Guizhou Tire recalling 12,289 'Extra Grip' light truck radials in US

ERJ staff report (TB)

Washington DC- GTC North America Inc. is voluntarily recalling 12,289 Extra Grip AR215 light truck radials, size P235/75R15, because of sidewall blistering or bubbles in some subject tyres that could lead to air loss.

The tyres in question were built from September 2008 through December 2009 by Guizhou Tyre I/E Co. Ltd. of Guiyang, Guizhou, China. According to the recall notice issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the tyres being recalled “may experience blistering on the their sidewall that, with extended use, could led to tread chunking with belt-edge exposure and possible air loss, thereby increasing these tyres' potential risk of property damage, person injury or a crash.

According to NHTSA´s recall notice, the agency randomly tested three of the tyres, one of which suffered a high-speed failure and the other two suffered endurance failures.

NHTSA notified GTC of the failures on Dec. 5, 2011.

Canton,Ohio-based GTC said it has had no warranty claims, no customer complaints, no injuries or no fatalities resulting from the use of this tyre.

Guizhou Tyre discontinued the tyre line in December 2009, GTC said, after the imposition of elevated US tariffs on Chinese consumer tyres.

GTC will notify owners and replace the non-compliant tyres with a “similar tyre” free of charge, mounting and balancing included.

From Tire Business (A Crain publication)

Official announcement from NHTSA