FTS outlines public information campaign for recall of 450 000 tyres in US

Union, New Jersey -- Foreign Tire Sales Inc.will start a government-mandated recall on 16 July of about 450 000 Chinese-made light truck tyres it imported and distributed in to the US, according to FTS information released today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

In the document, FTS outlined the ways in which it will reach out to consumers as well as the procedures tyre dealers should take. The recall applies to Westlake, Telluride, Compass and YKS brand tyres made by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. Ltd. of Hangzhou, China, between 2002 and December 2005 and distributed by FTS.

FTS said it will create a public notice outreach program that will include:

* A quarter-page advertisement in USA Today that will run three days a week for two weeks;

* A video news release to be distributed to all national television markets beginning the week of 16 July ;

* Press releases distributed to news outlets such as the Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg that also will be posted on FTS' and NHTSA's Web sites;

* Certified letters sent to FTS' wholesale customers outlining the recall procedures and asking them to forward copies to their retail customers;

* Certified letters to tyre owners who registered their purchase with FTS; and

* A toll-free number for consumers to obtain more information.

Consumers will be asked to fill out a recall information questionnaire that will request the name of the dealership where the tyres were purchased, FTS said. If a tyre qualifies for the recall and the dealer purchased it from an FTS customer, the dealer will be expected to replace the tyre with a substitute from their stock.

“FTS is in the process of determining the reasonable replacement value of each size and shall supplement this report with such information,” the company said in its report to NHTSA.

Dealers also will be expected to balance the replacement tyre at no charge if the affected tyre had been balanced, FTS said.

The dealer then will present the invoice to its distributor from which it bought the tyres, and the distributor will present the invoice to FTS for reimbursement.

Read FTS' latest report to NHTSA

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)