Overview
ISO 18541-2:2021 - Road vehicles - Standardized access to automotive repair and maintenance information (RMI) - Part 2: Technical requirements - defines the minimum technical requirements for vehicle manufacturer (VM) RMI systems to enable standardized, secure access for independent operators (IOs). Part of the ISO 18541 series, this second edition aligns with use cases in ISO 18541‑1 and includes a normative Annex A that addresses access to security‑related RMI under the SERMI scheme. The standard applies to light passenger and commercial vehicles as defined in Regulation (EC) 715/2007.
Key topics and technical requirements
ISO 18541-2 organizes technical requirements into clusters (each requirement labelled TREQ‑xx). Major technical topics include:
- Access‑related data administration (TREQ‑1 to TREQ‑6)
- Administration of IO and IO employee data, payment and access‑event logging
- IT architecture (TREQ‑7, TREQ‑8)
- Conceptual architecture and implementation principles (performance‑based, non‑prescriptive)
- External interfaces (TREQ‑9 to TREQ‑12)
- Vehicle communication interface (VCI), trust centre/certificate management, parts ordering, accessory provider systems
- Technical infrastructure (TREQ‑13 to TREQ‑19)
- Device types, PC/OS/browser requirements, presentation formats, internet connectivity, VM RMI system performance
- Co‑existence of VM software on IO client (TREQ‑20 to TREQ‑24)
- Installation, updates, operation, uninstall and recovery of VM software on IO PCs
- Operations and user interface (TREQ‑25 to TREQ‑28)
- System availability, support, IO PC operation and functional user interface requirements
Principles emphasized: requirements are performance‑oriented (BP1–BP4), avoid mandating implementation details, and aim to minimize the number of IO client systems required.
Practical applications and users
ISO 18541-2 is intended for:
- Vehicle manufacturers implementing RMI portals or services
- Independent repair shops, aftermarket service providers and fleet maintenance operators who need standardized, interoperable access to RMI
- Diagnostic tool and VCI vendors, software integrators and IT architects designing client applications that interact with VM RMI systems
- Regulators and compliance officers applying EC mandates and national rules on RMI access
Practical benefits:
- Enables secure, standardized access to repair and maintenance data
- Supports certificate management and secure access to sensitive vehicle functions (SERMI)
- Promotes interoperability with MVCI, pass‑thru programming (references include ISO 22900‑2 and SAE J2534)
- Reduces technical fragmentation across OEM RMI systems and IO client tools
Related standards and references
- ISO 18541‑1: General information and use cases
- ISO 18541‑3: Functional user interface requirements
- ISO 22900‑2: MVCI / D‑PDU API
- SAE J2534‑1 / J2534‑2: Pass‑Thru programming practices
- SERMI scheme (vehiclesermi.eu) for security‑related RMI access
Keywords: ISO 18541-2, RMI, automotive repair and maintenance information, SERMI, vehicle manufacturer RMI system, independent operator access, VCI, certificate management, ISO 18541 series.