It came about when a bunch of Ford Explorers started rolling over in the late 90s due to low tire pressures:
https://www.fordexplorerrollover.com/history/default.cfm
Firestone was implicated:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firestone_and_Ford_tire_controversy
In September 2007 TPMS was mandated federally in the US:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire-pressure_monitoring_system
https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.dot.gov/files/fmvss/TPMSfinalrule_6.pdf
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Parts 571 and 585
[Docket No. NHTSA 2005-20586]
RIN 2127-AJ23
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems;
Controls and Displays
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: This final rule establishes a new Federal motor vehicle safety standard
(FMVSS) requiring installation of a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) capable of
detecting when one or more of a vehicle’s tires is significantly under-inflated. This final
rule responds to a mandate in the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability,
and Documentation (TREAD) Act. This final rule requires installation in all new light
vehicles of a TPMS capable of detecting when one or more of the vehicle’s tires, up to all
four tires, is 25 percent or more below the manufacturer’s recommended inflation
pressure (placard pressure) or a minimum activation pressure specified in the standard,
whichever is higher.
DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is effective April 8, 2005, except for Subpart G of 49 CFR
Part 585, which is effective September 1, 2005.
2
Compliance Date: Consistent with the phase-in commencing October 5, 2005,
all new light vehicles must be equipped with a TPMS that meets the requirements of the
standard by September 1, 2007, with the following exceptions. Vehicle manufacturers
need not meet the standard’s requirements for the TPMS malfunction indicator and
related owner’s manual language until September 1, 2007 (i.e., at the end of the phasein),
and vehicles produced by final-stage manufacturers and alterers must be equipped
with a compliant TPMS (including a malfunction indicator) by September 1, 2008.
However, manufacturers may voluntarily certify vehicles to FMVSS No. 138 and earn
carry-forward credits for compliant vehicles, produced in excess of the phase-in
requirements, that are manufactured between April 8, 2005, and the conclusion of the
phase-in.