Ford: Other Firestone tires fail, too

June 20, 2001

By David Kiley, USA TODAY

DETROIT — Ford Motor says Firestone tires made to its specifications but used as replacement tires on other makes of trucks and sport-utility vehicles fail at a rate that should concern government investigators probing the massive tire recall underway by the automaker.

Ford says Bridgestone/Firestone claims data given to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Congress last month show 167 instances of tread separation on replacement tires that matched its specifications but were on Chrysler, General Motors, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota pickups, SUVs and minivans. Claims are filed when an injury or property damage occurs.

Bridgestone/Firestone said Wednesday that it could not provide a total number of ATX, ATXII and Wilderness AT replacement tires it supplied for non-Ford vehicles between 1991 and 2000. Ford estimates it is fewer than 3 million.

Ford presented its findings to government regulators and congressional investigators Wednesday in an attempt to refute recent charges by Firestone that the Explorer has a design defect. Ford says the high claims data on replacement tires prove that problems with Firestone tires on Explorers that led to a recall last year were caused by the tires, not the SUV.

Bridgestone/Firestone disputes Ford's claims. Spokeswoman Jill Bartina says Wilderness and ATX tires used as original equipment on Explorers had a claims rate of 125 per 100,000 tires, five times that of the same tires supplied to the replacement market.

Ford says 66 of the 167 claims, filed between 1991 and 2000, were on vehicles that are direct competitors of the Explorer, including Chevy Blazer, Chevy Tahoe and Toyota 4Runner. GM and Toyota said they have no reports of tread-separation problems with Firestone tires made to their specifications and used as original equipment on their vehicles. But the companies don't monitor the warranty data and claims data of replacement tires on their vehicles.

Ford still can't explain why tires it ordered from Firestone fail at a greater rate than similar tires ordered by other companies. "We have always maintained that the data show that Firestone has had a serious problem making a reliable ATX and Wilderness AT tire for our company," Ford's Jason Vines says.

On Thursday, Ford released information indicating Firestone tires are more prone to tread separations than those made by Goodyear.

The report was released in advance of Tuesday's congressional hearing to examine the safety of Firestone tires and the Ford Explorer. The company based its findings on an analysis of government and internal research along with claims data provided by Bridgestone/Firestone.

The automaker said that between 1995 and 1997, its Explorer sport utility vehicles were fitted with equal numbers of Firestone and Goodyear tires as original equipment.

Ford said there were 1,183 tread separations associated with the 2.9 million Firestone tires, and just two with an equal number of Goodyear tires.

Ford said the research indicates the disparity in performance was due to differences in tire construction despite using the same specifications as set out by the automaker.

Richard Parry-Jones, Ford group vice president for global product development and quality, said Firestone tires ran hotter than Goodyear tires because thinner layers of protective rubber were used between steel belts.

Bridgestone/Firestone spokeswoman Jill Bratina said Ford was using incorrect data to justify its current replacement program.

"What they don't tell you is that data is related to the tires that were involved in the August 9th recall. We took responsibility for those tires and took them off the road," Bratina said.

The more important issue was what happens after tread separation, she said, adding that accident crash data shows Ford Explorers — the world's best-selling SUV — are more likely to roll over at that time than other SUVs.

Bridgestone/Firestone recalled 6.5 million Wilderness and ATX tires last year after NHTSA began investigating accidents involving tread separations. Almost all of the tires were on Explorers.

Ford last month said it would begin replacing 13 million additional Wilderness AT tires on its trucks and SUVs because its data showed an unacceptably high rate of tire failure. At the same time, Bridgestone/Firestone said it would not sign any new contracts to provide Ford with original equipment tires in North and South America.