Bridgestone/Firestone Recalls

8,000 Tires Used On GM SUVs

DETROIT (AP) — Bridgestone/Firestone said it is recalling about 8,000 truck tires, many of which may have been installed on 4,700 General Motors sport utility vehicles.

The tire maker said Tuesday that the recall is unrelated to problems that led to the recall of 6.5 million Firestone tires in August.

Bridgestone/Firestone and GM said they had received no claims of damage or injury relating to the tires.

The new recall involves P265/70R16-size Wilderness LE tires built at its plant in Cuernavaca, Mexico, during the week of April 23.

The company said about 150 tires made on April 24 were built with contaminated rubber, creating a weaker bond with one of the steel belts that could make the tread become deformed or separated. The whole week’s production was recalled to ensure all affected tires were recovered, the company said.

Most of the tires were supplied to GM, which used them on some 2000 GMC Yukon XL SUVs as well as on Chevrolet Suburbans.

The affected tires have on their sidewall the Transportation Department code V672WL11700 or V672WL21700. Firestone’s telephone hotline for consumers with questions is 800/465-1904.

Also Tuesday, Ford Motor Co. said it is offering tire warranties on its Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury models as a way to alert itself to problems like those that led to last year’s Firestone recall.

Tires with defects in material or construction will be replaced for free. The warranties begin with 2001 models.

“We now stand behind every component in our vehicles,” Ford president and CEO Jacques Nasser said Tuesday. “Administering our own tire warranty will also play a role in our ‘early warning system,’ providing early access to data on tire performance.” Ford has said a lack of warranty data was one reason the Firestone tire problems weren’t spotted sooner.

Previously, only GM has covered tires under its basic warranties in the United States, with other automakers referring customers with complaints to tire dealers. GM said its system helped detect the problem with tires on its SUVs that lead to Tuesday’s recall.