NHTSA calls reports of Goodyear "expanded inquiry" inaccurate

WASHINGTON (Nov. 7)—The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration describes as "inaccurate" a news report from the "Los Angeles Times" which said the agency was expanding its inquiry into fatal accidents involving Goodyear Load Range E tires. To say the agency is expanding its probe suggests NHTSA has begun an official investigation, which it hasn´t, according to an agency spokesman. "We´ve asked Goodyear for information on reports of fatalities and on how many Load Range E tires it´s made," he said. "There´s no preliminary evaluation or engineering analysis—just making phone calls back and forth with Goodyear." The tire maker has acknowledged 15 deaths and 125 injuries involving the Load Range E tires. The "Times" article also accused Goodyear of conducting a "silent recall" by quietly replacing Load Range E tires in most of more than 3,000 claims brought since 1995. While Goodyear spokesmen couldn´t be reached for direct comment, they said elsewhere this was merely a "customer satisfaction" issue being done on a case-by-case basis.