A voluntary tire recall by Michelin North America, Inc. could affect hundreds of thousands of vehicle owners in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Tread results in recall
There were 841,000 wheels that are now being recalled after being put mostly on light trucks and heavy duty vans, though some vehicles may have gotten them too. The recall was announced on Thurs, July 26 after some consumers returned wheels that had tread-belt parting seen.
The affected wheels, made between April 2010 and July 2012, are the BFGoodrich LT 235/85 R16 120 Q LRE and LT 245/75 R16 120 Q LRE, and Uniroyal Laredo LT 235/85 R16 120 Q LRE and LT 245/75 R16 120 Q LRE. About 800,000 of the tires were sold in the United States, said Michelin North America, with the remaining units going to Canada and Mexico.
might lead to accidents
If the tread should separate on the highway, it might lead to a rapid air loss. That could, in turn, lead to a severe accident. However, no injuries or deaths have yet been reported because of the wheels at this time. Michelin North America is intending to keep it that way.
Mike Wischhusen, Michelin's technical director, wrote in a letter to impacted owners:
"It is important that all recalled tires be removed from service as soon as possible."
Reason behind recall
One hundred forty-thee, or about 0.017 percent of the total number of impacted wheels, were returned by customers due to tread or air loss. Those returns prompted Michelin to launch the recall, rather than taking a chance with the safety of its customers.
Wischhusen explained:
"We constantly monitor our products performance in the field and it was our own internal quality systems that caught this issue. We caught it very early, based on a very small number of returns... We're taking this proactive action in order to protect our customers and the driving public."
All about wheels
Michelin North American was unsure precisely what might have brought on the issue.
According to Wischhusen:
"A tire is a complex thing. There is rarely one thing you can pinpoint to cause something like this."
Tread results in recall
There were 841,000 wheels that are now being recalled after being put mostly on light trucks and heavy duty vans, though some vehicles may have gotten them too. The recall was announced on Thurs, July 26 after some consumers returned wheels that had tread-belt parting seen.
The affected wheels, made between April 2010 and July 2012, are the BFGoodrich LT 235/85 R16 120 Q LRE and LT 245/75 R16 120 Q LRE, and Uniroyal Laredo LT 235/85 R16 120 Q LRE and LT 245/75 R16 120 Q LRE. About 800,000 of the tires were sold in the United States, said Michelin North America, with the remaining units going to Canada and Mexico.
might lead to accidents
If the tread should separate on the highway, it might lead to a rapid air loss. That could, in turn, lead to a severe accident. However, no injuries or deaths have yet been reported because of the wheels at this time. Michelin North America is intending to keep it that way.
Mike Wischhusen, Michelin's technical director, wrote in a letter to impacted owners:
"It is important that all recalled tires be removed from service as soon as possible."
Reason behind recall
One hundred forty-thee, or about 0.017 percent of the total number of impacted wheels, were returned by customers due to tread or air loss. Those returns prompted Michelin to launch the recall, rather than taking a chance with the safety of its customers.
Wischhusen explained:
"We constantly monitor our products performance in the field and it was our own internal quality systems that caught this issue. We caught it very early, based on a very small number of returns... We're taking this proactive action in order to protect our customers and the driving public."
All about wheels
Michelin North American was unsure precisely what might have brought on the issue.
According to Wischhusen:
"A tire is a complex thing. There is rarely one thing you can pinpoint to cause something like this."
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