U.S.

Tire Tread Trouble For Goodyear

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

October 25, 2000 / 10:47 AM EDT / CBS

Tread separation problems similar to those that have plagued Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. have contributed to eight deaths linked to light-truck tires manufactured by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

Akron, Ohio-based Goodyear became aware of design problems with its 16-inch Load Range E tires five years ago and made a design change to strengthen them, the newspaper said. The company did not recall the tires, and millions of them remain on the road, including the popular Goodyear Wrangler AT and HT.

The tire maker said it found no defects with the tires. Goodyear settled several lawsuits resulting from crashes, but settlement amounts and company documents have been kept secret.

The lawsuits blamed tread separation, which is virtually identical to the problems experienced by Bridgestone/Firestone.

Also as in the Bridgestone/Firestone case, hot weather driving appears to be a factor in the Goodyear failures, reports CBS News Correspondent Ed Crane.

In August, Bridgestone/Firestone voluntarily recalled 6.5 million ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires, most of which were standard equipment on the Ford Explorer. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 3,500 complaints and 119 traffic deaths in connection with the tires.

The NHTSA told the Times that it has received 59 reports of tire failures during the last three years, including one fatality, involving Goodyear light-truck tires.

"We're continuing to monitor the situation," NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson told the newspaper.

Goodyear acknowledged receiving a large number of complaints as early as 1995 and conducted extensive tests. The company did not tell safety regulators because tests indicated the tires were not flawed.

"We believe the Load Range E tires to be good tires free of any manufacturing or design defects," Goodyear spokesman Chuck Sinclair said.

In its review process, Goodyear found that a new trend of larger vehicles might lead to overloading of tires, Sinclair said. Goodyear in 1996 began putting an extra layer, or so-called nylon cap, on Load Range E tires to make them more robust, he said.

Millions of the older, unreinforced light-truck tires remain on the road, including the Goodyear Wrangler AT, Goodyear Wrangler HT, Goodyear Allseason Workhorse, Kelly-Springfield Power King and Kelly-Springfield Trailbuster.