Researchers point out potential TPMS safety risk

ERJ staff report (RD)

New Brunswick, New Jersey -- Researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey claim that signals from wireless tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) in vehicles can be intercepted at distances up to 120 ft away using a simple receiver, thereby posing a danger to public safety.

TPMS include unique codes from each wheel sensor, this raises concerns that drivers' locations could be tracked more easily than through other means, such as capturing images of license plates, a 12 Aug statement from the University said.

“A spoofed signal could potentially cause serious safety concerns if stability control or anti-lock braking systems relied on the data,” said Marco Gruteser, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and a member of the university's Wireless Information Network Laboratory (WINLAB). “So we are sounding the alarm right now.”

Tyre pressure monitoring was widely implemented starting around 2000 using systems that measure and compare wheel rotation speeds. A mismatch infers that a tyre is under-inflated. This method wasn't accurate enough to meet US regulatory requirements that took effect later in the decade, so automakers started installing systems that directly monitor air pressure inside the tyres and transmit that information to a control unit, the statement said.

The two systems that Rutgers examined are commonly used in vehicles manufactured during the past three years.

“While we agree this technology is essential for driver safety, more can be done to improve security, such as using input validation or encryption,” said Wade Trappe, a collaborator on the project who is an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and associate director of WINLAB.

In tests using their own cars, the researchers were able to send false signals from one car and trigger a “low tyre pressure” light in another while driving next to each other at 35 miles per hour. They were also able to trigger the dashboard “check tyre pressure” light while driving next to each other at 65 miles per hour.

The researchers also found that at least one tyre pressure system could be damaged through spoofed wireless signals.

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Press release from Rutgers University