Manufacturer to decide on European tyre recall

Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone Firestone will decide within the next 24 hours whether to recall any European tyres following a decision by the corporation's US operation to recall 6.5 million tyres.

The manufacturer's Irish distributor believes it unlikely that many tyres will be recalled in Ireland.

In one of the biggest motoring recalls, the decision was made following an investigation by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which received 270 complaints, including reports of 46 deaths and 80 injuries, about failing Firestone tyres.

Most of the Firestone ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tyres, which have been withdrawn, are fitted to the Ford Explorer, a four-wheel-drive (4WD) vehicle. It is thought the Ford Explorer was introduced in the Republic in 1996 or 1997 and the number currently in Ireland is estimated at 20.

Mr Colm Cunningham, marketing director of Bridgestone/ Firestone in Ireland, said: "We haven't sold any of those tyres on a new vehicle since 1998". He added that they had never sold any "replacement tyres" for those vehicles.

The company compared the product codes on the tyres and computer readings showed none were sold in Ireland. Bridgestone Europe yesterday confirmed it had sold none of those tyres to its Irish operation. Mr Cunningham believed any recalls would be due to Ford Explorers imported directly from the US by individual owners or Explorers bought before 1998.

Mr Gurt Maylemans, senior manager of corporate PR at European headquarters in Brussels, told The Irish Times that "at this stage there is not decision yet for a recall in Europe. We are awaiting confirmation tomorrow of the number of vehicles in the EU with those tyres."

The complaints to the US investigators allege that Firestone tyres peel off their casings, sometimes while the vehicles are travelling at high speed. However, most of the accident reports came from states in warm areas, where heat can affect tyre tread bonding and may be associated with increased tread separation.

Ford has already replaced Firestone tyres free of charge on vehicles sold in Venezuela, Ecuador, Thailand, Malaysia, Colombia and Saudi Arabia after tyres failed in those countries. Bridgestone Corporation, the parent company, said 14.5 million of those tyres were manufactured. "The company estimates that the number of tyres still in use and involved in the recall is 6.5 million."

"At Bridgestone/Firestone nothing is more important to us than the safety of our consumers," according to US executive vice-president Mr Gary Crigger. "We felt we must take this extraordinary step as a precaution to ensure consumer safety and consumer confidence in our brands . . . we will replace them with new tyres."

General Motors, Nissan, Toyota and Subaru also sell the Firestone ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tyres as original equipment on 4WDs and pickups. All have said they have received no complaints about the tyre.

In 1978, Firestone recalled 14 million tyres that had tread separations and blowouts. The company nearly went bankrupt after that recall and was subsequently bought by Bridgestone in Japan.