WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2000 -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may be taking aim at Goodyear. The agency is reported to be about to open an investigation into defects in Goodyear Wrangler Load Range E tires used on commercial-size pickup trucks and vans.

The Washington Post reported that the agency has received 37 complaints about the Wrangler tires and said there have been 25 lawsuits filed against Goodyear alleging tread separation and other premature failures.

The tires are provided as original equipment on heavy-duty Dodge and Ford pickups and vans. About 27.5 million of the tires have been manufactured under Goodyear and other brand names.

Goodyear said it has replaced the tires for some customers who have had problems but denied that the model has a safety defect. The company maintains the problelms are due to overloading and vehicle modifications.

Goodyear has been making the tires for a decade. It modified the design in the mid-1990s after receiving complaints about tire failures. That could open the company to charges that it knew about a defect but failed to notify NHTSA as required by law.

Some 6.5 million Bridgestone/Firestone tires used on Ford Explorers and other vehicles have been recalled. Ford has claimed that problems disappeared when the Firestone tires were replaced with Goodyears. A NHTSA probe of Goodyear would potentially call those claims into doubt.