Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC (BATO) estimated last year that approximately 127,000 Firestone FR380 tires had been sold in the United States replacement market through June 2009, thusly adding these tires to the company’s recent recall at the time. The company also reported that there could have been even more that were distributed to the Canadian replacement market.
The company decided to expand its original recall in order to include the Firestone brand FR380 P235/75 R15 tires that were manufactured by Bridgestone de Costa Rica, S.A. (BSCR) at its San Jose Plant in 2007 and 2008.
BATO’s initial recall involved roughly 135,000 Firestone FR380 tires in the size P235/75 R15 from the batch that was produced from June 2006 to August 2007. The recall was then expanded to include Firestone FR380 tires of the same size out of the batch that was produced from September 2007 to July 2008.
Though no accidents involving property damage or personal injury occurred due to the use of these tires, the company said that these tires did not meet their standards. According to the company, these tires were manufactured with a lack of sufficient tread base gauge. They warned that continued use of these tires can result in vibration and groove cracking or possibly tread distortion or tread separation. This could have caused drivers to lose control of the vehicle. BATO recalled these tires in order to replace the defective tires for new ones free of charge.
If you or a loved one owns or operates a vehicle using the Firestone FR380 tires and have experienced an accident or injury because of damage caused by the tires, contact Newsome Law Firm and fill out a case evaluation form today. Our team of attorneys has experience specific to complications associated with defective tire recalls. Not only can they give you the legal guidance you need, they can help you get the compensation you deserve.