Rather, FTS says Chinese tiremaker Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. sent NHTSA a letter on July 11, in which it provided details of the manufacturing history of the allegedly defective tires, information FTS claims it did not have until it received a copy of that letter.
In the letter, Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber claimed it produced the light truck tires in question in three “phases.” In Phase I, the tire was made to specifications that included a gum strip around the belt edges. Later, Hangzhou Zhongce said it experimented with producing the tire without that gum strip. The tiremaker claims in its letter that “high speed and endurance level for the Phase II design was essentially the same, or superior, for Phase II” as compared to its Phase I production.
Those Phase II tires were produced and sold to FTS beginning the fifth week of 2004 through the second week of 2006, and total 270,000 units, Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber claims.
Subsequently, a Phase III version was designed and tested, this one featuring a belt edge wrap that was not a thick as the Phase I version, but was necessary, the tiremaker claims, to meet then new FMVSS139 standards. The Phase III tires were produced between the third week of 2006 and the 21st week of that year.
While Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber claims in that letter that it “has never concealed any information about the design history of the subject tires from FTS or any of its U.S. importers,” Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber does not specifically state if or when it notified FTS of the Phase I/Phase II/Phase II production changes.
Based on that information, FTS said that it and NHTSA agreed to focus initial recall efforts on those Phase II tires. At the same time, FTS said, the recall could be expanded as necessary for tires produced during the so-called Phase I and Phase II periods.
In addition, FTS clarified that its revised recall cost estimate of $20 million – down from an earlier estimate of $50 million to $80 million – included more accurate estimates on the replacement tires and service, as well as necessary notification and other administrative costs.
An FTS spokesman told Tire Review that the company hopes to launch the recall effort “in early August.”
