Safety Officials Probe Goodyear Tires

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into
light-truck tires, made by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, that are used on vans,
pickup trucks and large sport-utility vehicles. NHTSA has received 37 reports of tread
separations, including 31 crashes linked to 15 deaths and 129 injuries, involving the
heavy-duty, Load Range E tires that Goodyear has been manufacturing for the past decade.
Goodyear states that its investigation of tread-separation problems led to an internal
engineering analysis that found no material or design defect. The company said it
manufactured more than 27 million of the tires, about half of which are still in use. NHTSA
reported that about 21 million Goodyear Load Range E tires of various sizes and names were
under investigation. “A complete list by tire names and sizes will be developed during the
investigation,” a spokesman for NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation said.