EU Battery Regulation 2023/1542 Portable Battery Article 11

[backtothefuture]

Article 11 - remove/replace of portable batteries

"A portable battery shall be considered readily removable by the end-user where it can be removed from a product with the use of commercially available tools, without requiring the use of specialised tools, unless provided free of charge with the product, proprietary tools, thermal energy, or solvents to disassemble the product. "

Question, a portable battery used for vehicle tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) (fitted inside tire) requires professional service & tools to remove and replace.

It may sound crazy but, does the vehicle manufacturer (car, truck, motorcycle) required to provide these tools to the end user in order to change a button cell battery ?

 

[CharlieUK]

I've read it in detail, but the guidance might be of assistance: EUR-Lex - 52025XC00214 - EN - EUR-Lex

 

[ChrisM]

I shall be interested to watch this thread develop..... a TPMS sensor, when fitted to a vehicle, is not readily accessible to the "end user"; you need specialist equipment to remove the wheel/tire assembly from the vehicle and then remove the tire to gain access to the sensor.
However you can buy replacement TPMS sensors from some (possibly all) vehicle manufacturer's agents although you may need to pass them to "specialists" to fit. Does this mean that they would then be covered by the Regulation? ( I could have a rant here about TPMS sensors and the major issues of them developing leaks causing tire deflation, plus battery life issues and the expensive and inconvenient issues of having them replaced).
I just wish that on a related issue, cellphone manufacturers still had to supply their products with easily accessible and replaceable rechargeable batteries, instead of sealing them inside the phone

 

[backtothefuture]

I shall be interested to watch this thread develop..... a TPMS sensor, when fitted to a vehicle, is not readily accessible to the "end user"; you need specialist equipment to remove the wheel/tire assembly from the vehicle and then remove the tire to gain access to the sensor.
However you can buy replacement TPMS sensors from some (possibly all) vehicle manufacturer's agents although you may need to pass them to "specialists" to fit. Does this mean that they would then be covered by the Regulation? ( I could have a rant here about TPMS sensors and the major issues of them developing leaks causing tire deflation, plus battery life issues and the expensive and inconvenient issues of having them replaced).
I just wish that on a related issue, cellphone manufacturers still had to supply their products with easily accessible and replaceable rechargeable batteries, instead of sealing them inside the phone

Thanks for your reply. I have to believe the intent of this regulation is that a portable battery used in a TPMS sensor requires special tools by professional service, and it is not expected for end user to do it with a screwdriver.....

 

[backtothefuture]

Thank you for the link to the clarification document. Although it doesn't answer the concern about TPMS, I think the intent/spirit of the regeulation is that if special tools and professional service is required to remove/replace a portable battery, it is not expected for the end user to do this, and not to expect the vehicle manufacturer to provide the specialized tools for free. Correct ?

 

[ChrisM]

Thank you for the link to the clarification document. Although it doesn't answer the concern about TPMS, I think the intent/spirit of the regeulation is that if special tools and professional service is required to remove/replace a portable battery, it is not expected for the end user to do this, and not to expect the vehicle manufacturer to provide the specialized tools for free. Correct ?

I believe that you are correct. One of the sad parts for me is that IMHO all battery packs should be designed to be easily removable and changed by the end user, especially now that in Europe we have a pretty good system for having dead battery packs recycled. The first cordless electric drill I bought was a recent performer and I had it for many years. The batteries were contained within it, not in a clip-on pack (this is going back to the 1980's) and when it eventually failed to recharge I managed to get it apart. The battery "pack" looked like it was made up of some AA-sized NiCad cells but they were soldered to each other directly or with wire links, and it wasn't possible at that time for me to obtain like-for-like replacements. So I had to buy a new cordless drill, for the sake of about half a dozen "basic" cells.... not environmentally friendly at all, especially as at the time there was no scheme to safely dispose of electrical items so it went to landfill.

 

[ChrisM]

That should say "decent performer" above, not "recent performer"

 

[backtothefuture]

I believe that you are correct. One of the sad parts for me is that IMHO all battery packs should be designed to be easily removable and changed by the end user, especially now that in Europe we have a pretty good system for having dead battery packs recycled. The first cordless electric drill I bought was a recent performer and I had it for many years. The batteries were contained within it, not in a clip-on pack (this is going back to the 1980's) and when it eventually failed to recharge I managed to get it apart. The battery "pack" looked like it was made up of some AA-sized NiCad cells but they were soldered to each other directly or with wire links, and it wasn't possible at that time for me to obtain like-for-like replacements. So I had to buy a new cordless drill, for the sake of about half a dozen "basic" cells.... not environmentally friendly at all, especially as at the time there was no scheme to safely dispose of electrical items so it went to landfill.

I guess you could have used similar sized battery cells, so long as you got the right voltage output

 

[Ronald Boumans]

In general, removing that battery will not be done on a lazy Sunday afternoon by a consumer. That would be a professional job. We may see professional workshops, and those of the high-end amateurs, being equipped by certain tools. I think this would develop over time as this becomes a real need.
And why not? We should not want to have batteries ending up in landfills or in incinerators. They contain precious materials that should be reused. If we all work on that, the benefits will probably outweigh the costs.

 

[ChrisM]

A little off-topic, but....
"We should not want to have batteries ending up in landfills or in incinerators. They contain precious materials that should be reused. If we all work on that, the benefits will probably outweigh the costs."
Keeping batteries out of landfill or incinerators depends to a large extent on the arrangements within the country for safe disposal. Where I live in the UK, we can put batteries and small electrical products (separately bagged) out with the weekly garbage collection for the local council to safely recycle them; all local supermarkets (and many other smaller shops) have plastic cylinders in which dead "normal" batteries (e.g. AAA to D, and coil cells) can safely be disposed of