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 How Safe Are Your Tires?
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If you have purchased a truck with Firestone or a Ford
Explorer in the past 10 years, you may be at risk. Firestone
announced on August 9, 2000, that it plans to recall at least 6.5
million tires of the 14.4 million defective tire that have been
used as original and replacement tires on light bodied trucks and
sport utility vehicles (SUV). This comes after reports of over
45 deaths, 80 injuries and 270 complaints to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration related to defective Firestone tires.
The defective Firestone tires have been under investigation from
the NHTSA since May 1, 2000.
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The
Defect:
The tire treads peel
away from their casings while the vehicles are traveling at speeds
as low as 60 miles per hour. The result, upon losing the tread
the driver can lose control of the vehicle and the will suddenly
swerve off the road or roll-over.
What
model tires are most at risk?
At this
point it is still unclear whether all Firestone tires produced since
1990 are potentially defective, but the tires subject to the NHTSA
investigation include Firestone’s ATX, ATX II and Wilderness tires.
All of which are used on most sport utility vehicles and light bodied
trucks. It has also been reported that the NHTSA has focused its
investigation on one size of tire 235/75 15 inches.
What
vehicles use these defective tires?
FORD is one
of the largest industry consumers of the tires and equips the
Mercury Mountaineer SUV, the Ford Explorer and several
Ford pickups with the defective tires as original equipment.
Since 1990, about 3.6 million Ford Explorers have been produced,
all having Firestones defective tires as standard issue. Other car
and truck manufacturers use the tires as standard equipment on their
trucks and SUV’s as well:
General
Motors
Nissan
Motor
Toyota
Motor Corp.
Subaru
* These tires have
also been sold as replacement tires at several retail outlets as
well, including Montgomery Ward, Sears and Firestone
Tire Outlets.
How
long have Firestone and Ford Been Aware of the Danger?
The NHTSA
has received numerous complaints about these tires over the past
ten years. There are also allegations that Firestone may have received
as many as 1200 complaints regarding these defective tires.
Last Fall,
Ford began a program in the Saudi Arabia and the Mideast countries
offering to replace all Firestone tires equipped on its Ford Explorers
and Mercury Mountaineers. Since then Ford has expanded its program
to include Malaysia, Thailand, Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia replacing
tires on over 40,000 Ford vehicles.
When
asked If Ford Knew The Tires Were Dangerous, Why Didn’t Ford Offer
The Same Tire Replacement Deal To U.S. Customers?
Ford responded that
it “didn’t think tire problems were an issue in the U.S. because
they were being caused overseas by a combination of heat, high speed
and rough treatment not typical in the U.S.” (USA TODAY, August
9, 2000).
Has
this Happened Before?
This isn’t the first
time that Firestone has been forced to recall defective tires.
In 1978, Firestone was forced to recall over 14 million of its 500
series tires due to tread separations and blow-outs. Firestone
has been aware of the industry-wide problem of radial tire tread
separation for years. There are literally volumes of research dealing
specifically with radial tire tread separation. Additionally, there
is evidence that Firestone has received over 1,200 complaints regarding
those tires over the past 10 years. Several other tire companies
have also been sued for tire tread separation since Firestone’s
previous mass recall of tires in 1978.
What
about other tire manufacturers?
As horrifying
as it may seem, this tire tread separation could be an industry-wide
problem, not just one related to Firestone tires. USA Today reports
that tire experts, researchers and lawyers suing tire makers over
this issue say that Firestone may not be the only tire manufacturer
that produces tires that have the potential to shed their treads
without any prior warning. As many as 14 other tire manufacturers
have been sued for the same defect since 1980.
Could this problem have been prevented?
Studies
have shown that a nylon safety layer between the steel belts and
the tire treads could aid in preventing the tread from separating
from the tire. The nylon safety layer keeps the ends of the belts
from chafing the tread rubber and contributing to the tire tread
separation. While the use of the nylon safety layers may not eliminate
the risk for tire tread separation, it does improve the durability
of tires used at high speeds (speeds in excess of 60 mph). USA
Today reports that there are affidavits from tire engineers that
say that cost is the only reason not to use them. The cost of including
these nylon layers…usually less than $1 per tire. Bridgestone,
the parent company of Firestone, uses nylon strips in many of the
models of high-speed tires it produces. However, neither company
has commented on why these safety measures were not taken in constructing
the 14.4 million defective Firestone tires.
What
should I do if I believe I have defective tires?
If
you believe that you have Ford Explorer or any sport utility vehicle
or truck that uses Firestone tires that was manufactured since 1990,
The Safety of You And
Your Family May Be At Risk.
If
you have the defective tires, but have not had an accident
due to the defective tires:
Take your vehicle to
the nearest Firestone distributor IMMEDIATELY. You can call Firestone
directly to find out the location nearest to you at 1-800-465-1904.
If you have been involved in an accident that you believe
was caused by defective tires:
1.
DO NOT DRIVE ANY FURTHER ON THE DEFECTIVE TIRES.
2. DO
NOT CONTACT FIRESTONE
If you have been involved in an accident caused
by defective tires, DO NOT CONTACT FIRESTONE. They may simply offer
to replace the tire and DESTROY evidence that could be potentially valuable
to your case later.
Contact an attorney experienced
in products liability litigation immediately. The best protection
will come from attorneys specialized in products liability litigation.
To protect your legal rights, you must contact an attorney to make
sure you receive adequate protections. Every day that passes increases
the risk that you might lose your legal protections through an error
of lost evidence or not taking the right legal precautions. DO NOT DRIVE ANY FURTHER ON THE DEFECTIVE
TIRES.
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