The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) updated its tire registration rule to allow consumers to register their tire purchases electronically rather than by mailing back a paper registration form. The action had been urged by SEMA and a number of other industry groups including the National Automobile Dealers Association, the Tire Industry Association and the Rubber Manufacturers Association.
Electronic registration should greatly increase the number of consumers who register their purchase (beyond the estimated 10%). It should also decrease the amount of information that is inaccurate, incomplete or illegible when the forms have been completed. The registration forms are valuable since they provide tire manufacturers with the ability to contact the consumer in case there is a tire recall.
Under the rule, tire manufacturers, distributors and dealers are required to provide a paper registration form to purchasers of new tires. Manufacturers may now authorize voluntary registration through a website, via fax or through other electronic means. Independent tire distributors and dealers may, in lieu of providing a paper registration to the consumer, voluntarily register a tire with participating manufacturers.
Alternatively, the independent tire distributors and dealers may inform the consumer of the ability to register electronically rather than by paper. Collected registration information must be kept on record for at least five years.
For further information, contact Stuart Gosswein: stuartg@sema.org.