laws regarding installation of new tires and wheels.
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always double check and document this before ever driving their vehicle into the shop.” You might be asking yourself, “Why is this necessary? I know what I’m doing when it comes to TPMS issues.” Great question, and it comes down to a saying you’ve
probably heard repeatedly your whole life, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.” There is one area of TPMS service that must not be overlooked. It is the “make inoperative” words in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Must you repair a faulty system before the vehicle can be returned to the customer? According to the law, “A manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or motor vehicle repair business may not knowingly make inoperative any part of a device or element of design installed on or in a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment in compliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard prescribed under this chapter....” What, exactly, does that mean? When asked, a surprising number of dealers think that the only illegal action that they or their technicians can take is to purposely disable the TPMS system. Many also believe that they may not legally release a car back to the customer if the warning light is on. In an effort to clarify this, the Tire Industry Association (TIA) sent a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) asking for clarification on several key points regarding four different TPMS scenarios that service professionals regularly face. It is critical for every dealer/ installer to know how NHTSA responded. Each scenario includes how the “make inoperative” provision of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (49 USC 30122(b)) applies to each situation.
Scenario 1: Can a retailer replace an inoperative TPMS valve stem sensor with a standard rubber snap-in valve stem and still comply with the “make inoperative” provision? NHTSA’s response was that as long as the TPMS part was inoperative before the customer brought the vehicle to the repair business, “a motor vehicle repair business would not be violating 49 USC 30122(b) by removing an inoperative or damaged TPMS sensor and replacing it with a standard snap-in rubber valve stem.” However, a motor vehicle repair business that goes on to make any other element of the TPMS system inoperative, for example, by disabling the malfunction indicator lamp, would violate the “make inoperative” provision. Hence the importance of documenting an inoperable TPMS prior to any work being performed on the vehicle. Scenario 2: If a customer purchased aftermarket performance tires and wheels and the customer refused to purchase new TPMS sensors or pay for the labor to transfer the original sensors to the aftermarket wheels, what would happen? NHTSA responded that if the TPMS is functioning at the time of the aftermarket tire and wheel purchase, “a service provider would violate the ‘make inoperative’ prohibition of 49 USC 30122(b) by installing new tires and wheels that do not have a functioning
