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Ford's Role

Firestone ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires were installed as original equipment on Ford Explorers, Ford Rangers, and Ford F-150s. The complete list of vehicles installed with recalled Firestone tires as original equipment is listed below:

Manufacturer Model Model Years
Ford Explorer 1991-2000
Mercury Mountaineer 1996-2000
Ford Ranger (pick up truck) 1991-2000
Ford F-series Light Trucks 1991-1994
Ford Bronco 1991-1994
Mazda B-series (pick up truck) 1994-1996
Mazda Navajo 1991-1994

Bridgestone/Firestone estimates that 6.5 million of the 14.4 million recalled tires are still in service. 3.8 million of recalled tires are thought to be Radial ATX and ATX II tires and the remaining 2.7 million tires are Wilderness AT - 15-inch brand.

On May 22, 2001, Ford voluntarily expanded the Firestone recall to include all 13 million Wilderness AT brand tires. Ford has replaced all Firestone tires with competitor brands. The replacement tires, however, have also come under scrutiny. In July 2001, the NHTSA opened a defect investigation into an Explorer replacement tire manufactured by General. The NHTSA found the tread-separation claim rate on the General replacement tire to be 124 per million tires, well above the claim rate of 6 per million on some Firestone Wilderness AT tires under the August 2000 recall.

The significant number of accidents and claim rates has many believing that the Ford Explorer's high center of gravity is also part of the problem. Reports issued in connection with the ongoing litigation have stated that the Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicle rolls over more often than other SUV's do in tire-tread accidents. These reports have also stated that about 31% of Explorer owners who bring their vehicles in for service complain of vibrations while driving. Many could not be cured, even after dealers changed tires, shock absorbers and drive-shafts. Less frequent is an odd tire-wear pattern called "cupping." It shows up in less than 2% of Explorer complaints, however, it never shows up in most other Ford truck models. According to documents obtained after a congressional investigation, Ford had data that Firestone tires installed on the Explorer had little or no margin for error in high-speed driving. 

 

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