August 19, 2002 Continental AG is recalling more than half a million tires used on Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators. The company said the tires are "not performing up to standard."
Continental says that Ford is supporting the recall. Ford broke off a longterm relationship with Firestone last year after a disastrous round of rollovers on its Explorer SUVs. Ford blamed the problem on Firestone while Firestone said the Expedition design was faulty (story).
The latest recall involves 600,000 size 275/60R17 tires used on 2000 and 2001 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator sport UTEs. Customers will be asked to take their vehicles to Ford dealerships, which will replace the tires with Continental P265/70R17 tires at no cost.
"In-depth investigations indicated that these tires were not performing up to our standards after two years in service," Continental said in a statement. The company said the tires were displaying uneven tread wear.
Continental estimated the cost of the recall at about $20 million. The company is based in Frankfurt, Germany. Its U.S. operations are based in Charlotte, NC.
