Defective Tire Recall System – Blown Out?

Have you replaced your vehicles tires recently…and feel good about your family’s safety because the tires are “new”? The National Transportation Safety Board completed a year long investigation in October 2015 on the status quo of our national recall system for car tires. Bottom line:

“Based on the work we did, that system’s not working. It’s completely broken.” ~ Rob Molloy – NTSB

In fact…the current system has left millions of tires in use, on store shelves or simply unaccounted for.  The NTSB estimates that there are “400 to 500 deaths a year, at least, from crashes involving tire-initiated events,” …meaning, tires that could have been underinflated, punctured or suffered from other pre-existing problems.

What can you do to learn whether your tires have been Recalled?

1. Consumer Awareness – is an effective first step. Did you know that you need to register your tires with the manufacturer in order to receive recall notices?
2. Check the Age of Your Tires – Ford, GM and Chrysler all recommend that tires more than six years old be replaced, regardless of how much they have been used.  Watch this video:

What can the NTSB do better to make it easier for consumers to tell if they tires are under recall??

1. Tire Identification Number (TIN) lookup system implemented by manufacturers on their websites. Each tire already has its own TIN imprinted on the side of the tire.
2. Newer Technology – the tires themselves could in form of embedded chips or scan-able codes to help auto shops quickly identify tires, the NTSB said, and update customer contact forms to ensure consumers get recall notices when they go out.

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