Consumer Law

Tire Recalls Remind Us All to Check the Tread

By Kemnitzer, Anderson, Barron, Ogilvie & Brewer

Several tire recalls went unnoticed last month, with media attention focused on Toyota recalls regarding sudden acceleration. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notices, regularly delivered to my "lemon law" inbox, included manufacturer's voluntary recalls of SUV tires having a tendency to shred or exhibit ?chunking,? with potential crash consequences. If you get a tire recall notice, be sure to arrange for your replacement tires without delay. Faulty tires can result in a serious loss of driver control, cause a crash, or leave you stranded. Recalls are expensive for manufacturers, which generally do not offer free parts ? including free tires ? without good reason.

Tires are like the fingers and toes of the vehicle. You take them for granted until they get injured or broken, and then you realize you can?t do without them. Tire checks are just not high on my personal "to do" list. But last weekend, my 17-year-old son noticed a loss of air in the left rear tire of the family station wagon. In a hurry, I thought of simply filling it with air at the gas station, but closer inspection found a nail embedded in the tread. We all need an occasional reminder to check the tires regularly, not just for nails and shredding, but overall condition and especially the traction surface.

Tire labeling regulations require that a lot of important information appear on the tire itself. This and more information on tire safety is found on the NHTSA website.

In addition to having the tires rotated according to the schedule set out in the owner?s manual, you should periodically check for routine wear and tear. The ?life? of a tire varies greatly with the kind of car or truck you drive. While a lightweight compact might enjoy 60,000 miles before needing new tires, a luxury sports car may need new rubber at 30,000 mile intervals.

Whether exercising routine maintenance or shopping for a used car, it is not enough to check for overall tire condition ? pay particular attention to uneven wear. The technician will lapse into jargon like ?camber? and ?toe-in,? but if a simple visual inspection shows any kind of irregular wear pattern, it could be a symptom of more serious issues: alignment problems, steering defects or even frame damage from a prior accident. When buying a used car, the tires can thus be a potent indicator of whether the vehicle has seen previous abuse.

From a lemon law perspective, we look at tire issues as an important part of the vehicle history. Experts find that tire wear can reveal whether other defects have actually been fixed, as the service manager may insist, or are likely to recur over the life of the car.

Full post as published by Lemon Law Blog on March 16, 2010 (boomark / email).