Goodyear Announces ‘Precautionary’ Recall in North America

Goodyear has announced a recall – or, in the company’s own words – a “precautionary customer satisfaction campaign” on particular P215/70R14 tyres sold under a number of names in the US and Canada. The tyres were made between 2003 and 2006 under 23 names, including associate and private labels such as Douglas, Kelly, Mohave and Republic. A complete list of the private label brand names involved in the program can be seen at Goodyear’s website www.goodyear.com.

The tyremaker points out that, although it has launched an exchange program, no manufacturing or design defect has been found in the tyre. “This precautionary campaign is in response to our internal analysis and review of early warning data we monitor on our tyres,” said Sim Ford, manager of Goodyear’s government and customer compliance. “The company has determined some of these tyres have experienced adverse service conditions that have led to a tread separation, and in the interest of customer satisfaction has decided to replace qualifying tyres.

“While our analysis of this tyre hasn’t found a defect, consumers need to remember that all tyres need to be checked regularly and ensure they are properly inflated,” said Ford. “In general, statistics show the vast majority of tyre failures are related to tyres that are used while under-inflated, overloaded, poorly maintained or have suffered impact damage.”

The replacement market tyres were sold through a variety of locations and were predominantly made for application on older model compact pickup trucks and minivans, mostly those manufactured in the mid-1990s. Goodyear estimates that approximately 400,000 of these tyres might still be in use. Goodyear says consumers can have their tyres checked at any Goodyear dealer location, or at their original point of purchase. The company will replace these tyres with the Goodyear Regatta II, a product described as a “premium tyre with an excellent customer satisfaction history.”