Development and Application of SAE J3260 & J3290 Recommended Practice for Minimizing Spread of Infections in Motor Vehicles

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 introduced an unprecedented disruption to global industries, including automotive service and maintenance. As technicians and service shops struggled to balance operational continuity with safety, uncertainty surrounded best practices for servicing potentially dangerous vehicle cabins and air conditioning systems.

This paper traces the evolution of these early efforts, from initial confusion and informal guidance to the establishment of the SAE Cabin Disinfection Practices Committee (SAE TEVCDPC) and the eventual publication of SAE J3260 and SAE J3290. It also considers work done by ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers), which simultaneously worked on ASHRAE Standard 62.1 and 241. These standards, along with contributions from subject matter experts, formalized the automotive industry’s response to infection control in vehicle environments, integrating scientific understanding with practical service protocols.