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Firestone recalls more tires
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January 2, 2001: 5:38 p.m. ET
Tiremaker recalls 8,000 tires for production defect, this one hits GM S/UV
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Firestone announced a recall of about 8,000 Wilderness tires manufactured in Mexico because of a defect that could cause the treads to separate from the steel belt, a similar problem to the one that led to an earlier recall of 6.5 million tires resulting in congressional hearings and lower earnings.
The recalled tires, 16-inch Wilderness LE, model P265/70R16, were manufactured the week of April 23, 2000 at Firestone's Cuernavaca, Mexico, plant. The tires were used as original equipment on up to 4,700 model-year 2000 GMC Yukon XL 1500 series and Chevrolet Suburban 1500 series assembled in Silao, Mexico, during late April and early May 2000.
 This small recall follows a major recall of 6.5 million tires last August of a 15-inch Wilderness model tire, along with Firestone's ATX brand tires, that have now been linked to at least 148 U.S. deaths.
Those deaths and the tire maker's reaction to the problems prompted widespread criticism by congressional investigators and safety advocates, a deep drop in sales of Firestone tires and the Ford Motor Co. (F: Research, Estimates) model, the Explorer, most closely tied to the recalled tires.
Some safety advocates had called for a broader recall of Wilderness tires to include the larger versions of the tires included in the broader recall. The Ralph Nader-founded group Public Citizen is set to release a report Wednesday on its findings about the recall.
Bridgestone/Firestone and GM said it is not aware of any accidents, injuries or even tread separations that were caused by the failure of the tires involved in this latest recall. They said when the treads started to separate, it caused a noticeable vibration that prompted vehicle owners to bring the vehicle or tires in for service. GM said it received three of the tires from customers this fall, while Firestone said that it had 13 of the deformed tires returned to its tire shops during an unspecified period.
A Firestone spokeswoman said that the decision to recall the tires before there were reports of accidents are proof of a renewed commitment to quality and customer satisfaction at the battered tire maker.
"We are looking at data in different ways now," said Christine Karbowiac, spokeswoman for Bridgestone/Firestone. "We see this as an example of how the system will work."
Bridgestone/Firestone resisted the earlier recall even as reports of deaths and tire failures mounted. The company eventually was forced to agree to the recall when many tire retailers refused to sell the tires and Ford did an independent review of the Firestone's warranty data that showed a link.
 The tire maker said its investigation in this most recent case found the wrong rubber material was used in conjunction with the inner-most steel belts of tires made at the plant April 24, the first day of production after a week-long shutdown for Holy Week. During maintenance work during the shutdown someone apparently put the wrong material on a pallet of approved rubber.
It said it believes only 150 tires were made with the wrong material, and that it is having a broader recall of tires to make sure that all faulty tires are captured. It also is recalling up to 500 of the tires that were sold in the Mexican replacement tire market.
Brook Lindbert, GM's director of tire-wheel systems, said the company is confident that this model tire is still the best one for the vehicle, and that the total extent of the problem has been discovered. He said the investigation was somewhat simpler than the one prompted by the earlier recall.
"As for a root cause investigation, it was easier for us to get closure to this very quickly," he said.
Still, while this recall may not hit GM as hard as the earlier recall hit Ford, it comes at a time of falling demand and market share for North American sport/utility vehicles, as new Japanese models, high fuel prices and falling auto sales overall have hit the key segment for the Big Three.
Lindbert said that a bit more than half of these two GM models have the Wilderness LE tires, but that only a small percentage of the vehicles are affected by recall. About 50,000 of the vehicles were sold during model year 2000, and only a few thousand are likely to have any of the recalled tires.
Bridgestone/Firestone will pay for the cost of the current recall. It did not estimate the cost but Karbowiac said it was relatively modest. The cost of the earlier recall will cost Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford close to $1 billion, in addition to legal liability and lost sales due to damaging publicity.
Shares of GM (GM: Research, Estimates) gained $1.25 to $52.19 in Tuesday trading ahead of its annual sales report due Wednesday. 
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