Bridgestone Corporation recalled 42 Steeltex radial tyres on Wednesday for the same type of defect that led to a massive recall of its Wilderness tyres, Reuters reported, citing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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According to the news agency, the NHTSA announced the recall of Steelex tyres manufactured between March 9 and March 15 because of potential tread separation defects that “can possibly lead to a vehicle crash, resulting in serious injury or death.”
Bridgestone/Firestone has advised NHTSA that all of the tyres in question have been removed from the field, Reuters said.
The voluntary recall came in the midst of a NHTSA review of whether 27.5 million Steeltex R4S, R4SII and A/T tyres should be recalled over tread separation defects, the news agency added.
According to Reuters, the agency is considering whether to reopen its investigation of the tyres at the behest of Los Angeles attorney Joseph Lisoni, who filed a $US3 billion proposed class action last year accusing Bridgestone of concealing defects in the heavy-duty tyre.
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By GlobalDataThe lawsuit claims the tyre, installed on 43 types of vehicles such as pickups, vans and mobile homes, caused thousands of serious accidents including fatalities, Reuters said, noting that NHTSA’s decision on whether to reopen its investigation of Steeltex tyres is expected by May 27.
Reuters said Bridgestone is still fighting rollover lawsuits in courts across the United States stemming from tread separation in its Wilderness tyres, which were standard equipment on the Ford Explorer and other sport utility vehicles. About 20 million Wilderness tyres were recalled, 14 million by Ford and 6.5 million by Firestone.
“We don’t know exactly what they are up to. Maybe this is the first crack in the dam,” Lisoni said of the Steeltex recall, according to Reuters.
An attorney for Bridgestone told the news agency that the recall was unrelated to the lawsuit and would not affect it.
