UK & EU Legislation
From November 2012 all new type vehicles in the M1 category (vehicles under 3.5 Tonnes with less than 8 seats) will be required by law to have Tyre Pressure Monitoring System installed. This applies to the road wheels not the spare.
All new passenger vehicles from 2014 will have TPMS installed by the manufacturer.
The law is not currently retrospective, and does not apply to older vehicles.
In the UK, illuminated TPMS warning lights are an MOT failure as of 2015.
USA Legislation
TPMS was introduced by General Motors in March 1997 for the 5th generation (C5) Corvette in conjunction with Goodyear run flat tires. The Firestone and Ford tyre controversy (Firestone recall) in the late 1990s, which was linked to more than 100 deaths from roll overs following tyre tread-separation, pushed the Clinton Administration to legislate the TREAD Act. The Act mandated the use of a suitable TPMS technology in all light motor vehicles under 10,000 pounds to help alert drivers of severe under-inflation events. This act affects all light motor vehicles sold after September 1, 2007. Phase-in started in October 2005 at 20%, and reached 100% for models produced after September 2007.
