ABC News - May 19, 2003
After 19-year-old Jennie Swanson died in a wreck in Arizona three years ago, her
family was overwhelmed by grief, but the sadness turned to anger at the company
that made the tires on Swanson's vehicle.
Swanson's sister, Maren, and her mother, Deborah Linzer, say a Goodyear tire
caused the crash that killed Jennie Swanson and shattered their lives.
"I had no idea how devastating grief was," Linzer said. "I had no idea how
crippling it was to miss your child."
After wrestling with their anger, the family filed one of 47 lawsuits against
Goodyear, alleging a defect in a particular type of tire that the company
manufactured. Theirs and other similar lawsuits claimed the rubber tread on the
tires peeled away from the steel belts beneath and that this "tread separation"
caused crashes, injuries, and in some cases, death.
"Suing Goodyear was about justice," Linzer said. "It was about trying to spare
some other mother and father from losing their most precious, precious thing."
Recall Needed?
The tires called into question are certain Goodyear Load Range "E" type tires
made between 1991 and 2000. It is estimated that millions of the tires remain on
the road on large, heavily loaded sport utility vehicles, pickups and
commercial-sized vans.
Linzer, who just marked her third Mother's Day without her daughter, says there
should be a recall of the tires.
"It is criminal that those tires are still on the road because they still carry
their defect with them, which means that they still have the power to kill
innocent people." Linzer said.
Goodyear says the tires "were, and still are, quality tires," and urges drivers
to make sure the tires are properly inflated.
‘Alarming’ Rate of Claims
In a deposition obtained by Good Morning America, a retired Goodyear engineer
testified that by the mid-1990s, the company was concerned enough about the
tires to begin an internal investigation. Goodyear was concerned about the
number of tread separation claims.
"Those claims were growing at an alarming rate," engineer Beale Robinson
testified in a video deposition.
Between 1991 and 2001, there were tread separations in 15,000 Load Range "E"
tires.
Goodyear says its investigation found no defect in the tires. Further, the
company said that in the Swanson wreck and other crashes it looked at, tread
separation was caused in every case by either overloading of the vehicle,
under-inflation of the tire, or other misuse of the vehicle.
Some drivers do overload their vehicles, or worse, under-inflate the tires, and
if those factors are paired with potholes or poorly repaired punctures, even the
safest tire can have tread separation.
In most cases, drivers handle tread separation without crashing, but not always.
87 Crashes, One Decade
A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation turned up 87
reported crashes involving Goodyear Load Range "E" tires between 1991 and 2001.
It is a low percentage of the millions sold, but half of the crashes caused
injuries — 158 injuries, in all — and some were serious. Eighteen people died.
"That's a national tragedy," said Allan Kam, a government lawyer who worked on
legal issues in hundreds of auto defect investigations.
Now he often works as an expert witness for people suing Goodyear and has worked
on some cases that involve injuries or one fatality.
Goodyear Says Product Isn’t the Problem
In a statement, Goodyear expressed condolences to the families of those who
died.
"Our hearts go out to the families who have lost loved ones, but we know that
their losses are not because of any problem in the design or manufacture of our
products," Goodyear said.
In 1996, the company redesigned the tires, adding an extra nylon cap or overlay
between the tread and the steel belts. Goodyear says that was a response to
trends of overloading, larger vehicles, higher speeds and improper tire
inflation.
Good Morning America has learned that since the government investigation closed,
Goodyear received reports of 10 more crashes serious enough to cause 26
additional injuries and five more deaths.
Last year, after the government asked more questions about the tires, Goodyear
said it would replace LRE tires with the newer type on 15 passenger vans and
ambulances. Most of the injuries and deaths linked to the tires have been in
large vans.
After that, the government closed the investigation.
Which Tires Are Affected?
The agreement does not apply to millions of others with the controversial tires
on their SUVs, pickups or utility vans. If those motorists want new tires, they
must pay for them. The tires were all made by Goodyear, but many of them don't
have the Goodyear brand on them, because they were sold by many different
retailers under various brand names.
They do all have the words: Load Range E on the sidewall. Plus, the new design
tires with the nylon cap say 2 polyester cords, plus 2 steel cords, plus 2 nylon
cords. If you don't see those 2 nylon cords, you may have one of the old design
tires.
A Goodyear dealer can determine if Load Range E tires are made by Goodyear.