Firestone Tires

Firestone has faced significant scrutiny for the production of tires that matched poorly with Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer sport utility vehicles. This mismatch, or ultimately poor tire performance, resulted in many highway accidents wherein consumers were injured and in extreme cases killed when Firestone tires experienced tread separation. Firestone has suffered significant brand, reputation, and financial repercussions as a result of the faulty performance and ensuing recalls.

Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc., based in Nashville, Tennessee, has been in the business of making tires since 1900, when Harvey Firestone founded the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio. Firestone was acquired by Bridgestone USA, Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corporation, in 1990 for $2.6 billion. Today, the company markets 8,000 different types and sizes of tires and a host of other products. The company has also enjoyed a long and prosperous relationship with Ford Motor Company that began in 1906 when Henry Ford purchased 2,000 sets of tires from Harvey Firestone.

In July 1998, a State Farm Insurance researcher advised the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that he had found 20 cases of tread failure associated with Firestone tires dating back to 1992. He was politely thanked, but no action resulted. In January 2000, Houston television station KHOU aired a 9-minute story on tread-separation accidents in Texas. After the story aired, many people called the station to relate their own stories of Firestone tire failures, most on them on Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicles. These were relayed to Joan Claybrook, former chief of the NHTSA. Finally, Sean Kane, a former employee of the Center for Auto Safety and the founder of Strategic Safety, a research organization, also tried to alert the NHTSA about problems with tread separations on Firestone tires. After learning about similar problems in Venezuela, Strategic Safety, together with Public Citizen, another consumer watchdog group, issued a press release on August 1 asking Ford for a vehicle recall.

Despite the evidence compiled by these sources, the NHTSA was slow to respond. In March 2000, investigators Steve Beretzky and Rob Wahl found 22 treadseparation complaints that they marked for “initial evaluation.” The number of complaints skyrocketed between March and May, and by May 2, the NHTSA had elevated their status to “preliminary investigation.” Days later, the NHTSA requested that Bridgestone/Firestone supply production data and complaint files, which it produced on July 27.

On obtaining a copy of the report, Ford immediately began analyzing the data. Of the 2,498 complaints logged by that time, 81% involved P235/75R15 Firestone tires. Of the 1,699 complaints involving tread separation, 84% involved Ford's Explorer and Bronco SUVs and Ranger and F-150 trucks. On August 5, agents of Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone met in Dearborn, Michigan, to discuss the issue. By this time, the NHTSA was investigating 21 possible deaths related to tread separation of Firestone tires. Within days, the investigation had grown to include 46 possible deaths, and Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone met with NHTSA officials to discuss a plan of action. On August 9, the companies issued a recall of 6.5 million tires.

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