Ford recalls more than 52,000 Explorers and Mountaineers for tire problems

WASHINGTON (May 21)—Ford Motor Co. is replacing the Goodyear and Michelin tires on 52,729 2002 Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers manufactured in Louisville, Ky., because the tires may have received cuts on the assembly line. Nine or 10 percent of the 45,510 Explorers and 7,219 Mountaineers had tire cuts from five to nine inches long and up to half an inch deep in the right tire treads, Ford said. A spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the agency received no notification letter on tire replacements because the auto maker classified them as a customer satisfaction program rather than a recall. Goodyear and Michelin officials could not be reached for comment.