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Schrader and TPMS: The Beginning TPMS as a whole is relatively new, but not as new as some may think. Although mandated to be in all cars after 2007, the first cars with TPMS appeared over a decade earlier! Advancements in technology and safety came to fruition and the Tire Pressure Monitoring system was born. Schrader being the first name in the game. Schrader now supplies OEM TPMS for many major car manufacturers. Below is an excerpt from Schraders website explaining exactly how they got into TPMS. At TPMSDIRECT we only sell OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) there is some confusion that the parts are not made by car manufacturer. For example Chevrolet TPMS are not made by Chevrolet but Schrader. Schrader is the OEM replacement part, the same exact sensor that is put in your car when it is first built.  In the early 1990s, Schrader was developing the first-generation of sensing technology that measured pressure and temperature in automotive tires. By 1993, Schrader filed for the first patent surrounding TPMSand on February 4, 1997, Schrader inventor Jerry Robinson was granted Patent #5,600,301 as 'Remote Tire Pressure Monitoring System Employing Coded Tire Identification and Radio Frequency Transmission, and Enabling Recalibration upon Tire Rotation or Replacement.' The first production vehicles installed withSchrader TPMS technology occurred in 1997, with the Chevrolet C5 Corvette and Prowler platforms. New bolt-on TPMS innovations followed such as the Schrader snap-in valve type for TPMS (Schrader inventor Frank Banzhof received US Patent #6,005,480 on December 21, 1999). Building on the companys success, in 1999 Schrader equipped the Renault Laguna with 100 percent TPMS-fitment, resulting in the first high-volume production of a TPMS enabled vehicle. Additional automotive manufacturers followed; however, the next major milestone was the TREAD legislation that spurred TPMS adoption in the United States, beginning in the early 2000s. |