CIMS Commentary on Chinese Tyre Recall

(Akron/Tire Review) Federal regulations require that tyre purchasers have a right to have their tyres registered at no charge, so they will be directly notified in the event of a safety related recall to have the tyres removed from the highway as quickly as possible.

[Editor’s Note: CIMS, which produces and sells tyre registration materials in North America, issued a press release yesterday regarding the current recall situation involving Chinese produced tyres. While the release itself contained no news – only commentary – the comments of CIMS president Paul Kruder regarding the matter may be of interest to readers.]

“As a result of the recent government ordered tyre recall of at least 450,000 Chinese produced tyres, questions regarding tyre safety are dominating the headlines once again. Tyre purchasers need to protect themselves and make sure their tyres are registered.

“Tyre registration is not only the law but it provides a valuable safety protection for the tyre purchaser. Tyre registration and recall procedures have been required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for over 30 years. When tyres are registered there is no better method to get potentially unsafe tyres off of the highway.

“Currently there are two major problems with tyre registration. The first is the fact that most tyre purchasers are either misinformed or unaware of their rights to have their tyres registered. The second major problem is one involving compliance. The regulation (49 CFR Part 574) first requires tyre manufacturers and brand owners to implement and maintain a tyre registration and recall system to enable direct notification of tyre purchasers in the event of a safety related recall. Next, the selling tyre dealers are required to provide every tyre purchaser with a pre-addressed tyre registration form completed with tyre DOT serial numbers, dealer name and address, brand of tyre sold and date. Non-compliance for the tyre dealer can be very expensive with penalties starting at $5,000 per tyre.

“The simple fact is that there has been no meaningful compliance activity by NHTSA to help insure that tyre manufacturers and brand owners are maintaining a tyre registration and recall system and that tyre dealers are providing tyre registration forms to the tyre purchaser.

“Tyre dealers who are providing tyre registration forms to their tyre purchasers know that it is good responsible business to be concerned about their customers and their safety. For those tyre dealers who do not comply, it is either a matter of misinformation or the fact that they choose to ignore the regulation.

“It is vital that tyre purchasers are aware of their right to have their tyres registered at no charge. If the selling dealer cannot provide their customers with the ability to have their tyres registered, tyre purchasers should take their business elsewhere. If more potential tyre purchasers would walk away from tyre dealers who don’t register tyres, then we would have many more tyre dealers registering them.

“The real challenge to increasing tyre registration levels is to educate the tyre purchasers as to their rights. This is where the media can potentially be the most effective way to inform tyre purchasers of these rights.

”Tyre purchaser rights include their tyres being registered and receiving a direct notification in the event of a safety related recall. The recalled tyres will be replaced with new tyres, mounted, and balanced at no charge.

“Without the media’s active support of educating the tyre purchaser of their rights, the meaningful replacement of recalled tyres will fail. Thus, consumers will continue to drive on potentially unsafe tyres, which will endanger themselves and their families – an avoidable safety problem.”