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NHTSA: Broader Tire Recall Possible
By NEDRA PICKLER
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (Aug. 24) - The government is investigating the safety of Firestone tires beyond the 6.5 million that have been recalled, opening the possibility of a broader recall.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday its investigation includes all 47 million ATX, ATX II and Wilderness brands.
New NHTSA Administrator Sue Bailey, who came on the job Monday, would not discuss specifics of the investigation but said, ''If we feel there is a defect affecting safety, we will issue a recall.''
Congress also is getting involved. House Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley, R-Va., said Thursday that he will send four committee staffers to Dearborn, Mich., on Friday to meet with Ford Motor Co. officials and review company documents related to the recall.
The kind of tires being recalled are standard equipment on the Ford Explorer and other light trucks made by the company.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., has scheduled a Sept. 6 hearing and plans to invite Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone officials to testify.
Bridgestone/Firestone has recalled all P235/75R15 ATX and ATX II tires as well as Wilderness AT tires in the same size made at a plant in Decatur, Ill. NHTSA is investigating 62 deaths and more than 100 injuries that could be linked to those tires, some of which have been reported to suddenly lose their tread.
The Center for Auto Safety filed a lawsuit to force the companies to broaden the recall beyond those 15-inch truck tires to all ATX, ATX II and Wilderness ATs still on the road.
On Thursday, a former tire expert for Bridgestone/Firestone also called for a greater recall, saying that defects in Wilderness, ATX and ATX II tires have been known at the highest levels of company management since the 1970s.
''As long as those tires are being made and used, the potential for more deaths is real,'' said tire consultant Max Nonnamaker.
Bridgestone/Firestone spokeswoman Cynthia McCafferty said the 6.5 million tires recalled are enough.
''We believe that the scope of the recall is appropriate. We are still working very closely with NHTSA on this investigation,'' McCafferty said. ''We still haven't determined that a problem exists with these tires, we've just determined that the problems are of higher instances than with other lines.''
Ford executives held a news conference Thursday and said it was irresponsible to call for a wider recall when the companies were straining to meet demand now. They also repeated their contention that all data point to the one recalled tire size as the source of the complaints.
Those calling for a broader recall ''are causing people to be concerned about good tires,'' said Helen Petrauskas, Ford's vice president of safety. ''Every time that happens, it means some customer with bad tires who needs them replaced has to wait that much longer.''
Petrauskas and Tom Baughman, Ford's director of truck engineering for North America, said there was still no cause determined for the reports of tread separation. Baughman said finding a cause would be a ''needle in a haystack'' because the number of complaints - 2,030 - is small compared to the number of tires produced - 14 million.
Ford said as of Thursday afternoon, 861,874 tires had been replaced, 13.3 percent of the total number recalled.
NHTSA is asking other automakers that use the Bridgestone/Firestone tires for information regarding their performance. The agency also sent a letter to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. asking for information about its tires to conduct a peer analysis. Ken Weinstein, NHTSA's associate administrator for safety assurance, stressed Goodyear is not under investigation.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday that former workers for Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. say shoddy quality control may have caused tire problems similar to those cited in the Firestone recall.
The ex-workers from the plant in Tupelo, Miss., testified earlier this year in lawsuits against Cooper. They said they used sharp tools to poke holes in tires to remove bubbles and that solvents were used to make old rubber easier to mold. Both practices can weaken tires.
By NEDRA PICKLER
.c The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (Aug. 24) - The government is investigating the safety of Firestone tires beyond the 6.5 million that have been recalled, opening the possibility of a broader recall.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday its investigation includes all 47 million ATX, ATX II and Wilderness brands.
New NHTSA Administrator Sue Bailey, who came on the job Monday, would not discuss specifics of the investigation but said, ''If we feel there is a defect affecting safety, we will issue a recall.''
Congress also is getting involved. House Commerce Committee Chairman Tom Bliley, R-Va., said Thursday that he will send four committee staffers to Dearborn, Mich., on Friday to meet with Ford Motor Co. officials and review company documents related to the recall.
The kind of tires being recalled are standard equipment on the Ford Explorer and other light trucks made by the company.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., has scheduled a Sept. 6 hearing and plans to invite Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone officials to testify.
Bridgestone/Firestone has recalled all P235/75R15 ATX and ATX II tires as well as Wilderness AT tires in the same size made at a plant in Decatur, Ill. NHTSA is investigating 62 deaths and more than 100 injuries that could be linked to those tires, some of which have been reported to suddenly lose their tread.
The Center for Auto Safety filed a lawsuit to force the companies to broaden the recall beyond those 15-inch truck tires to all ATX, ATX II and Wilderness ATs still on the road.
On Thursday, a former tire expert for Bridgestone/Firestone also called for a greater recall, saying that defects in Wilderness, ATX and ATX II tires have been known at the highest levels of company management since the 1970s.
''As long as those tires are being made and used, the potential for more deaths is real,'' said tire consultant Max Nonnamaker.
Bridgestone/Firestone spokeswoman Cynthia McCafferty said the 6.5 million tires recalled are enough.
''We believe that the scope of the recall is appropriate. We are still working very closely with NHTSA on this investigation,'' McCafferty said. ''We still haven't determined that a problem exists with these tires, we've just determined that the problems are of higher instances than with other lines.''
Ford executives held a news conference Thursday and said it was irresponsible to call for a wider recall when the companies were straining to meet demand now. They also repeated their contention that all data point to the one recalled tire size as the source of the complaints.
Those calling for a broader recall ''are causing people to be concerned about good tires,'' said Helen Petrauskas, Ford's vice president of safety. ''Every time that happens, it means some customer with bad tires who needs them replaced has to wait that much longer.''
Petrauskas and Tom Baughman, Ford's director of truck engineering for North America, said there was still no cause determined for the reports of tread separation. Baughman said finding a cause would be a ''needle in a haystack'' because the number of complaints - 2,030 - is small compared to the number of tires produced - 14 million.
Ford said as of Thursday afternoon, 861,874 tires had been replaced, 13.3 percent of the total number recalled.
NHTSA is asking other automakers that use the Bridgestone/Firestone tires for information regarding their performance. The agency also sent a letter to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. asking for information about its tires to conduct a peer analysis. Ken Weinstein, NHTSA's associate administrator for safety assurance, stressed Goodyear is not under investigation.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Thursday that former workers for Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. say shoddy quality control may have caused tire problems similar to those cited in the Firestone recall.
The ex-workers from the plant in Tupelo, Miss., testified earlier this year in lawsuits against Cooper. They said they used sharp tools to poke holes in tires to remove bubbles and that solvents were used to make old rubber easier to mold. Both practices can weaken tires.