These Tires Should Have Never Hit The Road

Those four rubber doughnuts rolling beneath your car are supposed to help you control your car and arrive at your destination safely. But some tires have defects that make driving less safe. In these instances, U.S. law requires manufacturers to recall their defective tires. Tires affected by these recalls can come from many different brands and sizes. Some recalls affect a small number of tires (as when automaker Subaru recalled 4,500 Ascents over improperly mounted tires), while others affect hundreds of thousands. 

Recently, there have been several big recalls by tire manufacturers that are among the worst in recent memory. Included in this unfortunate group are two from Prinx Chengshan, which recalled over half a million winter tires for insufficient snow traction. Continental also suffered an extensive recall of tires whose belt edges were separating. Rounding out the worst of the recent recalls is Goodyear’s recall of “the worst tire made in history.” We’ll let you know more about each manufacturer, which tires were involved, and what the company did to remedy the problem. 

On Jan. 25 of this year, Prinx recalled 541,632 of its HiCountry and Fortune Tormenta tires in various sizes. The tires had an “Alpine” symbol on their sidewalls — symbols that identified them as snow tires. However, after evaluation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the tires did not meet the traction standard required by federal law. The agency said this “could potentially increase the risk of a crash.” Well, yeah, if the tire doesn’t provide decent traction in snowy conditions, it surely shouldn’t have a snow-tire symbol on its sidewall. 

To remedy the problem, Prinx said it would reimburse the tires’ owners $50 per tire, which they could use to have a professional tire dealer or retailer remove the Alpine symbol from the tire’s sidewall, indicating that the two models were not snow tires. For owners who required snow-tire traction, Prinx offered a toll-free phone number to reach its recall resolution team, which would provide a refund upon proof of the tires’ removal and destruction.    

The G159 was designed as a delivery truck tire designed to be used for stop-and-go deliveries, not long-term, high-speed highway driving. So perhaps it wasn’t surprising that there were multiple crashes of Class A motorhomes caused by the tread separating from tires while on the highway. In all, NHTSA said, there 41 lawsuits filed over the tires between 1999 and 2016, resulting from 98 deaths and injuries. 

Goodyear denied that the tire was defective, saying the motorhome manufacturers were to blame for using it outide its specifications, and knew that owners often overloaded their tires and drove them with inadequate pressure. But June of 2022, after several rounds of discussions with NHTSA, Goodyear recalled 173,237 of its 275/70R22.5 G159 tires. Still, it continued to say that NHTSA could not show that the G159 was defective and claimed NHTSA was merely using the number of crashes to conclude there was a defect. Through it all, Goodyear claimed the tire was good for its intended purpose when used properly. 

The G159 was removed from production in January 2003 and Goodyear did not know how many of these tires were still in service. So for any G159 tires that were still in service, Goodyear agreed to pay for the mounting and balancing of a replacement G670 tire free of charge. For anyone who may still have had an unmounted G159 tire, Goodyear said it would offer $500 per tire as compensation.

Lastly, on Aug. 22, 2024, Continental recalled 146,568 of its 255/35R19 ProContact GX AO model tires. These tires were mainly original equipment used for Audi’s A4 and A5 models. Due to a design flaw, their sidewalls allowed a higher level of flexing in the tread shoulder, which caused heat buildup. The additional heat could then cause the tire to experience a partial or full tire-belt or tire-tread loss and increase the risk of a crash, serious injuries, or deaths. 

In all, Continental’s review concluded that at the time of its recall, there had been at least 45 reported tread/belt separations. If you were one of those drivers who experienced a tread separation, after you had recovered your composure, you’d definitely want the tires recalled.

To remedy the recall, Continental said it would provide all known customers, distributors, and dealers with instructions on how to identify the defective tires and information regarding the tire’s removal and destruction. In addition, Continental would cover the cost of a replacement tire.

If you’re wondering when a tire manufacturer has to recall a tire, it’s when it discovers that the tire has a defect that makes driving less safe or puts lives in danger. In these cases, they’re required to file a Part 573 Recall Report, which anyone can see at the NHTSA site. Although manufacturers test their tires before putting them into the marketplace, sometimes problems are not discovered until they’re made available to consumers. If a safety defect is found after a tire is released to the public for sale, manufacturers are required by law to recall the tire and notify the people who purchased the tire.

Sometimes, a manufacturer may not discover a defect in its tire until complaints are received from the public. In these cases, NHTSA may commence its own investigation and request that the manufacturer initiate a recall. In rare cases, a manufacturer may even decline to issue a recall even after NHTSA made a request. However, NHTSA has broad powers and can initiate the recall process after it investigates and determines that there is a problem. If there’s one thing to be learned from these recalls it’s that if your tire is recalled, get it replaced immediately.