The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has granted a petition from Continental Tire the Americas’ that ruled the labeling on certain tires was inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
Continental filed a non-compliance report with the NHTSA that said around 111,500 of the brand’s tires, manufactured between December 2, 2012, and March 25, 2017, did not meet labeling rules under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The report says the tires were labeled with incorrect information regarding the number of tread plies and in two cases, the incorrect and/or missing ply material.
The tires involved included:
- XL Continental CrossContact UHP size 255/55R18 109Y
- Barum Brillantis 2 size 175/70R13 82T
- Continental ContiTrac size P225/70R15 100S
- XL General Grabber UHP size 275/55R20 117V
- Continental ExtremeContact DWS size 285/30ZR20 99W XL
- Continental CrossContact LX20 size 245/55R19 103S
- XL Continental CrossContact LX20 size 285/45R 114H
- General Altimax RT43 size 215/45R17 87V
The tire manufacturer submitted a petition in April claiming that the mislabeling had no impact on the operational performance of the tires or on the safety of vehicles on which the tires were mounted.
This week, the NHTSA concluded in response to numerous other petitions that this type of noncompliance is inconsequential to safety because most consumers do not base tire purchases or vehicle operation parameters on the ply material in a tire.
