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2016 is shaping up to be a busy year for tire recalls, as the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) has already announced the second tire recall campaign to be conducted this month.  The first tire recall campaign announced by the agency this year, which we discussed in detail in this earlier Newsome Melton post, involved certain Cooper Zeon LTZ tires manufactured during September 2015.  The second campaign appears to be much larger in scope, potentially involving up to 46,968 Hankook Venus S1 Noble 2 tires.

According to the recall documents recently posted by NHTSA, the affected tires “may experience cracks in the sidewall on the inside equipped area under certain service conditions, which could lead to a loss of air.”  Although Hankook reports that it is not aware of any crashes or injuries caused by the issue so far, the potential defect could be very dangerous since “[a] loss of tire pressure may cause tire failure and a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.”

The affected tires, which were manufactured between May 22, 2013 and February 14, 2015, were supplied as original equipment tires for 2015 Hyundai Genesis vehicles, in addition to being sold as replacement tires.  Hankook reportedly discovered the issue after Hyundai began a campaign to replace the original equipment Venus S1 Noble 2 tires with either Michelin or Continental tires “due to customer feedback regarding vibration and/or road noise.”  During the Hyundai tire replacement campaign, Hankook received a tire that had suffered a sidewall crack, prompting the company to undertake an internal “quality investigation,” which in turn culminated in this recall.

The recall affects the following three different sizes of the Venus S1 Noble 2 tires:

Size


Tire Identification Number


245/45R18 96W T7 EF 1AH 2013 through 0715
245/40R19 94W 5M LC 1AH 2013 through 0715
275/35R19 96W


5M F0 1AH 2013 through 0715


Hankook expects to start notifying purchasers of the replacement tires about the recall sometime this month.  Dealers will then replace those tires, free of charge.  For the original equipment tires, Hyundai will notify owners of the affected vehicles, who will be able to take their cars into a Hyundai dealer for free replacement tires.

We will continue to monitor and report on important recall and other product safety news here at the Newsome Melton blog.