Goodyear faces legal investigation over RV tire recall

Goodyear is underneath legal investigation over its dealing with of an RV tire recall marketing campaign initiated in 2022. The marketing campaign focused the Goodyear G159, a tire initially produced between 1996 and 2003, after an investigation revealed a number of cases of tread separation that result in crashes, a few of which have been deadly. Per the Related Press, it isn’t but clear why the grand jury is amassing proof, however it’s possible an try to determine whether or not Goodyear acted in good religion relating to the defect — the corporate asserts it did — when it first discovered of the difficulty, allegedly way back to 2002. 

NHTSA’s preliminary investigation into the Goodyear G159 started in 2017 when a lawsuit was filed alleging security defects had led to motorhome crashes that resulted in deaths and accidents to their occupants. Goodyear started cooperating with NHTSA’s investigation in 2018, however in the end declined to conduct a recall. Bringing to thoughts the notorious Firestone marketing campaign of the Nineteen Nineties, Goodyear insisted that the tires weren’t faulty, however have been getting used outdoors of their prescribed working circumstances, citing examples of consumers overloading and/or underinflating their tires. Goodyear says the motorhome producers additionally did not specify correct reserve hundreds. 

In its assertion to AP, Goodyear stated the G159 persistently met the corporate’s “demanding” security requirements. Compounding the difficulty, the tire had been out of manufacturing for almost 20 years; nearly eliminating the likelihood that one might be encountered in a retail setting. However after additional stress, Goodyear agreed to provoke a recall marketing campaign to handle any tires that will have slipped by means of the cracks. 

Sure measurement 275/70R22.5 G159 tires put in on motorhomes skilled tread separations and different failures when uncovered to “conditions present in that market segment, including overloading and underinflation,” Goodyear’s Defect Discover stated. “The estimated population of these tires is undetermined. Production of the subject tire ended in January 2003. This Part 573 Report is being submitted to address concerns that some of these size 275/70R22.5 G159 tires may still remain in service.”

NHTSA claims that Goodyear was conscious of the difficulty earlier than the tire went out of manufacturing, which might have been grounds for initiating a recall marketing campaign manner again in 2002. Goodyear says it was not made conscious of higher-than-usual failure charges till offered with claims from the 2017 lawsuit. 

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