Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is recalling certain G159 RV tires in size 275/70R22.5 due to concerns that the tires are defective and that the tread may separate from the tire.
The recall potentially affects 173,237 tires produced between Feb. 1, 1996 through Jan. 31, 2003, though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) notes it’s unknown how many of the tires remain in use.
The safety recall report notes that some of these tires “experienced tread separations and other failures when exposed to conditions present in that market segment, including overloading and underinflation.”
NHTSA says some of the tread separations resulted from “the motorhome manufacturer inadequately specifying reserve loads, as well as overloading and underinflation common to the motorhome application.” Motorhome operators may notice noises or vibrations that could indicate a possible tire tread separation.
NHTSA says it opened a preliminary evaluation of these tires on Dec. 28, 2017, to study allegations of a private litigant that the tire had caused motorhome crashes resulting in deaths and injuries. NHTSA asked Goodyear for information in April 2018 and the tiremaker responded a month later.
NHTSA says it held a series of conversations and meetings with Goodyear, and by Feb. 22, 2022, the agency asked Goodyear to recall the tire. Goodyear responded on March 8 and declined the request. The tiremaker has subsequently agreed to the recall to address worries that some of the tires may remain in use.
Anyone presenting a recreational vehicle with one of these tires will receive a Goodyear G670 tire in size 275/70R22.5 at no cost. Goodyear will cover the cost of demounting and disposing of the subject tire and replacing it with the G670. In addition, anyone presenting a motorhome with one of these tires on it will be given a $60 voucher to cover the cost of having the vehicle professionally weighed.
Anyone owning a subject tire without having it installed on a recreational vehicle can exchange it for $500.
Dealers will be instructed to render the subject tires unsuitable for resale or installation. All removed tires returned to Goodyear will be used by the tiremaker’s recycler.
NHTSA says that since the motorhome manufacturers that specified the use of the Goodyear tire are no longer in business, and Goodyear doesn’t have access to any registration data for the tires, Goodyear will issue a bulletin describing the campaign and reach out to pertinent parties to ask that the information be shared with the applicable audience.
Owners may contact Goodyear customer service at 1-800-592-3267. They also may reach out to NHTSA’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.
