On May 2, 2000, NHTSA opened a defect
investigation into approximately 47 million ATX, ATXII, and Wilderness
tires manufactured by Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. (Firestone). On August
9, Firestone announced that it was recalling 14.4 million of the tires
under investigation. These include all Firestone ATX and ATXII tires of
the P235/75R15 size manufactured since 1991 and all Wilderness AT tires
of that same size manufactured at Firestone's Decatur, IL plant.
Firestone has estimated that about 6.5 million of these tires were still
in service as of that date.
NHTSA has continued its investigation
into the remaining tires. As part of that investigation, NHTSA has
reviewed data provided by Firestone on property damage claims, personal
injury claims, and lawsuits regarding the tires under investigation.
Although its investigation is not complete, that review indicated that
the rate of tread separations for certain other tire models and sizes
exceed those of the recalled tires, sometimes by a large margin.
Therefore, NHTSA is concerned about the possible safety risk associated
with those tires.
On August 30, 2000, NHTSA staff met
with Firestone representatives in Washington and recommended that
Firestone expand the recall to include these tire models. On August 31,
Firestone advised NHTSA that it would not voluntarily expand the recall
at this time. We are continuing our investigation, which may result in
an order directing Firestone to recall these tires and any other
defective tires. However, in view of the potential safety risk, NHTSA
believes that it is important to alert the public of its concerns now.
The tire models with the high tread
separation rates are set out in an Attachment to this advisory. A total
of approximately 1.4 million of these tires were produced. However,
since many of them were manufactured many years ago, it is likely that
far fewer are currently on the road. Most of them were sold as
replacement equipment and were not installed as original tires on new
cars.
Since Firestone has chosen not to
expand the recall at this time, you may not be able to obtain free
replacement tires from Firestone. However, in light of these concerns,
NHTSA recommends that you consider replacing the tires in question and
that you retain all documentation.
If you have one of these tires on your
vehicle, you should take the following steps:
- Check your tires to be sure there
are no visible signs of a problem.
- Be sure your tires are properly
inflated.
- Do not drive at a high rate of
speed, particularly in hot weather. If possible, choose roads with
relatively low speed limits.
- Make sure your vehicle is not
overloaded.
- Wear your seatbelt.
Please be aware that while these
precautions are good general guidelines to tire safety, they may not
prevent a tire failure.
NHTSA will be moving to rapidly
complete its defect investigation into these particular tires as well as
the remaining Firestone tires under investigation. If the agency
concludes that other tires should be recalled, it will act promptly to
assure that the public is protected.
Attached: List of Tires
Included in 9/1/00 Consumer Advisory
TIRES INCLUDED
IN THE SEPTEMBER 1, 2000 CONSUMER ADVISORY
| Tire Line |
Size |
Plant Code |
Original
Installation** |
| ATX |
P205/75R15 |
VD |
1991 Chevy Blazer |
| ATX |
P225/75R15 |
HY |
|
| ATX |
30X9.50R15LT |
VD |
|
| ATX |
31X10.50R15LT |
VD |
1991-94 Nissan Pick Up |
| ATX |
32X11.50R15LT |
VD |
|
| ATX |
31X10.50R16.5LT |
VD |
|
| ATX |
33X12.50R16.5LT |
VD |
|
| Firehawk ATX |
27X8.50R14LT |
VD |
|
| Firehawk ATX |
235/75R15* |
VD |
|
| Firehawk ATX |
30X9.50R15LT |
VD |
|
| Firehawk ATX |
31X10.50R15LT |
VD |
|
| Firehawk ATX |
32X11.50R15LT |
VD |
|
| Firehawk ATX |
33X12.50R15LT |
VD |
|
| Firehawk ATX |
265/75R16LT |
VD |
|
| Firehawk ATX |
255/85R16LT |
VD |
|
| Firehawk ATX |
31X10.50R16.5LT |
VD |
|
| Firehawk ATX |
33X12.50R16.5LT |
VD |
|
| ATX 23 Degree |
31X10.50R15LT |
VD |
|
| ATX 23 Degree |
33X12.50R16.5LT |
VD |
|
| Widetrack Radial Baja |
P225/75R15 |
HY |
|
| Widetrack Radial Baja A/S |
32X11.50R15LT |
VD |
|
| Wilderness AT |
P235/70R16 |
W2 |
1996-98 Ford F150 |
| Wilderness AT |
33X12.50R16.5LT |
VD |
|
| Wilderness HT |
P255/70R15 |
VD |
|
* Firestone's lists this model as a
LTP235/75R15.
** Only some of the listed models had these tires installed as original
equipment
The majority of the tires listed above
were sold as replacements in the aftermarket mostly for light trucks and
SUV's. In the right column are vehicles upon which the tires were
originally installed by the vehicle manufacturer when new.
How do I know if my tires are
included ?
A. First you need to
read the model name off of the sidewall of your tire and verify that
it's on the above list. Once you establish that you have one of the
models listed above, you need to check the tire size and verify it's on
the list. The tire size is located on both sides of the tire in raised
letters. The tire size should be one of the sizes listed above.
B. Next you need to
locate the DOT code to determine where your tire was built (plant). The
DOT number is located on the blackwall side of the tire, under the F in
Firestone and it is 10 characters long, and it starts with DOT. Since
this code is on the blackwall side of the tire, and not on the outside
of the tire, you may need to crawl underneath your vehicle with a
flashlight to find the code. There may be spaces in between some of the
numbers, but be sure to count all 10 characters to ensure you have found
the proper code. Examples include:
DOT VDHL1PM046
DOT W2HL1M0470
DOT VDHLA16089
The first two letters of the DOT code
are the DOT plant code (see right hand column above). If the first two
letters of the DOT code are VD, HY, or W2 and you have the tire line and
size shown above, then your tires are on the consumer advisory list.
