Feds say tire recall system is 'completely broken'
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Millions of potentially defective tires on on the road right now and drivers do not know it. Your tires could be included, it's all because the recall system for tires is broken according to a federal report.
It's a serious problem. The National Transportation Safety Board says each year there are 30,000 vehicle accidents caused by tire problems and 500 deaths, many because drivers do not know their tires were recalled.
Between 2009 and 2013 more than three million tires were recalled in the US, less than half of them were actually replaced by manufacturers. The reason, according to a government report, the owners of those tires never got the word about the recall.
Here's why. Right now only tires sold to consumers by manufacturers are automatically registered for recall notices. But the vast majority of tires are sold by independent dealers and those dealers are not responsible for registering tires, that's a job left to the people who buy the tires, you and me. The government wants to change that and make tire registration happen at the point of sale.
It would mean more work for those who sell tires, but ultimately it would make it easier for consumers to find out about the recalls.
Felix Villegas with American Wheel and Tire said, "It would take some time to get used to but I think it would be a good idea for us to do that for them. There are a lot of customers we deal with who have no idea how tires work or what to check as far as if there is a recall or when to even rotate their tires."
The NTSB also recommends tires be changed after six years, and that's six years from the time the tire was made, not six years of use. They recommend that because consumers often cannot tell if a tire needs to be changed simply by looking at them.
