Firestone Tire Recall and Ford Tire Recall
Firestone and Ford Tire Recall
It is alleged that the popular Ford Explorer plays
a major role in many of the accidents involving the
recalled Firestone tires.
Ford critics have blasted the design of the Explorer
as inherently unstable. The Explorer's high center
of gravity and relatively narrow wheelbase make it particularly
susceptible to rollover. Combining the rollover
propensity of the Explorer with defective Firestone
tires has resulted in over 271 deaths and countless
serious injuries. When an Explorer traveling on a
defective Firestone tire experiences a blowout, the
Explorer's questionable design often results in a rollover.
In an effort try and rectify the bad publicity it
has received, Ford Motor Company plans to replace 10-13
million Firestone tires. This extended recall of
13 million Firestone tires will cost Ford 3 billion
and force it to idle three plants to free up tires to
use as replacements.
Ford said it is taking the extraordinary step of recalling
the huge number of Wilderness AT tires because it considers
them unsafe, and their manufacturer, Bridgestone-Firestone,
Inc. refuses to recall them.
Ford will replace all 15- 16- and 17-inch Wilderness
AT tires on its vehicles for free. Jacques Nasser,
Ford's CEO, said, "We lack confidence in the performance
of any of Firestone's Wilderness AT tires. "There
are enough warning signs there, and we wanted
to act in a precautionary sense," he added.
With Ford recalling more Firestone Tires and Bridgestone/Firestone
deciding to no longer sell tires to Ford, it is difficult
for accident victims to know who to blame. The 2000
recall ended a 94 relationship between Firestone and
Ford, and placed the future of the Firestone
brand in doubt.
These events make it clear that neither party will
accept sole responsibility for the unusually large number
of accidents involving Ford Explorer SUVs with Firestone
tires.
Hundreds of people injured by Firestone tires and Ford
Explorers have filed various lawsuits around the United
States. Both Ford and Firestone have been actively
settling many of the cases, some for millions
of dollars in damages. For more information about Firestone and Ford
, please contact us directly.
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