Following Klarius’ take on the Volkswagen emissions scandal, UK parts distributor Euro Car Parts has asked other experts in emissions-related repairs what they make of the VW ‘defeat device’ scandal affecting Audi, Seat, Skoda, VW and VW Commercial vehicles. Tony Wilson, managing director of Klarius, said that the “upside for the aftermarket” is the wider […]
Klarius, the manufacturer of aftermarket emissions products including exhausts, CATs and Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs) has confirmed that fitting aftermarket systems will not affect the efficiency or emissions of VW vehicles in the wake of what has been called the ‘diesel dupe’ scandal where an emissions test software ‘cheat’ was allegedly fitted to over 11million VW Group vehicles in order to meet strict US NOx test regulations.
News that VW is recalling almost half a million diesel cars in the US is bad enough, but the revelation that this is because the company put so-called defeat devices into the cars in order to mislead emissions testing systems is likely to damage the OEM’s reputation. And there is a growing financial cost too.
Around 104,000 BFGoodrich tyres sold in the USA and a further 15,000 sold in Canada and Mexico, have been recalled as a safety precaution. The recall covers tyres from the BFGoodrich Commercial T/A All-Season, Commercial T/A All-Season 2 and Rugged Terrain T/A ranges, and BFGoodrich states that the recall was announced as a “limited number” of these tyres had experienced sidewall ruptures in the bead area under severe use, leading to a rapid loss of air pressure.
Continental AG has announced what it is calling a voluntary tyre exchange programme (as opposed to a recall) of approximately 12,000 truck tyres. The tyre in question is a 205/75R17.5 Conti Hybrid LS3, produced from calendar week 27 in 2014 to calendar week 26 in 2015. The product was mainly sold to original equipment manufacturers in Europe and – to a lesser degree – into the replacement market. Continental stressed that there have been no reports of accidents or injuries.
Some 3,800 ContiProContact tyres sold in the US market have been recalled due to the risk of tread separation. Continental says the recall relates to size P205/65 R15 95T XL tyres manufactured in February 2015. These replacement market products carry the Department of Transportation code VY UR 471B 0615.
Kumho Tire is aiming to increase its sales in China by 30 per cent in 2015. According to online reports originally published by the Yonhap News, Kumho plans to re-take market share lost in the world’s largest auto market.
In the US China Manufacturers Alliance, LLC (CMA) has announced that it is recalling certain Bluestar LQ225 size 8-14.5 low platform trailer tyres manufactured. According to a recall notice published by the US government authority responsible for such matters, NHTSA, the affected tyres were produced between 24 February 2013, and 9 August 2014.
Canada’s Dynamic Tire Corp. is recalling almost 17,400 Towmax STR tyres that have been marked with incorrect load capacity and inflation pressure information. The size ST225/75 R15 tyres were manufacturing by Shandong Yongfeng Tyres in China between 15 June and 14 October 2014 and due to the incorrect sidewall markings do not comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 119, ‘New Pneumatic Tires for Vehicles Other Than Passenger Cars.’
Continental Tire the Americas has recalled close to 6,000 ProContact GX SSR MOE tyres, size 225/45R18 95H XL that were manufactured between 22 June and 28 July 2014. The tyres, which were supplied to Daimler as an original equipment fitment on 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class vehicles in North America, may have been deformed during the curing process, and this could cause the tyre tread to appear distorted when inflated. Continental notes that tyres that were deformed during the curing process may suddenly fail during use, increasing the risk of a crash.
It is believed that up to 175,000 Toyo and Nitto brand tyres are subject to a recall notice issued in the USA. The recalls, respectively announced by Nitto Tire USA and Toyo Tire USA on 25 and 26 November, cover particular tyre models produced at Toyo’s Sendai and Kuwana factories in Japan. The tyre are being recalled as “production variances in the belt package” have been detected in a small number of tyres, and this has the potential to lead to a separation of the tread and belt and/or a loss of inflation pressure.
Kumho Tires has announced a voluntary recall of certain tyres in China after the company’s head of research and quality control visited the Tianjin passenger car tyre factory to investigate production processes. The tyre maker reports the visiting team carried out a thorough investigation and “partly confirmed that internal production standards were not strictly observed at the site.” In addition to the abovementioned product recall, Kumho has taken disciplinary action against the head of the Tianjin factory and those employees found to be involved in negligent quality control. All product-related claims will be dealt with “solely from the customers’ point of view,” the company adds.
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