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Importer Recalls Some Chinese Truck and SUV Tires

Company claims lack of funds hampers recall effort

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

August 10, 2007

The tires, made by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company, were sold under the Compass, Westlake and YKS brand names.

The problem first surfaced in June of this year, but Foreign Tire Sales of New Jersey said it lacked the resources to mount a recall.

The head of the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) told a Senate committee last month that federal safety regulations are not adequate to deal with motor vehicle equipment importers refusing to recall defective products.

Earlier this month officials in 24 states said they would act, and ordered a recall of the tires sold in their states.

Foreign Tire Sales Inc. is recalling the steel-belted radials because they lack a "gum strip" or contained gum strips that were not adequate. They were manufactured in China by the Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. Ltd.

The recall represents roughly half of the 450,000 tires the company first said were flawed.

"The gum strips help to protect against the tread or belt separating from the tire, which can cause accidents. But HZ changed the construction of the tires without informing FTS," the company said in a statement.

Foreign Tire Sales claims that the recalled tires meet federal safety standards.

"The affected tires meet all federal motor vehicle safety standards," company President Richard Kuskin said in the statement. "We went the extra mile by testing them and determining that they did not meet our standards. Nothing is more important than the safety of consumers who use our tires."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now collecting tires made by Hangzhou and other Chinese manufacturers for analysis.

Tests conducted by Foreign Tire in May 2007 found the defect, though documents show the company knew of problems with the tires as early as 2005, according to Sean Kane, president of Safety Research and Strategies.

On May 31, Foreign Tire Sales sued Hangzhou in U.S. District Court in Newark, claiming it had received improperly made tires. That lawsuit came after Foreign Tire was sued May 4 in Philadelphia in connection with the August 2006 deaths of two men when thAfter initially dragging its heels due to a lack of money, a New Jersey importer has agreed to recall more than a quarter million Chinese-made tires because they lack a safety feature. The tires, made by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company, were sold under the Compass, Westlake and YKS brand names.

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