WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. highway safety regulators on Wednesday reported another 29 deaths linked to the failure of Firestone tires, bringing to 148 the number of fatalities connected to tread separations and blowouts.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said five of the newly reported deaths involved additional models of Firestone tires not covered by the company's Aug. 9 recall but subject to a Sept 1. NHTSA consumer warning.
Bridgestone/Firestone Inc., a unit of Japan's Bridgestone Corp. (5108.T), said recently it had replaced nearly all the 6.5 million 15-inch ATX and Wilderness tires that it had voluntarily recalled.
NHTSA, however, continues to investigate whether additional tires have problems and advised consumers in September to consider replacing another 24 Firestone tire models of various sizes.
The agency said injuries linked to Firestone tires had risen to more than 525 from more than 500 when it last updated its numbers on Oct. 17.
Total Firestone complaints now stood at more than 4,300, up from more than 3,500. A NHTSA spokesman cautioned, however, that there could be duplicates in the injury and total complaint numbers.
Most of the tires subject to recall were fitted to Ford Motor Co.'s popular Explorer sport utility vehicle.
Consumer groups and auto safety researchers advising lawyers suing Firestone and Ford have urged NHTSA to expand the recall to include other models of Firestone tires.
NHTSA last month expanded its tire inquiries to include another manufacturer, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
Under investigation are failures of certain light truck tires made by Goodyear that have been linked to 15 deaths and 129 injuries.