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http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Aug09/0,4670,TireProblems,00.html
255,000 Chinese-Made Tires Recalled
Thursday, August 09, 2007
NEWARK, N.J. - A tire importer said Thursday it would recall 255,000
Chinese-made tires it claims were defective because they lack a safety
feature that prevents tread separation.
The recall involves half the number of tires that the importer, Foreign Tire
Sales Inc., had identified in June as possibly posing a risk.
The models involved are steel-belted radial replacement tires for pickups,
vans and sport utility vehicles that consumers bought from early 2004
through mid-2006, Foreign Tire Sales said.
The small company, based in Union, was ordered by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration in June to recall as many as 450,000 tires
that it bought from Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. since 2002.
"Consumers should know that the affected tires meet all federal motor
vehicle safety standards. But we went the extra mile by testing them and
determining that they did not meet our standards, which are more rigorous,"
Richard Kuskin, president of Foreign Tire Sales, said in a statement.
Hangzhou Zhongce said it fully cooperated with NHTSA and "has not found any
evidence that the ... tires at issue contain any structural defects or are
missing any safety features."
The recall is among a series of recent problems involving imports from
China. Products including toys, toothpaste, seafood and pet food have been
recalled.
Information on the tire recall was to be posted at Foreign Tire Sale's Web
site, http://www.foreigntire.com. Consumers can also call a toll-free
number, 888-899-9293.
The recall applies to Westlake, Compass and YKS brand tires in these sizes
and models:
_Size LT235/75R-15, models CR861 and CR857, with a DOT number beginning
7DT5FTS.
_Size LT235/85R-16, models CR860, CR861 and CR857, with a DOT number
beginning 7DT2FTS.
_Size LT245/75R-16, models CR860, CR861 and CR857, with a DOT number
beginning 7DT3FTS.
_Size LT265/75R-16, models CR860, CR861 and CR857, with a DOT number
beginning 7DT4FTS.
_Size LT31X10.5 R-15, models CR857 and CR861, with a DOT number beginning
7DT6FTS.
Although Foreign Tire Sales did not make the tires, it is responsible for
the recall, under U.S. law.
NHTSA ordered the recall after Foreign Tire Sales told the agency that some
of Hangzhou Zhongce's tires were made without a safety feature, called a gum
strip, that helps bind the belts of a tire to each other. Some of the tires
had a gum strip about half the width of the 0.6 millimeter gum strip Foreign
Tire Sales expected, the importer said.
It said it contracted for Hangzhou Zhongce to provide gum strips, but the
manufacturer changed the design without informing Foreign Tire Sales.
Hangzhou Zhongce has denied that, asserting that the design did not include
a gum strip. It also called the basis for the defect determination by
Foreign Tire Sales "highly questionable."
The manufacturer has also told NHTSA that it has received just 11 claims for
property damage from the nearly 450,000 tires purchased by Foreign Tire
Sales, a rate it called "extremely low." The repairs averaged $1,722, "which
is consistent with minor fender well damage," Hangzhou Zhongce said.
Hangzhou Zhongce also said it paid just 1,540 warranty claims for such items
as ride disturbance and sidewall issues, which are not related to the
alleged defect.
The details of the recall come a month later than Foreign Tire Sales had
initially expected. Company spokesman Andrew Frank attributed the delay to
gathering information from the manufacturer.
"The recall was complicated," he said.
Tread separation was what prompted the nation's largest tire recall, which
involved 17 million Firestone tires in 2000.
Foreign Tire Sales alerted federal authorities of potential problems after
it became embroiled in litigation involving the tires and Hangzhou Zhongce.
Foreign Tire Sales said it became concerned about Hangzhou Zhongce tires in
October 2005 amid an increase in warranty claims. It began talks with the
Chinese company, then commissioned its own tests.
It sued Hangzhou Zhongce in U.S. District Court in Newark on May 31,
charging that its tests found that the tires may fail earlier than tests
provided by Hangzhou Zhongce showed.
Foreign Tire Sales was sued May 4 by the families of two men killed when a
van they were riding in crashed near the town of Jim Thorpe, Pa., in August
2006. The driver and another passenger in the van are also suing.
Hangzhou Zhongce said it made three of the four tires on the van, but they
were not the recommended size for that vehicle. The fourth tire, a Michelin,
was the proper size, but mismatched tires pose a risk, the Chinese company
said. The company added that it has not yet been allowed to examine the
vehicle and does not know if the accident was caused by tire failure.
Foreign Tire Sales does not have a warehouse. It has tires shipped directly
to distributors, who in turn send them to retail outlets.
255,000 Chinese-Made Tires Recalled
Thursday, August 09, 2007
NEWARK, N.J. - A tire importer said Thursday it would recall 255,000
Chinese-made tires it claims were defective because they lack a safety
feature that prevents tread separation.
The recall involves half the number of tires that the importer, Foreign Tire
Sales Inc., had identified in June as possibly posing a risk.
The models involved are steel-belted radial replacement tires for pickups,
vans and sport utility vehicles that consumers bought from early 2004
through mid-2006, Foreign Tire Sales said.
The small company, based in Union, was ordered by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration in June to recall as many as 450,000 tires
that it bought from Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. since 2002.
"Consumers should know that the affected tires meet all federal motor
vehicle safety standards. But we went the extra mile by testing them and
determining that they did not meet our standards, which are more rigorous,"
Richard Kuskin, president of Foreign Tire Sales, said in a statement.
Hangzhou Zhongce said it fully cooperated with NHTSA and "has not found any
evidence that the ... tires at issue contain any structural defects or are
missing any safety features."
The recall is among a series of recent problems involving imports from
China. Products including toys, toothpaste, seafood and pet food have been
recalled.
Information on the tire recall was to be posted at Foreign Tire Sale's Web
site, http://www.foreigntire.com. Consumers can also call a toll-free
number, 888-899-9293.
The recall applies to Westlake, Compass and YKS brand tires in these sizes
and models:
_Size LT235/75R-15, models CR861 and CR857, with a DOT number beginning
7DT5FTS.
_Size LT235/85R-16, models CR860, CR861 and CR857, with a DOT number
beginning 7DT2FTS.
_Size LT245/75R-16, models CR860, CR861 and CR857, with a DOT number
beginning 7DT3FTS.
_Size LT265/75R-16, models CR860, CR861 and CR857, with a DOT number
beginning 7DT4FTS.
_Size LT31X10.5 R-15, models CR857 and CR861, with a DOT number beginning
7DT6FTS.
Although Foreign Tire Sales did not make the tires, it is responsible for
the recall, under U.S. law.
NHTSA ordered the recall after Foreign Tire Sales told the agency that some
of Hangzhou Zhongce's tires were made without a safety feature, called a gum
strip, that helps bind the belts of a tire to each other. Some of the tires
had a gum strip about half the width of the 0.6 millimeter gum strip Foreign
Tire Sales expected, the importer said.
It said it contracted for Hangzhou Zhongce to provide gum strips, but the
manufacturer changed the design without informing Foreign Tire Sales.
Hangzhou Zhongce has denied that, asserting that the design did not include
a gum strip. It also called the basis for the defect determination by
Foreign Tire Sales "highly questionable."
The manufacturer has also told NHTSA that it has received just 11 claims for
property damage from the nearly 450,000 tires purchased by Foreign Tire
Sales, a rate it called "extremely low." The repairs averaged $1,722, "which
is consistent with minor fender well damage," Hangzhou Zhongce said.
Hangzhou Zhongce also said it paid just 1,540 warranty claims for such items
as ride disturbance and sidewall issues, which are not related to the
alleged defect.
The details of the recall come a month later than Foreign Tire Sales had
initially expected. Company spokesman Andrew Frank attributed the delay to
gathering information from the manufacturer.
"The recall was complicated," he said.
Tread separation was what prompted the nation's largest tire recall, which
involved 17 million Firestone tires in 2000.
Foreign Tire Sales alerted federal authorities of potential problems after
it became embroiled in litigation involving the tires and Hangzhou Zhongce.
Foreign Tire Sales said it became concerned about Hangzhou Zhongce tires in
October 2005 amid an increase in warranty claims. It began talks with the
Chinese company, then commissioned its own tests.
It sued Hangzhou Zhongce in U.S. District Court in Newark on May 31,
charging that its tests found that the tires may fail earlier than tests
provided by Hangzhou Zhongce showed.
Foreign Tire Sales was sued May 4 by the families of two men killed when a
van they were riding in crashed near the town of Jim Thorpe, Pa., in August
2006. The driver and another passenger in the van are also suing.
Hangzhou Zhongce said it made three of the four tires on the van, but they
were not the recommended size for that vehicle. The fourth tire, a Michelin,
was the proper size, but mismatched tires pose a risk, the Chinese company
said. The company added that it has not yet been allowed to examine the
vehicle and does not know if the accident was caused by tire failure.
Foreign Tire Sales does not have a warehouse. It has tires shipped directly
to distributors, who in turn send them to retail outlets.
