WASHINGTON (AP) – Tire manufacturers want federal regulators to change the standards for tire pressure monitors, saying the current rules would allow pressure to get too low before warning consumers.

The Rubber Manufacturers Association, which represents Michelin, Goodyear and 14 other tire makers, said Wednesday it’s submitting new data to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration supporting the change.

The group believes NHTSA’s rule is inadequate because it would warn motorists only when tire pressure falls 25 or 30 percent below the manufacturers’ recommended level.

Tire makers want the monitors to alert drivers when a tire still has enough pressure to carry the vehicle at its maximum load, RMA spokesman Dan Zielinski said.

The association originally petitioned NHTSA for the change last year, but the agency has not yet made a decision. Spokesman Rae Tyson said Wednesday that progress has been slow because of a lawsuit over the monitors.

Consumer groups sued NHTSA to force it to modify its regulation requiring tire pressure monitors in all vehicles beginning with the 2004 model year, saying the rule as it stands allows automakers to use cheaper, less effective monitoring systems. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court agreed. Tyson said NHTSA has not yet decided whether it will appeal that ruling.

Congress ordered NHTSA to require measuring tire pressure as part of its response to the Firestone tire recall, which began in August 2000.

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On the Net:

Rubber Manufacturers Association, http://www.rma.org

NHTSA, http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov

AP-ES-08-20-03 1921EDT