Pressure Builds For Tire Gauge Mirrors

ZEELAND, Mich.--New legislation approved by Congress has automotive manufacturers scrambling to determine how best to integrate low-tire-pressure warning systems into new cars and trucks. The answer may mean taking a good look in the mirror.

Spurned on by recent tire recalls and the belief that under-inflated tires can lead to accidents, lawmakers have given the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a year to draft standards for low-tire-pressure warning systems. Automakers would then be required to meet these standards over the course of the next two years.

But integrating new features into a vehicle isn’t as easy as it may sound. Redesigning, retooling and manufacturing instrument panels and/or overhead consoles to accommodate new features and displays require a costly, time-consuming process that can often take three to five years.

Gentex Corp., which develops and manufactures high-tech rearview mirrors, has for the last year been marketing interior rearview mirrors that display the vehicle’s tire-pressure status.

“The mirror is an excellent location for basic displays and driver communications interfaces,” said Ken La Grand, Gentex executive vice president. “The mirror is in the driver’s natural line-of-site, can be brought to market quickly, is in a consistent location across vehicle platforms, can be easily serviced, and is a much more cost-effective solution compared to redesigning a vehicle’s interior,” he said.

“Our tire-pressure-monitoring mirror can simply warn you that one of your tires is under-inflated, or it can tell you the exact pressure of each individual tire,” said La Grand.

There are two ways to monitor tire pressure. The most accurate system involves installing sensors in each tire that monitor tire pressure and transmit the status via a radio-frequency signal to a driver display. A second type of system is tied into a vehicle's anti-lock braking system (ABS) and uses tire-rotation speed to determine inflation. Gentex’s mirror-borne display would work equally well with either system, according to La Grand.

“It’s fair to say that this legislation has renewed vehicle manufacturers’ interest in our tire-pressure-monitoring rearview mirror. Obviously, we’re biased, but we believe we have an excellent solution that will help manufacturers meet the legislation while enhancing driver safety,” he said.

Locating electronic devices and displays in the mirror is not new to Gentex. More than 40 percent of the interior mirrors the company sells include some sort of advanced feature, including compass and temperature displays, remote keyless entry receivers, automatic headlamp control sensors, TRIP functions, LED map lamps, global positioning system interfaces, garage door openers--even taxicab-fare readouts.

Gentex was the first company in the world to successfully develop and produce a commercial electrochromic mirror for the motor vehicle industry. OEM customers include Audi, Bentley, BMW, Daewoo, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Infiniti, Kia Motors, Lexus, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Porsche, Rover, Rolls Royce and Toyota. Gentex aftermarket/distributor customers include Gulf States Toyota Distributors, Mito Corporation, Southeast Toyota Distributors, Subaru Distributors NE and Toyota Motor Sales USA.

Founded in 1974, Gentex operates out of four facilities in Zeeland, Michigan; an automotive sales office in Livonia, Michigan; automotive sales and engineering subsidiaries in Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and France; and four regional U.S. sales offices for the Fire Protection Products Group.

For more information, contact www.gentex.com.