TRW Tire Monitor Underscores Affordable Safety Push

Livonia-based TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. (NYSE: TRW) continues to design, develop and produce affordable safety systems and is now in mass production with its zero initiator tire pressure monitoring system -- its lowest cost auto location system ever.

Said Laurent Crosnier, product portfolio director for TRW Radio Frequency Electronics: "The zero initiator system is an example of smart thinking that reduces part count and complexity, and still delivers the performance of a direct tire pressure monitoring system with the capability to automatically identify which tire or tires are under inflated and pose a potential safety risk."

Like TRW's current direct TPMS systems, the technology includes four wheel mounted sensors to directly monitor the individual tire pressure levels, but eliminates the need for the electronic initiators previously required to locate the sensor positions.

The receiver is typically mounted under the rear of the vehicle or in the rear bumper area, and can determine front and rear sensor locations by comparing the received signal strengths. Left and right side sensor locations are determined by sensing and processing Earth's gravitational and magnetic fields. Thus, by combining the front-rear and left-right information, the system can determine which tire is underinflated without the need for any initiators.

TRW's zero initiator TPMS system started mass production in late 2010 and is being evaluated by a number of global manufacturers. Additional vehicles will launch in 2011 equipped with this state of the art technology.

TRW operates in 26 countries and employs more than 60,000 people worldwide. More at www.trw.com.