Report: Goodyear critics claim tires replaced in ''silent recall''

LOS ANGELES - Critics of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. claim the company for more than four years has been replacing thousands of failed tires and writing checks to customers in a controversial practice known as a ''silent recall,'' according to a newspaper report.

The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that safety advocates and lawyers believe the Akron, Ohio-based tire maker is placing thousands of drivers and passengers at risk by not declaring a full public recall.

Goodyear denied conducting a silent recall and claims it is providing ''customer satisfaction'' replacements on a case-by-case basis, the newspaper reported.

Goodyear acknowledged last month that tread separation involving its 16-inch Load Range E light-truck tires has been linked to 120 injuries and 15 deaths. Company officials have said a recall wasn't necessary because it found no defects in the tires.

The company did not disclose, however, that it had been offering free tire replacements for years.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration on Monday disclosed that it was expanding its inquiry into the deaths involving Goodyear's light-truck tires. The agency has asked Goodyear for more information on the deaths and to disclose how many light-truck tires have been made by the company, said NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson.

In August, Bridgestone/Firestone voluntarily recalled 6.5 million ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires, most of which were standard equipment on the Ford Explorer. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 3,500 complaints and 119 traffic deaths in connection with Bridgestone/Firestone tires. Some of the complaints were about tread separation.

Sources told the Times that Goodyear has received more than 3,000 claims since 1995 about its light-truck tires. Most of those claims have been settled, with consumers receiving replacement tires and reimbursements for vehicle damage.

The number of complaints Goodyear received is nearly as high as the 3,700 complaints the NHTSA has received over Bridgestone/Firestone tires.

David F. Matuszak, a teacher in Redlands, said his Load Range E tires on his 1995 Dodge Ram pickup separated three times on different occasions.

Goodyear replaced the first set of tires, which began peeling after only 12,000 miles, and a company representative told him they were among a ''bad batch,'' Matuszak said.

In 1998, one of the replacement tires separated on Interstate 5 in Irvine and the tire's steel belts ripped into Matuszak's truck, causing $900 damage. Goodyear paid for the damage and Matuszak upgraded his tires. Those tires separated last April, however, and Goodyear paid $800 to repair body damage and replaced Matuszak's tires for a third time.

''I am convinced that Goodyear is knowingly selling tires with defective designs,'' said Matuszak, who kept receipts and insurance documents to back his story. ''These tires are time bombs waiting to explode on new victims.''

A class-action suit has been filed in Massachusetts accusing Goodyear of launching a silent recall. The lawsuit claims the tire maker failed to warn consumers that its 15-inch Marathon tires are unsafe and unsuitable for campers.