The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is holding a preliminary evaluation of Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.'s Dominator Sport A/T tire.
NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson told moderntiredealer.com that the investigation was opened "as a result of confidential information submitted by Cooper."
More than 101,000 tires made between 2003 and 2005 are being investigated, he says.
"During this phase, we'll typically ask the manufacturer for more detailed information about the particular tire and its failure rate. At a certain point, withing three months or so, we'll make a decision whether to close or expand the investigation."
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation had received a vehicle owner questionnaire (VOQ) concerning two size LT265/75R16 Dominator Sport A/T tires mounted on the rear axle of a pickup truck.
The questionnaire said that the tires failed, resulting in vehicle damage.
"In addition, Cooper has submitted data under early warning reporting requirements that identify incidents similar to that identified in the VOQ," say NHTSA officials.
"NHTSA is undertaking a preliminary evaluation of one of our hundreds of tire lines," says a Cooper spokesperson.
"This line represents a very small number of the approximately 40 million tires we produce annually.
"All tire companies routinely submit data to NHTSA to comply with the TREAD Act’s early warning system.
"We do not believe that further evaluation of our data will result in an official NHTSA investigation."
