Firestone Agrees to Recall an Additional 1.4 Million Tires

Nashville, TN (SafetyAlerts) - Firestone has agreed to replace an additional 1.4 million tires as part of a multi-state agreement, the New York Attorney General's office said on Monday.

The additional tires, beyond the current recall of 6.5 million AT, ATX II and certain Wilderness tires, were identified in early September by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as having high separation rates.   NHTSA issued a consumer advisory at that time expressing a safety concern  regarding certain tires not already covered under recall.

Although no list was immediately available from the company concerning which models would be added to the recall list, the table below was issued by NHTSA.  The models below are in addition to the 6.4 million tires recalled in August.

* 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.

Safety Alerts compiles comprehensive safety recall information for the United States. SafeMail is a free email service to warn consumers of faulty products and contaminated foods. For complete information regarding current recalls, past recalls and timely product warning notification visit: www.safetyalerts.com.

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