WASHINGTON (June 17, 2008) — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has begun a preliminary evaluation of 30 million tire valve stems made by a Chinese company, following a recall of 6 million valve stems the firm made for another American distributor.
NHTSA said agency officials met with representatives of Dill Air Controls Products L.L.C of Oxford, N.C. in late April about the Dill TR 400 Series tire valve stems made by Topseal, a subsidiary of Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corp. Dill, as well as Discount Tire, is facing a lawsuit in Orange County, Fla., circuit court, brought by the family of a man who died in a November 2007 rollover crash.
The suit claims the failure of a Dill valve stem caused the accident. Neither Dill nor Discount Tire could be reached for comment.
Tech International Inc. of Johnstown, Ohio, announced last week the voluntary recall of the 6 million valve stems made by Shanghai Baolong Automotive for possible cracking and air loss.