Home » Technology » Auto Maintenance » Firestone Tires and the Ford Explorer

Firestone Tires and the Ford Explorer

© Garth R. Smith

After being blamed as the cause of numerous accidents and as many as eighty-eight deaths involving Ford Explorers, Firestone has begun a recall of several of their tires in the South and Southwestern states. Other regions of the country are expected to become part of the recall in the future. Included in the recall are the Firestone Wilderness and ATX lines, both tires are used as the original equipment fitment for the Ford Explorer. Thus far only tires in the size of P235/75R15 with a serial number begining with the letters "VD" are subjected to the recall, but other sizes from other manufacturing facilities could follow.

The affected tires are said to fail mostly at highway speeds and in hot weather. Firestone has in the past recalled the same tires on vehicles in South America and the Middle East. Consumers who own Ford Explorers or other SUV's equipped with these tires are urged to visit their local Firestone dealer or other tire retailer in order to have their tires inspected. Due to the vast numbers of these tires in service and the limited number of replacement tires available Firestone is allowing for drivers to be reimbursed for the purchase of non-Firestone brand tires up to $100 per tire. Consumers who choose this option must take a dated receipt and their replaced tires to an authorized Firestone dealer to obtain the forms necessary for reimbursement.

It was over twenty years ago that Firestone issued a nationwide recall for their Firestone 500 tires. After that recall they were purchased by Bridgestone, the Japanese based tire manufacturer, and became part of the Bridgstone/Firestone company.

Many tire wholesalers and retailers in the regions covered by the recall are reporting a shortage of various brands of tires in the affected sizes as car dealers purchase large quantities of tires to replace those on Firestone equipped vehicles in their inventories. The size P235/75R15 is one of the most popular tire sizes and is the standard original fitment on many light trucks and vans for manufacturers such as Chevrolet, GMC and Dodge. Thus far, however, only the Ford Explorer seems to be the focus of investigations by the National Highway Transportaion Safety Administration.

Several newspaper articles appeared last week which claimed that Ford officials as early as 1989 knew that the Explorer, which replaced the Bronco II, was susceptible to rolling over. Instead of redesigning the suspension and chassis of the vehicle, these articles stated that Ford executives, wanting to meet the delivery deadline for the new vehicle simply called for a lowering of the recommended air pressure of the tires to 26psi. This air pressure change while incresing handling and lessening the likelihood of roll-over can cause an overheating of the tires and hinder the dissipation of that heat which could lead to tire failure. Ford CEO Jacques Nasser stated that the the defects which the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration claims have caused eighty-eight deaths in the U.S. are "a tire issue, not a vehicle issue," and also said the Ford was "sorry that these tires are on our vehicles."