Tread Separation and the Continental Tire Recall

When is a tire recall necessary?

If the tire does not comply with a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard or there is a safety-related defect present in the tire than a tire recall like Continental's recent tire recall. There are minimum performance levels for tires that have been set by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to protect drivers and passengers from death or serious injury.

Tread Separation

A report that was released in October 2001 from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration said that the tread separations studied in the Bridgestone and Firestone accidents reduced the ability of a driver to control the vehicle, especially when the tire failure occurred on a rear tire and at high speeds. There was a much greater likelihood for death, injury, and crashes resulting when the tread separation occurred on an SUV rather than a pickup truck.

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tread separation

Tread separation, like the recent Continental tire recall, is a very dangerous defect that results in death, injury, and destruction of property. The announcement on August 19, 2002 from Continental Tire North America that they were issuing a tire recall for more than half a million tires installed on Ford SUVs was the first large tire recall following the Bridgestone and Firestone tire recall that was linked to the deaths of 271 people and thousands of accidents. As a result of the catastrophic events, there had been an increase in awareness of tire recalls and tread separations and the need to be able to better identify problems in a quicker manner.

Tread separations result because of the steel belted radial tire technology. When a tread belt separation occurs it often leads to a tire blowout. Tread separations cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle, even when the tire does not lose pressure. The Continental tire recall is investigating the Ford Expedition rollover that resulted in the death of six people after the car had a tread separation on one of the recalled tires. Continental has not yet determined if this particular accident was the direct result of a recalled tire. Tread separations have been found to be especially dangerous when occurring on an SUV because of the high center of gravity that lead to SUV rollovers, causing serious injuries and deaths.

Tread separations can occur due to the manufacturing process, including:

Improper repairs
Using over aged dry stock
Missing signs during final inspections
Using petroleum solvent before vulcanization
Curing moisture into the tire

If you experienced a tread separation because of a Continental recalled tire, please contact us to learn more about your rights.