Tire Recall in the news. Why aren't there more recalls?

 

I have seen this question on an RV forum. It was asked by someone complaining that there were no recalls of what he considered "crappy" RV tires. Other posts in the thread went on to say that complaints to the BBB or the tire importer won't accomplish much. I posted a reply pointing out that expecting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), that is part of DOT to recall tires when there had not been sufficient, usable complaints filed, was simply unrealistic.
NHTSA is the government agency charged with the responsibility of writing and enforcing the regulations necessary to achieve improved safety of vehicle systems and equipment. However they cannot order or even suggest that a vehicle or component be recalled without facts and data being collected and analyzed.

 A while ago I worked with a reader of my RV Tire blog, John B., who understood the necessity of providing the information NHTSA needs. He had suffered three tire failures. Luckily he discovered the failures before the tires had complete detachments. In his case there was no loss of air and no flailing of tire pieces. What he did have was a tire that was no longer round or having a uniform tread contour.

 
Now lets be sure we all have the same understanding of the terms. In this case a "Detachment" would be when a part of the tread or tread & belt package came apart from the rest of the tire. This type of failure can result in damage to the RV as pieces flail around hitting fenders and the side and undercarriage of the RV.

    John wanted to file a complaint with NHTSA and he wanted to be sure his complaints would be useful to the engineers. He understood that partial or incorrect information would result in no investigation and with no investigation there was no possibility of any action being taken to remove "crappy" tires from use. So John contact me and I walked him through the process of collecting all the details needed. He also wanted to  dissect his tire so he could ship the important parts to me for further examination.


When I received the sample I first cut the tread in the locations John had identified but found no serious issues.

I then called upon my 40 years of experience and took the time needed to closely examine and take measurements with special tools to identify a location that was more probably of interest. After cutting the section at the location of interest and found the separation between the belts that was almost all the way across. This separation allowed the tread area to bulge out to the shape seen in the picture of the tire at the top of this post.
For those interested these tires were not made in China as we decoded the serial and learned they were made in Mexico.

With the physical examination complete, John was able to file the three complaints with NHTSA. Now it is important to remember that NHTSA has budget constraints so investigations need to be prioritized. Obvious defects that result in physical injury would receive top priority. Also a single or small number of complaints will be of lower priority than a large number so if the only complaints NHTSA receives on these tires are the three from John there may not be any action. The same situation would apply to any complaint you might file BUT it is important to remember that if the majority of people with tire problems only post to RV forums or grouse to others around the campfire nothing will ever happen or result in the quality of tires improving.

Here are Links to John's information. Link 1     Link 2

A quick review of the complaint on file with NHTSA will show that the majority are of little or no value to NHTSA as the owner didn't provide the crucial information of a correct and complete DOT serial. Many complaints don't even provide the tire size or even the correct tire brand. I believe that if people spent half the time they do on RV forums but provided complete and accurate information to NHTSA we might all end up with better quality tires on our RVs.


BOTTOM LINE
If you have a tire problem you need to collect the facts - Size, Brand, DOT serial and collect some good sharp pictures in case NHTSA needs them. Then make the effort to file a complaint. Who knows, you might just be able to grab the interest of the engineers and have an investigation started.

 

##RVT1057

What information is on your tire sidewall? Could it be worth $Hundreds?

 I bet that few of you have ever bothered to read and copy down the important information provided on your tire's sidewall. There are a number of reasons for you to spend the few minutes it will take to collect and write down the information. Having the facts,  might even be worth a free set of tires!

1. DOT serial number for each tire. They might all be the same or each tire could be unique. The complete 10 to 13 character code would be used if you have a failure and want to file a complaint with NHTSA, the division of the US DOT that is responsible for initiating recalls of vehicle components that have been judged to not meet the safety standards that DOT establishes. For tires, the DOT Serial is used to identify which tires are being recalled, and replaced for FREE. Without the serial number you have no way of knowing if your tires are subject to a recall or not. It is definitely a lot easier to plan and to collect the serial number on a nice sunny afternoon, than on a rainy morning in the mud. You need to include all the letters and numbers, especially the last 4 numbers which are the "Serial Date Code" that identifies the week and year the tire was manufactured. Here is an example of an older 11 character serial number.

  In this example the Date code is 3908  which would correspond to the 39th week (October) of 2008. If you have a tire this old, I would strongly recommend you replace it ASAP as it is well over the 10 year Max age limit for any tire in RV application.

When you start looking at your tires you may find something that looks similar but the last four characters and not numbers. This means you need to inspect the other side of the tire as not all tires have the date code on both sides. I have suggested a flashlight and a 12 year old and a $5 or $10 bill might be called for as you hire some young helper to collect the Date Code from the other side of the tire. I know, that I no longer find that crawling around under my RV is easy on the knees. Some of you will discover that you managed to park your RV so the date code is hidden by the frame or exhaust so you may need to move the RV a couple feet. Don't move the RV with the 12 year old under the RV. Not Safe! Suggestion. When you buy new tires get the dealer to give you the registration sheet that has the full DOT of every tire recorded. Same when you buy a new RV. It's easier to get the dealer to crawl around to get the numbers.

OK, the DOT serial is the most important number to record and keep in an easy to find location along with the manuals for the furnace, stove, AC and other features of your RV.

2. A picture of your Certification Label AKA Tire Placard, would be a good idea to have on your computer or phone. The placard has a statement of complete tire size, Load range and the GAWR PLUS the recommended inflation. Here is an example from an Airstream.

All of this information is important and should be easily available. It is very helpful when buying a new set of tires. I have read more than one post of an RV owner getting the wrong Load Range for their RV which would be a serious safety concern.

3. All tires also have information on their construction like this:

 This is really just FYI and is more like truth in advertising to let you know the materials used in the sidewall and center of the tread of your tires. In this case there are two ply of Polyester in the sidewall and in the tread there are two ply of Polyester + 2 ply of Steel + 1 ply of Nylon. Most 19.5 & 22.5 tires will only have 1 ply of steel in the sidewall. This information might help you understand why "Ply" and Ply rating" is no longer used since most tires only have 1 or maybe 2 layers in the body. This is why we use Load Range terminology.

Don't worry as we tire engineers have a large selection of materials and different strength of those materials so can choose the appropriate materials for the tire we are designing.

Just as I did, you can capture a picture (Bright Sunlight is best) and just keep that picture so you can refer to it in the future.

OK so now you are asking "When do I get my free tires?" 

You can check to see if you vehicle or any of your tires or other parts are covered under a recall HERE.  You will need the vehicle VIN and or the tire DOT serial to check the list.

So where does having this information handy come into play?  Well, lets assume someday you have a tire failure or simply wear a tire out because an axle is out of alignment. So you replace it and give the worn or damaged tire to the dealer. BUT if that tire is on the DOT Recall list you could get it and any other tire covered by the recall replaced. FOR FREE. But here is the catch. You have to turn in the old tire to get the free replacement. Just saying "I had a tire" will not work. Even having a picture is not enough. So just think of how you would feel if after replacing one tire or even your entire set, you were to discover the tires were subject to a recall but you no longer have the tires as proof.

NOTE: Tires are not the only parts that get recalled. I have heard of shocks or door locks or brake parts or wheels and many other parts being recalled and REPLACED for FREE.

##RVT988

DId your RV company or dealer follow Federal law?

Been reading a number of posts on recalls, violations of federal safety standards in the RV industry and on tire and fire extinguisher recalls.
If you have been a reader of my blog you know that I am a strong proponent of filing complaints on failures of safety-related systems and of tires to NHTSA.

You can read a portion of the Federal Regulations on what RV companies are supposed to do HERE as far as the regulations relate to identifying who owns what tire in case there is a recall.
Obviously, if the S/N ( full DOT serial including the date numbers at the end) of a tire is not recorded when the tire is sold there is no reliable way for a tire company to contact owners of tires that are under a recall order.

Selling dealers have the following responsibility
"The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires that tire dealers must provide every tire purchaser with a pre-addressed completed tire registration form OR complete the tire registration process electronically on behalf of the tire purchaser (49 CFR Part 574.8). This is not voluntary, tire dealers must do one or the other"

When a vehicle is sold (car, light truck, or RV) the tires are "sold" with the vehicle. The regulation says "tire dealer" but obviously just because a company sells vehicles and doesn't think of themselves as a "tire dealer" they are in fact selling tires.

However, I have found that few people have received the appropriate forms. Did you receive a form with the purchase of your last set of tires at the tire store, or with the tires that were shipped to you if you bought them online?  How about when you bought a new or used RV?

You say you bought your RV used so you don't think the tire ownership needs to be registered? Well, I know of nothing prohibiting a tire being covered under a recall just because ownership was transferred. The entire reason for this registration is simply to let either NHTSA or the tire company contact the owner of tires covered by a recall. The information is not used for any other purpose.

IMO the odds are that very few of you received the pre-addressed form or if you did you may not have bothered to complete the information.

Well HERE is a website that you can fill in the information and submit it online and don't even need a stamp.

I started this post and mentioned Fire Extinguishers. If you have following the RVTravel.com blog you know about the recall and free replacement of potentially defective extinguishers. You may have discovered you have one or more of the covered units. Unlike tires, fire extinguisher ownership is not registered so there will be millions of extinguishers that are not replaced simply because people do not know about the recall and Kiddy company has no way of contacting the owners.

Do yourself a favor and register all your tires RV, Car or truck. Who knows you may just end up with a new set of tires if the ones you have are covered under a recall.

Wheel failures and "Silent Recall"

I have been seeing a number of posts on an RV Forum about cracked and leaking cast aluminum wheels on one brand of RV trailer. Some owners are reporting more than one failure.
There appears to have been a manufacturing defect in the casting process which results in stress/fatigue cracks that eventually may lead to air leaking from the tires.

Some folks are "lucky"(?) and are discovering the leak before there is a tire failure or the wheel fails and damages the RV. Others have reported damage.

It appears that the wheel provider is aware of the problem, as many are reporting that replacement wheels are being provided and the cost of dismount and mount of tires is being paid for with no argument from the supplier.

I have advised the readers of that forum of a few important things:

1. They should be filing complaints with NHTSA as IMO multiple failures of this type should be investigated with the potential for a federally mandated recall and free replacement.

2. If the wheel supplier is quickly replacing these failed wheels, it appears they are fully aware of the problem and should have reported it to NHTSA per federal regulation.

3. I am concerned that tires on these wheels may be suffering internal structural damage from being run under-inflated. This damage may result in tire failure at some later date. It is entirely possible that owners may not connect the loss of air due to the wheel problem with the tire failures.

4. If the supplier is aware of the problem but has not initiated a recall or made public the facts but are simply replacing the wheels if or when someone reports the failure, this is what is known as a "silent recall," which is operating against federal regulations.

##RVT812

Want better quality tires on your RV?

Many people want to complain around campfires or on RV forums about the poor quality of various components on their RV. While I can't address systems such as Refrigerators, Holding Tanks, or Furnaces, I can comment on the quality of tires selected for placement on RVs.

With an industry that focuses on quantity and low cost, is it any wonder that tire performance isn't as good as we would like? We need to remember that while there are laws specifying the minimum performance and capabilities of RV tires, I am not aware of any legal requirement against providing tires that can support more load than the minimum requirement or with speed capabilities higher than what most feel is a reasonable and safe operating speed for large RVs and/or trailers.

I have written a few times about how to file a complaint with NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency that establishes minimum performance requirements for tires) and you can easily find those posts using the list of links on the left side of this page.

I feel this topic continues to be important given recent posts on RVTravel.com and rvdailyreport.com that have been on the low quality of RV components.

I just read a post from a fellow RV owner that had a couple of tire failures. When I asked if he filed a complaint with NHTSA, he said: "Couldn't report anything. We were on the side of I-95 middle of nowhere going south. All I know is tire blew out on inside, there was a hole. Front passenger tire."

So, because he no longer had the tire he can't provide the info needed by NHTSA for their database.

I replied: "Well, that's a perfect example of why it is important for everyone to have a written record of the tire DOT, size and brand info on file with other important information you keep for other components of the RV such as Refrigerator, Furnace, Generator, TV, etc.

"Many complain about the poor durability of tires in RV application but very few bother to take the basic steps needed to get the information to the DOT. NHTSA (department of DOT) can investigate products if there are sufficient complaints received, and if they find an automotive component doesn't meet the required standards they can order a recall. Recalls can result in replacement tires being given to owners.

"However for a complaint to be minimally helpful in establishing poor performance the full DOT (including date code) is needed. All too often there is confusion in the terminology of tire company, brand and model. Some owners do not provide the correct or complete tire size, giving info such as 225-15 for example.

"I have a number of posts on my blog about recalls and NHTSA if people want to learn more.

"If not interested in getting better-performing tires on your next RV, that's your choice. But I have little compassion for people who have problems but aren't willing to spend 10 minutes filing an actionable complaint. Remember a bit@# session around the campfire or on an RV forum will never result in an improvement in RV component quality."


I have also read an account of an RV owner who did file a complaint and apparently the tire importer read the NHTSA report and the guy ended up getting a set of tires free. Now, this is very unusual but it did happen. But again, if you don't have the DOT S/N, I do not see how you can file a complaint, and if you don't file complaints why would you expect there to be a recall?


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Why aren't there more recalls of bad RV tires?

In addition to writing this blog, I monitor a number of different RV forums for discussions on tires and related issues. I find that many times I am suggesting to people that they should file a complaint with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about their tire problems. Many times I get replies asking "Why Bother". While this post focuses on trailer tires the information also applies to other RV applications.

"I get tired of hearing that most ST tire problems are caused by the RV owner. I simply don't believe it based on my own experience. NHTSA; never heard of them, much less knew I could file a complaint. So I asked my tire dealer. She said that they do turn in reports on tire problems themselves and/or turn the tires over to their tire reps for analysis. That went for tires they sold or other brands they replaced. So I don't believe the argument that NHTSA doesn't have enough data to see a trend for ST China bombs. Doesn't make sense if tire dealers are turning in info to them to protect their sales and customers."

Scott I have a number of posts on NHTSA. Here is my take on recalls and filing complaints.

They have a limited budget so must focus on most important first. That means things that can result in death or personal injury. TT only see financial loss so obviously would come last.

While your dealer may have sent information to the tire importer I have noted that many times the volume of tires in a "family" may be low enough to avoid the requirement for data be sent to NHTSA.

in 2014 207 Million passenger tires were sold, 29 Mil LT 18 Mil Truck or 254 Mil tires sold each year where a failure might result in personal injury

According to RVIA data there are 9 Mil RVs on the road but this includes approx 1.1 mil motorhomes so if we have 7.9 mil trailers with say 90% on ST type tires buying a set of 4 tires once every 4 years we are looking at maybe 7 mil St type tires sold each year

So if you were NHTSA where would you spend your research tax dollars? On the quality of 254 Mil tires where there might be injury or on the quality of 7 mil tires with almost no chance of injury?

There have been a few recalls on ST type tires but I am also aware of times when ST tires are not recalled simply because the records are poor as most are imports. In some cases the importer is a small company so does not have the money to do a recall that can cost many million dollars even for a small recall. IMO sometimes a small company would simply go out of business rather than try and handle a large recall.

The RV owners seldom file complaints and many times when they do they do not include the DOT serial so that complaint can not be used in the tally of number of complaints.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here is a reply to another reader:

Tireman, this seems to me to be a big picture economics issue. Is it true that the auto and truck industry does not experience the failure rate or short life that the ST tires experience? If true then the RV tire industry and rv chassis mfgs apparently are not willing to manufacture to the same expectations of the auto industry leading to all the woes that we experience. Look in any parking lot and many of the cars are running on poorly inflated tires. My guess is that these do not fail at the same rate as ST tires. I also have an engineering/QA background and have abused tires for 50 years in racing, towing and with heavy Ag equipment and never seen the failure issues we see with ST tires. I do properly maintain and store my tires, even so I have had 3 failures out of 8 tires in the last three years. Anecdotally I also travel enough to see too many RV trailers on the side of the road with failures. If not for economics, why would ST tires only be made to be rated at 65 mph when we live in a faster world? I try to stay under this for fuel economy but find myself at higher speeds frequently. Impossible to practically operate within rated limits. Is this whole issue because RV mfg do not want to pass on the cost of safe tires? I understand Motorhome tire life is 5 to 7 years and tractor trailer operators get hundreds of thousands of miles on tires. ST tires 2 years? Please explain.

IMO the main reason RV TT mfg do not provide better tire fitment (load capacity) is they sell based on "Bling at low cost". When shopping the RV market you will almost never meet a salesperson who tries to sell based on specifications. Yes tires applied to TT are designed to meet 1970 driving speeds (55 mph speed limit) IMO RV Industry lobby actively opposes any change in requirements that might increase costs by even a few dollars.
Yes ST tire life is MUCH shorter than Passenger, LT or Truck tires.

Universal use of TPMS starting in 2005 on passenger cars has significantly lowered tire failure rates on cars but RVIA (mfg association) does not support TPMS as OE on RVs is one example. They also do not support applying 2002 DOT test requirements on ST type tires so you are stuck with 1970 performance in the 2016 world.

You could write to RVIA at info@GoRVing.com but I have been told that as an industry representative organization they may not be very interested in individual complaints.

If you want to learn more, read some of my posts about NHTSA.

PS While I have done training at NHTSA in Washington DC I do not work for DOT or any Gov agency.

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RV tire recall - Cooper 22.5's

Here is some SAFETY info.
Report Receipt Date: MAR 15, 2016
NHTSA Campaign Number: 16T003000
Component(s): TIRES

Manufacturer: Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.

SUMMARY:

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. (Cooper) is recalling certain Roadmaster RM234 tires, size 295/75R22.5, manufactured August 6, 2015, to September 5, 2015 (weeks 3115-3515). The affected tires may have a pin-sized hole in the sidewall that can result in a loss of air.

CONSEQUENCE:

A loss of tire air pressure can cause sudden tire failure, increasing the risk of a crash.

REMEDY:

Cooper will notify owners, and dealers will replace the tires including the mounting and balancing, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Cooper customer service at 1-800-854-6288. Cooper's number for this recall is 4Y.

NOTES:

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

=========================

I have mentioned that reporting tire failures to NHTSA is something all RV owners should be doing. I also have mentioned that you need to be sure your tires are "registered" so that in the event of a recall the company can contact you.  In the above notice it says the tire company will notify owners of suspect tires but if the owners didn't bother to register their tires there is no way the company or NHTSA can contact the owner.

Do you have defective tires? How would you know your tires should be recalled?

While many may suspect their tires are defective because they have had a tire failure, that isn't really a recognized way to know for sure.

US DOT National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does make official determinations on which tires are in a group that might fail. They do issue tire recall orders just as they issue recalls for other suspect defective automotive components.

 A major problem with tires, however, is that according to a brand new report only 1 in 5 tires that are subject to a recall are actually replaced. The suggested primary reason for the low replacement rate is blamed on the low level of tire registrations that are submitted by either vehicle sales outlets or retail tire dealers.

I bet if you think back to the last set of tires you purchased either for your car, truck or RV you were not given a form to complete and mail in to ensure that you would be notified in the event there was a recall issued by NHTSA. This might also apply to the purchase of the tires that came on your RV.
I know that my RV dealer didn't have a clue when I asked them, so I went online and registered them directly with the tire manufacturer.

I have written a number of times on the importance of filing a complaint with NHTSA when you suspect a tire was defective. NHTSA makes a decision on starting an investigation or not, based on complaints received and the seriousness of the consequences of a tire failure. So while you may think the failure is important, unless there are a number of complaints on file there will likely never be an investigation started and with no investigation there is almost certainly not going to be a recall. You need to remember that posting information on an RV forum grousing about tires while sitting around the campfire may make you feel better but it will never result in an investigation or recall or real improvement in the quality of tires applied to RVs.

I have also written a few times here on the importance of registering your tire and these two topics Registering and Recalls are closely related.

If you haven't registered your tires, it is never too late to do so. It doesn't have to be done when new -- it's just easier. Review my posts on the process. You can contact your tire dealer and ask about registration. If they can't or won't help, then I suggest a simple Google of "Tire Registration" will provide the information you need to complete the process.

Of course, a letter to NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, West Building, Washington DC 20590   about difficulty you may have in registering your tires might spur them to address the problem outlined in the article.

As Pogo said "We have met the enemy and he is us". When it comes to making the minor effort to file a complaint when you have a tire failure and to ensure you will be notified in the event of a recall by submitting the card with the appropriate information to register your tires, we RV owners as a group certainly have nothing to be proud of.


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Michelin Goodrich tire recall

Just heard about a tire recall which may apply to your pick-up truck or SUV.

Michelin Goodrich tire recall

---

NHTSA Campaign ID Number: 15T016  Synopsis: Michelin North America, Inc. (MNA) is recalling certain BFGoodrich Commercial T/A All-Season tire size LT275/70R18 125/122Q LRE, BFGoodrich Commercial T/A All-Season 2 sizes LT275/70R18 125/122R LRE, LT235/80R17 120/117R LRE, LT265/70R17 121/118R LRE, LT245/75R17 121/118R LRE, LT245/70R17 119/116R LRE, and BFGoodrich Rugged Terrain T/A sizes LT275/70R18 125/122R LRE and LT275/65R18 123/120R LRE.

 The affected tires may experience rapid air loss due to a rupture in the sidewall in the bead area. If the tire sidewall ruptures during use resulting in a rapid air loss, it can cause loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. MNA will notify owners, and dealers will provide similar replacement tires free of charge. The recall began on August 24, 2015. Owners may contact BFGoodrich Consumer Care at 1-866-524-2638.



NOTE you will only get a notification if your vehicle/tire dealership filled in the registration card and gave it to you when you bought the vehicle/tires. AND you then finished filling out the card and mailed it in.

If you did not register your Michelin or Goodrich tires you can do so on-line HERE

LT225/75R16 recall

Now since this an "AT" design it most likely is a traction design used on pick-up tow vehicles

but I do know that a few RV trailer owners have chosen a traction design

NHTSA Campaign ID Number :	15T009
Synopsis :	Shandong Jinyu Industrial Co. LTD, (Shandong) is recalling certain Jinyu YS78 and Evergreen ES89 AT tires, size LT225/75R16, manufactured April 1, 2011, to August 31, 2014 (DOT date codes 1611 through 4314). The affected tires may not be able to properly dissipate heat, and as a result, the tire belts may separate. If the tire belts separate, the tire may suddenly lose air, increasing the risk of a crash. The remedy for this recall is still under development. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification schedule. Owners may contact Shandong customer service at 1-786-521-1296.

Tire recalls and Registration

Here are some details on the recent RV tire recall:

 NHTSA Campaign ID Number: 14T015 
Synopsis: Dynamic Tire Corp. (Dynamic) is recalling certain Towmax STR tires, size ST225/75 R15 manufactured June 15, 2014, to October 14, 2014. The affected tires may have the Incorrect Load Capacity and Inflation Pressure Stampings. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 119. The misinformation on the label could lead a driver to over-inflate the tires. Tire over-inflation may increase the risk of a tire failure which can increase the risk of a crash. Dynamic will notify owners, and dealers will replace all eligible tires, free of charge. Owners may contact Dynamic customer service at 1-905-595-3593.

The details are that 17,000+ Load Range D Towmax tires with DOT serial ADB4GPD2414 through  ADB4GPD4214are subject to the recall and are to be replaced FREE of charge.

One bit of information that many will skip over is the part where it says Dynamic will notify owners. While this is standard language in recall notices it overlooks a major problem. Just how is Dynamic supposed to know the owner's name & address?

According to Federal law all DOT tires are supposed to be registered and that information is supposed to be entered in a big database to enable future contact in case of a recall. The problem is that according to various studies only about 17% of tires sold by dealers have the necessary registration forms completed and sent to the registration authority.

Do you know if all your tires have been registered? If not then you will probably never know about a tire safety recall.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
        Note this is not limited to Towmax brand tires but applies to all of your car, truck, trailer or motorhome tires.

Confirm that your RV Dealership registered the tires on your trailer or motorhome. If you bought your car or truck new from the company dealer the tires are probably registered.
 You might start by asking what their policy is. You may find some confusion or hemming and hawing on the part of the dealer, I would take as indication that they did not do the task they are supposed to do by law.

Car and truck dealers may do a better job but we all know what can happen if we "assume" someone is doing the job they are supposed to do.I would see nothing wrong with using the on-line registration process below,just to be sure.

If you bought tires directly from a tire dealer you should ask them what their policy is. Some will have clear statements such as we see from Tire Rack. BUT if you get that uncertain response there is a good chance the tires you bought were not registered. Probably the smaller the tire or RV dealership the lower the probability the tires were registered

You can do the job yourself at TireRegistration.com    or simply Google Tire registration and see if your tire brand has a sight just for registering your tires.

Please don't be concerned that this is some "Big Brother" conspiracy. I have never heard of this information being used for any purpose other than notification of a recall.

Finally if you have changed mailing address you might want to update the tire registration. Remember you will need the full DOT serial including the date codes for each tire.

If in doubt on how to read your tire serial number, reviewing THIS post will help.

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ST225/75D15 Recall Update Now two

NHTSA Campaign ID Number :	14T001

Synopsis Double Camel, in cooperation with Lionshead Specialty Tire & Wheel LLC (Lionshead), notified the agency on January 21, 2014 that they are recalling 1,440 Vail Sport ST LH 99 tubeless trailer tires, size 225/75D15, load range D, DOT code 69, manufactured from July 14, 2013, through July 27, 2013 (and a sidewall date code 2813 or 2913). On May 7, 2014, Double Camel increased the recall to include an additional 38,129 Vail Sport ST LH 99 tires encompassing build dates from November 20, 2011, through September 21, 2013 (dates codes 4711 through 3713). The total population of the tires being recalled is now 39,569. The original population of tires may fail under prolonged use and may become unseated from the rims and the additional population of tires may be more susceptible to failure due to road hazards. As such, these tires fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 119, "New Pneumatic Tires for Vehicles Other Than Passenger Cars." Tire damage from road hazards, failure from prolonged use or unseating of the tire from the rim increases the risk of a crash. Lionshead will notify owners, and dealers will replace the tires with compliant ones. The recall of the initial population of tires began in February 2014. The recall for the expanded population of tires is expected to begin in June 2014. Customers may contact Lionshead at 1-574-533-6169.  SECOND RECALL  14T003 Synopsis : Double Camel, in cooperation with Lionshead Specialty Tire & Wheel LLC (Lionshead), is recalling certain Vail Sport ST LH 99 tubeless trailer tires, size 225/75D15, manufactured from April 2012 through February 2013. The affected tires may not be marked with the load range letter designation. As such, these tires fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 119, "New Pneumatic Tires for Vehicles Other Than Passenger Cars." Tires that are missing the load range designation may cause the owner to unknowingly overload the tires, resulting in a blow out, increasing the risk of a crash. Lionshead will notify owners, and dealers will replace the tires, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in June 2014. Owners may contact Lionshead at 1-574-533-6169.

Autoguard LT245/75R16 being recalled

I have previously written about tire recalls. Here is what can happen when it is confirmed that some tires do not comply with DOT regulations. 

 Some Autoguard LT245/75R16 tires are being recalled by the manufacturer.

Tires manufactured June 25th, 2012, through November 11th, 2012. These tires failed the endurance test standards of FMVSS 139 and contain incorrect maximum load load data on the sidewall. Thus, these tires fail to to comply to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 139, "New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles."

You can get more information at NHTSA Campaign ID Number: 13T007

Owners may contact Tire Group International, Inc., BCT's U.S. contact, at 1-305-696-0096 extension 5538.  

Have you read a tire lately? Tire Marking

Have you read the information provided to you by the tire manufacturer? If you have, did you bother to record the important numbers in your log book so you only need to do this job once in the life of a tire?

There is a lot of information molded into the sidewall of your tires. Most of this is required by law. Most of this is important for you to know so you can look up the correct inflation for your tires or if buying new tires be sure to get replacements that can carry at least the same as the original tires.
Here is some information from one tire.

First the SIZE

This tire is a "Passenger" type as it starts with the letter "P" other types might be "LT" for Light Truck, or "ST" for Special Trailer. Small tires intended for passenger cars migth not have the "P" if made to European specs. Large tires like 19.5 or 22.5 rim dia have no letter and are "TBR" of Truck Bus radials and are found on Class-A RV. The "114S" is the Service Description which is a Load Index (from a published table but using the actual Max Load is better). The "S" is the Speed Rating or max operating speed. Like the Red Line on your engine. Not all tires have this description.

The DOT Serial

This has important information used in determining the tire age. Other information such as the location of the tire plant that made the tire is part of this code ( first two characters  8X in this example). If there is a recall, this code is used to identify which tires are covered by the recall. NOTE that the last portion, the 4 digit date code, 3908 in this example is only molded on one side of most tires. Every tire sold for use on the highway in the USA must have a full DOT serial including the date code molded on at least one side. This tire was made the 39th week of 2008.

The Load & Inflation information

This is the maximum load capacity for the tire when the cold inflation is set to this pressure. In this example (2601 lbs) when the inflation is set to( 44 psi max press) when the tire is at ambient temperature. NOTE for LT and TBR type tires there is a second lower load limit for dual application (tires side by side on the same axle as on the rears). If you have two axles and ST type tires I personally suggest you not exceed the "dual" tire load as you need a safety factor in your tire loading due to extreme side loading unique to tandem axle trailers.

Tire Materials

This is really just FYI and is more like truth in advertising to let you know the materials used in the sidewall and center of the tread of your tires. In this case there are two ply of Polyester in the sidewall and in the tread there are two ply of polyester + 2 ply of Steel + 1 ply of Nylon. Most TBR tires will only have 1 ply of steel in the sidewall.

Safety Warning

This is for the person mounting and inflating the tires for the first time. Do not confuse the inflation number here ( 40 psi) with the inflation number associated with the load (44 psi). This is the max inflation to seat the bead. If you have ever watched a tire being inflated it is the "Pop" or "Bang" first heard. If the tire doesn't seat by this inflation then it should be deflated, re-lubed, re-centered and re-inflated. People can die if they ignore this warning.

Bottom line
If you get new tires and they match the Size and Load & Inflation information you are good to go. If ANY of these numbers are different you need to be sure you completely understand why and that you are not getting a tire with lower load capacity.

Quality of complaints filed on Chinese made tires

One of the challenges of writing this blog is to have topics that you the readers find interesting and informative.
At times I feel I am just a broken record as I repeat Know the load, Inflate the tire, Report failures to NHTSA. One thing I do to try and get new ideas, is to read posts on various RV forums on people's questions on tires or statements of their problems. I also monitor which of my topics have drawn the most viewers. My most popular post to date was from Jan 2012 on Chinese tire quality.

I also note there continues to be references to "China-bombs" on various forums so I thought I would review the status of complaints to NHTSA on some tires some think are made in China, for without complaints that provide the information needed by the investigators at NHTSA, there will never be a recall and without a recall there is little real incentive to some companies to improve the quality of their tires.

Here are some current complaints:
Some say the Greenball brand is a "China Bomb"
01/25/2013 there was a complaint about GREENBALL TOW MASTER ST225/75R15 The claim the tires suffered sidewall cracks. There was damage to the RV.  I note that the tire manufacturer was not notified of the problem and that the tire DOT serial was not provided to NHTSA.

12/19/2012 there was a complaint about GREENBALL TOW MASTER with the claim "TIRE BLOW OUT in Sept 6" No tire size, mileage or DOT serial was provided to NHTSA

11/13/2012 there was a complaint about GREENBALL TOW MASTER size 225/75/15. The claim that both the front & rear passenger side tires failed at 1,000 miles. DOT NUMBER WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

10/24/2011 GREENBALL CORPORATION TOW MASTER TIRES, SIZE FT 205/75R15, SERIAL NUMBER: 9DUL2810 on a 2012 Heartland

Note the 9D indicates the tires in question were made by   P.T. Industries, Karet Deli, Indonesia
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I then looked at another non-US made tire  MISSION brand
 09/26/2012 MISSION ST TIRES, SIZE: 205 75 R15 are incorrectly identified as made by General Tire. Two tires "exploded" but no DOT was provided.

There were four other complaints field with various tire failures. All identified incorrectly as being made by General tire and no DOT serials were posted so we cannot identify the actual country of origin.
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I then looked for Power King Tow max
There are also problems with NHTSA data as this tire has been recorded as being manufactured by Cooper Tire Co. but I have looked for information and it appears the Powerking brand is imported  by TBC Wholesale

I did find there were 22 complaints on file and a couple actually provided the tire DOT which allowed me to identify the production plant as SHANDONG HENGFENG RUBBER & PLUSTIC CO., SHANDONG, China

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Bottom Line
SOme but not all tires that fail appear to be made in China. Also the NHTSA web site isn't very easy to use to find which tires have fewer complaints than others. One of the major reasons is what engineers call GIGO   Garbage In Garbage Out. 
People are not providing the tire DOT serial so numerous errors follow, making the complaint web site less than helpful, which means others can't gain knowledge needed to make informed decisions.

How to File a Complaint with NHTSA Part 1

In my last post I asked the question of Why Dont RV Tires Get Recalled? Today I want to outline the process of how to file a proper complaint with NHTSA so there might be an actual investigation started.

 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is a part of the US Department Of Transportation. They cover vehicle safety issues. There is an Office of Defect Investigation that looks at vehicle and tire related failures and the ODI has on-line forms you can submit if you think your tire or vehicle has a safety related defect or failure. We will be focusing on tire related issues in this series of posts.

The process:

Data on tire failures is normally submitted by tire manufacturers or importers or vehicle owners. This information is reviewed by ODI and a mandatory recall may be ordered by NHTSA or a voluntary recall may be initiated by the tire manufacturer. Michelin initiated a voluntary recall in the case of the BFG light truck tire recall. If the volume of tires produced or imported in a specific size/type is less than 15,000 there is no requirement for warranty data to be submitted as I understand the rules. If there are a number of valid consumer reports to NHTSA of tire failures, the ODI can decide if a full blown investigation is justified.

If the investigation reveals there was a manufacturing or design defect NHTSA has the legal authority to order the manufacturer or importer to recall and replace the suspect tires. Many times at no cost to the consumer.

Your Responsibility:

Many times the volume of tires used on RVs is well below the reporting threshold so even if there are a number of failures there may no report filed. Also sometimes the importer does not have the organization in place to track tire failures, so if the user doesn’t report the problem there will be no investigation. So the responsibility of reporting suspect tires is yours. Simply spouting off on a RV forum may make you feel better but it will never result in an investigation.

Before you file a complaint:

You need to make an effort to assure the tire failure was not the result of a puncture, impact, leaky valve or due to the failure of some other vehicle part. A review of these posts Blowout, Run-Low Flex, Puncture or Impact will help you confirm the failure was not service related. If a tire dealer says there was nothing wrong with your failed tire ask them to point to the physical evidence they are relying on to make their statement.

Just because you had the tire "adjusted" does not mean you can't file a complaint with NHTSA. I would not be surprised to learn that there have been cases where some tire failures were not reported to NHTSA by the importer.

Information needed to file a complaint

Below is a list of information you will need.  I will use some of the information from the BFG recall as a sample. DO NOT USE THIS SAMPLE INFORMATION. You need to use the correct information or the complaint will be just a waste of your time and will get no results.  

Tire information needed

o    Tire Brand                         (e.g., BF Goodrich)

o    Tire Line                            (e.g., T/A A/S)

o    Tire Size                  (e.g., LT235/85R16 120Q LRE)

o    Component          (I suggest you identify Tread or Sidewall or Bead as appropriate)

o    DOT Number (Tire Identification Number) (Very Important see this example)

·          
















Vehicle information needed         (even if you are reporting a tire, you need the RV info)

o    Model Year

o    Make  This would be the Manufacturer

o    Model

o    Component                       (just select "tire")

o    Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Found on registration or insurance card and on the placard affixed to the side of your trailer.. 

Now I am sorry to report that NHTSA does not provide the name of every RV or Tire brand in their drop down list. This makes it doubly important for you to provide the correct vehicle VIN and the tire DOT serial in the body of your complaint

It would also be a good idea to get a number of pictures of the tire failure for possible future use. These should be done in full sunlight and you need to be close enough to be just of the tire. If you look at the pictures I have posted in my blog you will see examples. A shot of the failed tire in full shade from 20 feet away will not be of much value. A close-up of the placard will also be of value as it is supposed to have make and manufacturer of the RV as well as the VIN. These pictures will not be submitted to NHTSA unless they contact you but if you end up trashing the tire it will be too late to collect the evidence.

The rest of the process will be covered in the next post. 
 In the time being you could practice and see if you can collect the DOT serial for all your tires and the vehicle VIN. You could even try and take some pictures of your placard and tires to see what it takes so you don't end up with just a black blob.