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Bridgestone Steeltex Tires Recalled

May 15, 2003
Bridgestone/Firestone is recalling 42 Steeltex radial tires. The tires have the same type of defect that led to the massive recall of Firestone Wilderness tires used on popular SUVs, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) administration said.

The NHTSA announced the recall of Steelex tires manufactured between March 9 and March 15 because of potential tread separation defects that "can possibly lead to a vehicle crash, resulting in serious injury or death," it said on its Web site.

The recall comes just as NHTSA is reviewing whether it should reopen its investigation of 27 million Steeltex R4S, R4SII and A/T tires.

Los Angeles attorney Joseph Lisoni, who has been pressing NHTSA to take a second look at the tires, has filed a $3 billion proposed class action accusing Bridgestone of concealing defects in the heavy-duty tire.

The lawsuit claims the tire, installed on 43 types of vehicles such as pickups, vans and mobile homes, has caused thousands of serious accidents including fatalities. Bridgestone says the latest recall is unrelated to the lawsuit.

NHTSA is expected to make a decision by May 27 on whether it will reopen that investigation.

Bridgestone is still fighting rollover lawsuits in courts across the United States stemming from tread separation in its Wilderness tires, which were standard equipment on the Ford Motor Co. Explorer and other SUVs. About 20 million Wilderness tires were recalled, 14 million by Ford and 6.5 million by Firestone.

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