Winter Tires and TPMS, Know the Law

Winter Tires and TPMS, Know the Law 10/11/10
By Kevin Rohlwing
It’s a question that we get 1,000 times a year during training classes, especially from tire dealers in New England and anywhere else where it snows a lot, “Can we install a set of winter tires and steel rims without the TPMS?” The most simple answer is “yes,” but rather than try to explain it, I thought I would copy and paste a few lines out of the NHTSA’s Final Rule on TPMS.
Under 49 U.S.C. 30122(b), “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 [49 USC §§ 30101 et seq.] unless the manufacturer, distributor, dealer, or repair business reasonably believes the vehicle or equipment will not be used (except for testing or a similar purpose during maintenance or repair) when the device or element is inoperative.” As a general matter, malfunction indicators can alert consumers when one of the above entities has made a vehicle modification that has rendered a functioning system inoperative.
In situations where the TPMS MIL is detecting aftermarket or replacement tires or rims that prevent the continued proper functioning of the TPMS, such equipment arguably has not damaged the TPMS itself, but instead has hindered its low tire pressure detection capability. (Arguably, the tires themselves meet the requirements of the relevant FMVSSs related to tires and would be suitable for safe vehicle operation, absent the TPMS problem.) Once the TPMS MIL illuminates, the consumer would be warned that the equipment has caused a TPMS malfunction, and the consumer could substitute other equipment that would permit the TPMS to resume normal functioning.
After the time of first sale, our primary goal for the TPMS MIL is to provide information and a warning to the consumer in order to ensure long-term operability of the TPMS. In the tire-related situations described above, the TPMS MIL has arguably served its purpose; the consumer has been warned of the compatibility problem, and the consumer and the installer are able to work together to resolve that problem.
We understand that vehicle inspections in Vermont and Maine currently require an operational TPMS, so vehicle owners in those states do not have a choice when it comes to winter tires and new sensors. However, the rest of New England has a choice and many of them will choose to drive around all winter with TPMS MIL blinking away. Based on this information, it appears they won’t be breaking any laws and neither will the tire dealer.
However, New England still has lawyers so it would be wise to at least have some form of documentation that the customer must sign to indicate they decided not to purchase TPMS sensors or pay for the additional labor and supplies to transfer the OE sensors to the winter assemblies. They must understand that the TPMS light will be on all winter and the tire pressure will not be monitored until the summer tires and wheels with the sensors are installed.