Ford and Firestone Planned Tire Fix in Venezuela in 1998
25 August 2000
According to Strategic Safety Ford and Firestone Planned Tire Fix in Venezuela in 1998
ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 25 Strategic Safety, an Arlington,
Virginia safety research firm, found that startling new information has
surfaced showing (1) In 1998 Ford and Firestone planned to add nylon overlays,
a safety feature designed to prevent tire tread separation, on tires for
Venezuelan Explorers, and (2) that Ford began modifications to improve the
Explorer suspension. These findings shed light on the tire tread separation
problem that has resulted in more than 62 fatalities in the U.S.
According to Samuel Ruh Rios head of the Venezuelan Institute of Defense
and Consumer Protection (INDECU), the agency intends to release findings from
its investigation next week. Ruh Rios claims that Ford and Firestone share
responsibility for the problems and noted that Ford began stiffening
suspensions on existing Explorers and charging Venezuelan consumers for the
modifications. In an interview last night with KHOU, a Houston television
station that began investigating the Firestone tire problem last winter, Ruh
Rios said that Firestone admitted to his agency that nylon overlays were
supposed to be added in 1998, and the company labeled its tires as such, but
the nylon overlays were never actually added. The government agency only
learned of this deceit after cutting tires open to examine them following the
recent recall.
Sean Kane, a partner with Strategic Safety, the Arlington, Virginia safety
research firm that first uncovered the Venezuelan recall in July, said
"We are continually surprised by the boldness these companies exhibit.
While asking for the trust of the American public, we find Ford quietly
recalling defective tires overseas and making suspension changes to the
Explorer. Meanwhile, we learn that Ford and Firestone, in response to tire
failures, agree on a solution in 1998 to prevent tire tread separations by
using nylon overlays, yet the features are never added to their tires."
Firestone still continues to blame failures in Venezuela on Wilderness
tires built only in its Decatur, Illinois plant.
Roger Braugh, an attorney with the Corpus Christi, Texas law firm Harris &
Watts, said "If Ford and Firestone decided nylon overlays would prevent tread
separations why were they not being added to tires made for U.S. consumers?
Further, Firestone has repeatedly represented to state and federal judges
throughout the United States that nylon overlays simply have no safety
application in passenger and light truck tires. I seriously doubt that
Firestone can continue to make these specious arguments in our courts."
Experts with Venezuela's INDECU believe that the Explorer suspension is
too soft for its dimensions and when tires are inflated to 32 psi the vehicle
will experience stability problems that can lead to rollover.
Braugh, who represents several clients severely injured in collisions
caused by Firestone tire failures in Ford Explorers, noted that
"The revelations in Venezuela validate the positions experienced
plaintiffs' attorneys have been taking for years in litigation against Ford
and Firestone in the United States.
Ford's statements that the design of Ford Explorer has nothing to do with
the rash of fatal Ford Explorer accidents is patently false. The stability and
suspension problems are undeniable."
Strategic Safety believes it is time to demand that Ford and Firestone
move beyond their simple platitudes of, 'We are studying the problem and we
are committed to customer satisfaction and safety.' It is time for Ford and
Firestone to admit their mistakes and fix the problems.