National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tells American consumers to switch tires
The NHTSA is telling American consumers who have bought tires manufactured by the Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber company of China, and sold in the US under the brand names Westlake, Telluride, YKS and Compass, to remove the tires immediately. I don't get that sense of urgency in Canada.
The NHTSA isn't pulling any punches on the question of the tires made by China's Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber:
The head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday blasted a New Jersey tire distributor [Foreign Tire Sales] for claiming it could not afford to recall imported Chinese tires that could come apart, and are already blamed in two deaths.
"They can't wash their hands of it. That's not an option," NHTSA administrator Nicole Nason said Tuesday, a day after news of the recall broke.
Nason said FTS' attempt to skirt a recall is "unbelievable." NHTSA's rules are very clear, she adds. If a company imports vehicles or vehicle parts, it is considered a manufacturer.
"What we are saying very clearly to FTS is: If you chose to do business with a foreign company, you are responsible for making sure that the equipment meets our standards," Nason said.
FTS has until July 2 to respond to NHTSA's letter, which demands more information on the faulty tires and a plan of action for recalling the tires. FTS referred calls seeking comment to its attorney, Lawrence Lavigne, who did not return calls Tuesday.
In the meantime, while the government hashes out how the recall will be formally conducted, NHTSA is advising consumers who have the tires to replace them. The tires were sold under the brands Westlake, Telluride, YKS and Compass.
Consumers should save the old, recalled tires and their receipt for the new ones.
I found a distributor in Mississauga, just outside of Toronto, who sells Westlake brand tires, exactly of the sizes named in the NHTSA filing, and explicitly identified as being made by Hangzhou. So I have to wonder where Transport Canada is in all of this. Are these the same tires? How many have been sold? Are Canadian drivers being told to remove the tires or risk being involved in serious, potentially deadly, accidents?
When the counterfeit Colgate toothpaste story broke in the US, nothing seemed to happen here until I got in the car and drove to a dollar store and bought a tube of "South African" toothpaste in order to prove that Canadian consumers were potentially exposed to a serious health risk. I don't want to do this twice in a week.
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Comments
quote: "I don't want to do this twice in a week."
Oh I'm betting that you do, wouldn't want to wake the bureaucracy to awaken from its slumber too quickly.
Posted by: the bear at June 27, 2007 10:08 AM
Many of the trailer tire brands are made in China.
They are sold under assorted brand names in N. America.
Some brands have abysmal numbers of failure stories and class action law suits are in the works.
If you can avoid them, do so. You are well advised to check the info on the tire before you buy and look for "Made in China".
I have seen faulty tires & rims right in the stores with defects visible to the naked eye.
Tires in the 4.80x12 & 5.30x12 are notorious for self destructing even when towing well under the weight limit with correct tire pressure.
Good luck finding tires in those categories made anywhere BUT offshore.
I am in the market for new boat-trailer tires and just completed online searches for 'Carlisle trailer tires reviews'; and 'trailer tires reviews' as well as 'Marathon trailer tires reviews'. Very interesting.
Posted by: Rich at June 27, 2007 10:15 AM
Damnit Jim. I'm a blogger, not a consumer safety investigator.
Posted by: Johnny Pockets at June 27, 2007 10:35 AM
So are all "made in China" tires not safe?
Posted by: degree at June 27, 2007 11:47 AM
degree :-That is THE question in my mind and I have no idea who can/will answer that question.
I am not confident that our gov't has any sort of a handle on this whole situation.
In my opinion there is ample material to suggest that rigorous screening should have been done or at least should be started now.
Not to slight any part of our country, but imagine a blowout while towing a boat on hwy 401 through Toronto with 18 wheel gas tankers zooming by and the idiot drivers tailgating as usual. Or a passenger vehicle tire blowing on the front left while in the middle lane.
And who is to say it hasn't already happened in some cases? All the news would report is a trailer flipping or a vehicle losing control due to a blowout. I suspect no agency would investigate past that.
Posted by: Rich at June 27, 2007 12:49 PM
How long is it going to take or more importantly, what's it going to take for the flipping Government to investigate and test every goddamed import from China?
It doesn't take a huge intellect to understand buying CHEAP can mean paying a HEAVY price.
If it's made in china, leave it on the shelf. We simply cannot trust what's coming out of Chink land under that Wack job Leader. Mo Strong and his Leftoids can enjoy the foodstuffs and baubles from that coal polluted place all they want.
Looks like their trying to kill us legally, our pets too!
Posted by: Libby at June 27, 2007 01:27 PM
"...to remove the tires immediately. I don't get that sense of urgency in Canada."
Hey, this is Canada, we'll have a panel do a review, send in their recommendations and meet at Tim Hortons afterwards to figure out how to word this right so the Chinese are not offended.
Oh wait, we first got to find a panel. See you in the fall, Parliament is going on summer holidays.
Posted by: tomax7 at June 27, 2007 01:42 PM
The media were all over the 'Firestone 500s' a few years back, the media couldn't bash Firestone hard enough over those tires. Where's the circus over Chinese tires?
Posted by: philanthropist at June 27, 2007 02:01 PM
What happened to investigative journalism in this country?
Looks like all we have is a bunch of Lefty political hacks who are so busy manipulating the masses they don't know what the hell's going on.
Posted by: Libby at June 27, 2007 07:53 PM
Hey, it's just like the old days: crappy tires, leaking carburetors, dead batteries. The longest guarantee on anything was 30 days. I spent every Saturday at the local tire store. It was mandatory to read Consumer Reports before buying anything. How soon we forget how much things have improved!
Have you noticed how Chinese people in Canada don't buy Chinese tires?
Posted by: JJJoseph at June 28, 2007 05:04 PM
 
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