B arry's Tire Tech

This is a series of articles on the technical aspects of tires, their care and usage.

My primary purpose in these articles is to help people understand tires and thereby reduce the risks we all face every day.

..........and since tires is just about the only thing I know about..........

Please drop me a note if you have a topic you want to see:

Barry@BarrysTireTech.com

Recalls:

I am going to describe how a tire recall works in the US. I don't know how it works in other countries, but I would think it would be similar.

In the US, many products are subject to recall, among them cars, baby car seats, food, and, of course, tires. I am only going to talk about tires, because that is the only thing I know about.

There are two types of tire recalls - Voluntary and Mandatory. A recall can be done by the tire manufacturer, or the importer. I suppose a distrubutor could do a recall of products it has under its control, such as a private brand, but other than importers, I have never heard of that happening.

Obligatory: I am not a lawyer. What I am about to present is based on my experience and the regulations. My experience is from many years of dealing with them for a major tire manufacturer. Unfortunately, that experience is more extensive than I would like. However, it appears that the frequency of tire recalls for the tire industry has drastically decreased over the years.

And some of my experience is with the regulations:

49 CFR Part 573

Please note that this regulation covers more then just tires.

Summary:

  • A report has to be filled within 5 days of determining there is a "defect" or non-compliance with the regulations.
    • I put the word "defect" in quotes, because of the difference in the way people normally use the word and the way the regulations define the word.
    • Please note that non-compliance is also a reason for a recall. I've seen recalls for things that are clearly not safety related, such as missing date codes.
      • I have seen recalls for items that are neither safety related nor non-compliance related - such as weather cracking.
    • Please note: I am not sure how the time limiation works, because it seems to me that an investigation into the extent (meaning how many, when manufactured, etc.) takes longer than just 5 days.
  • A description of the problem:
    • Typically the description is detailed enough to show NHTSA that problem has been identified in enough depth such that a "fix" actually fixes the problem.
      • In the case where the importer is doing the recall, a simple statement that the tires are no longer being imported is sufficient.
  • The extent: How many, when, and where manufactured, Brand names, etc.
  • The remedy: What is going to happen - typically this means replacing the tires with something comparable.

Mandatory Recalls are initiated by NHTSA (National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration) and failure to follow their instructions can be quite painful.

The first step is for NHTSA to launch an investigation - and that results in a document called an "Engineering Analysis (EA)" which is published to justify any action the agency might take. During the investigation, engineers at NHTSA will conduct research into the failures, as well as how extensive the failures go - like date range, other prodicts, etc. Nowadays, this is fairly easy as the return data is required to be sent to NHTSA quarterly. Prior to that, NHTSA needed to get that information from the manufacturer - which means NHTSA needed some level of cooperation from the company. I do not know what would happen if the manufacturer doesn't cooperate, but I suppose it could escalate into the courts.

The next step is the issuance of the recall. Usually there have been negotiations taking place between NHTSA and the company. If the company still refuses to do a recall, well ....... that has never happened and I suspect the courts would be involved.

Yeah, yeah!! Huge Weird Al fan!!

In a Voluntary Recall, the tire manufacturer (or tire distributor) decides. I think it is obvious why a manufacturer would be on the list, but a distributor? If the distributor is the importer of record - OR - he is the sole distributor! That distributor, not the manufacturer, would incur all the responsibilities and expenses involved.

I am not going to go into how these decisions are made as there are many ways a tire manufacturer (or tire distributor) can decide that a recall is needed. I am going to talk about what happens after that.

Once the decision is made, the manufacturer will write a letter to NHTSA, informing them of the recall. The letter will include the following:
  • The problem will be identified in enough detail that NHTSA would be satified that the company has identified the problem. In the case of a distributor, the problem can be identified in vague terms, such as "tread separation", but a manufacturer usually goes deeper - such as, "belt-leaving-belt separation caused by incompletely mixed rubber compound". NHTSA usually wants to know enough so they can determine that the remedy works to fix the problem.
  • NHTSA also wants to know that the future product will not have the issue. In the case of imported tires, a mere statement that the tires are no longer imported satisfies this.
  • The product has to be indentified in detail. This means both the size/make/model as well as the TIN (Tire Identifcation Number aka DOT Code) along with the date code range.
  • There has to be a remedy. In the case of tires, this means replacing the product. If the replacement involves the same product, then the new product must be available in sufficient quantities and in wide distribution.
    • If the remedy will take some time to be available, then an estimated date is made.
    • Alternatively, a different product could be offered.

All of this is done at the manufacturer's responsibility and expense.
  • The letter will also include what the manufacturer is going to do to notify the public.
    • Typically this means a news release
    • AND a letter to known owners.
      • Nowadays, the dealer is supposed to collect the DOT codes during installation, and send the data to the manufacturer. If that happens, the manufacturer manufacturer will have a database of owners. Typically, the manufacturer contracts with an outside company to manage this.
      • But, unfortunately, that usually doesn't happen.

    Because tire dealers will be involved, the manufacturer will issue instructions to the tire dealer. Typically, the instructions will include what to do with both the tires coming off, the tires going on, the financial aspects, and recalled tire return instructions.

NHTSA requires a followup letter on the status of the recall. Typically, the quantity of tires collected is made.

If not enough tires have been collected, NHTSA will ask the company to take additional steps. Usually this means resending the letters, and I suppose other things could be required, but I've never seen that happen.

NHTSA has a service where they will notify you on any recall. Here's a link: NHTSA: Recall Subscription


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