General Tire recalls 612 passenger vehicle tyres in the UK

General Tire has announced a voluntary exchange programme involving a maximum of 612 passenger vehicle tyres that were produced at the company’s Mt. Vernon, Illinois plant and sold in the UK replacement tyre market. The affected tyres are specific DOT and mould numbers of these products: General Tire Grabber AT³ LT235/85 R16; General Tire Grabber X³ LT265/70 R17. Affected tyres will be replaced free of charge.

The impacted tyres may experience sudden air loss or belt edge separation which could lead to partial or full tread loss. General Tire has not received any reports of accidents or injuries resulting from this condition.

General Tire has already notified the local authorities of the details of the voluntary exchange programme. The company is in contact with Micheldever Tyre Services, the exclusive distributor for the General Tire brand in the UK, to support notification of customers who purchased these tyres or vehicles equipped with these tyres. As far as possible, customers will be promptly notified directly and informed about the details of this voluntary exchange programme.

Consumers seeking more information, including instructions for identifying affected tyres as well as obtaining replacement tyres are asked to visit the General Tire website [www.generaltire.co.uk/car/service/technical-services/voluntary-exchange-programme]. The tyres can be identified by brand, size and Department of Transportation (DOT) date of manufacture code, which are also outlined below. The last four digits of the DOT code indicate the production period (week/year).

The specifically affected tyres are:

• General Tire Grabber AT³ LT235/85 R16 120/116 S, DOT A30R HMRA 0819, mould number 416165
• General Tire Grabber AT³ LT235/85 R16 120/116 S, DOT A30R HMRA 1318, mould number 416165
• General Tire Grabber X³ LT265/70 R17 121/118 Q, DOT A3AH HMMM 1518, mould number 414719

European and US recalls

The UK recall of General Tire brand products follows on from parent-company Continental in the US (in November 2020 and February 2021 respectively). These recalls, which involved Continental, General and Barum-branded tyres, also centred on SUV and 4×4-orientated tyres. Similarly, the company’s Mt Vernon, Illinois factory was involved. However, at around 90,000 units, the scale of the North American recall is far greater and across more brands than in the UK.

Initially in November 2020, Continental representatives said that the North American recall did not affect European tyre sales. However, at the same time the General Tire recall was announced in the UK, Continental’s headquarters in Germany announced a voluntary exchange across the Austria, German and Spanish markets as well. While the UK exchange programme exclusively refers to the General Tire brand, the European announcement concerns the Continental PremiumContact 6 SSR 315/35 R22 111Y XL
DOT A3RR D7VC 5118 as well.

Continental’s Hanover headquarters also specified that a total of four of the 822 tyres recalled across Europe could have a manufacturing defect. When the 612 tyres in the UK are subtracted, this would suggest that 210 tyres are being recalled across the rest of Europe. However, since the 612 figure is a theoretical maximum based on affected General-branded tyres across Europe, the UK portion could be far lower than 612. In any case, the numbers in the UK and Europe remain a small proportion of the overall figure. And the lion’s share remains in North America.