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Aug. 9, 2000
Check those tires! Bridgestone/Firestone today announced a voluntary safety recall of 6.5 million tires for light trucks and SUV's.
The tires can peel off their casings, and have been linked to 46 deaths. The recall follows a yearlong investigation that focused on accident reports involving tire failures, mainly in Southern states while driving in hot weather.
The recall involves all size P235/75R15 Firestone radial ATX and radial ATX II tires produced in North America, and certain Wilderness AT tires produced at the company's Decatur, Ill., plant.
About 14.4 million of the tires were produced. The company estimates 6.5 million of the tires are still in use.
The recall will be conducted in three phases with the first replacements to be offered in Arizona, California and Texas, followed by a second phase in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Recall will follow in the rest of the country after that.
No timetable was given for completion of the recall. Customers will be notified of the recall by mail. The company also has opened a toll-free telephone line: 1-800-465-1904.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received 270 complaints, including reports of 46 deaths and 80 injuries, about failing Firestone truck tires.
The complaints allege that Firestone tires peel off their casings, sometimes while the vehicles are traveling at high speeds. The mounting safety concerns have prompted Discount Tire, Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck and Co. to stop selling the tires.
A majority of the complaints involved tires installed on the Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle. Some 3.6 million Explorers have been sold with Firestone tires.
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