By PAUL NOWELL, AP Business Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Continental Tire North America's recall of nearly 600,000 tires would not have happened so quickly without a government warning system adopted after the Firestone recall.

But a spokesman for Continental Tire said the company's own warning system, put in place before the government's, gave the company the heads-up about a potential problem with the tires.

Clarence Ditlow, president of the Center for Auto Safety consumer group, said the Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. recall led to the passage of the Tread Act, which requires car companies and tire makers to report more data on defects to the federal government.

"When we had the Firestone fiasco in 2000, Congress determined that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ( news - web sites) was not up to the job," he said. "They determined that the agency needed to be proactive rather than reactive."

By putting in substantial penalties, Congress "forced the manufacturers to re-examine their safety books," Ditlow said.

On Monday, the Charlotte-based company said owners of some Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator models will get free replacement tires in another recall involving tread separations on sport utility vehicles made by Ford.

Continental Tire North America recalled 595,000 tires, most of which were sold as original equipment on 106,701 two-wheel drive Expedition and Navigator SUVs from the 2000 and 2001 model years.

While he agreed the Tread Act was a good law, a Continental spokesman said the company has worked to improve its own early warning system on tire defects.

"It would not be accurate to say the Tread Act did this (recall)," said Mark Sowka, vice president of original equipment. "We had our own policies in place before the Tread Act was implemented."

He said the company's own early-warning system triggered the recall. Property damage and personal injury claims against the tires increased significantly in April, he said.

Officials at Ford noticed the same reports, and the two companies discussed the problem.

At least one accident in an Expedition, in which six people were killed, may be related to a tread separation on one of the tires covered by the recall. Continental officials said they have not been able to investigate the tire to see if it caused the accident, and most complaints about the tires are less serious, involving uneven tread wear and tire vibrations.

Tread separations also led to the recall of millions of Firestone tires that were used primarily on the Ford Explorer.

The recall involves the P275/60R17 size of the ContiTrac AW and General Grabber AW tires made at the company's Mayfield plant between March 1999 and October 2000.

Continental estimates the recall will cost $19 million. It told the NHTSA it has 18 property damage and personal injury claims related to the recalled tires.