Environmental Protection Agency officials recently told representatives of the heavy duty market that they’re trying to ensure information access to on-board-diagnostics parts and service information
, but haven't determined an effective date for new rules.
According to the Heavy Vehicle Maintenance Group, proposed revisions to EPA's OBD information access rule, scheduled to be published this spring, include requirements that each manufacturer maintain an Internet site where all emissions-related information would be available. The format for each site would have to comply with specific guidelines so that information on the site can be easily located. Manufacturers could not charge excessive fees to use the site and would have to offer different prices for different levels of access (one time, daily, monthly, etc.)
Proposed rules would also require manufacturers to provide generic tool manufacturers with diagnostic information used in their proprietary diagnostic tools so that one tool could be produced for use on multiple vehicle makes.
HVMA says that, for now, both current and proposed information rules only apply to vehicles up to 14,000 pounds GVW. Heavier vehicles have been excluded because monitoring those systems is more complex. At a recent meeting with EPA officials, representatives of several industry groups asked that the agency apply "at least the same openness standards to heavy vehicles." HVMG says that could happen as early as 2007.