WASHINGTON—Kumho Tire U.S.A. Inc. is voluntarily recalling 11,922 Kumho Solus KH25 passenger tires, size 225/45R17, for possible sidewall cracking resulting in air loss.
The tires were manufactured in Kumho's Vietnam factory between Aug. 21, 2011 and June 23, 2012, according to documents from Kumho and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
This recall is an amended version of the original defect notification Kumho sent the NHTSA in August 2012, according to an April 30, 2013, letter sent to the agency by C.H. Kim, Kumho vice president of quality and service.
In August 2012, Kumho paid Liberty Tire Recycling L.L.C. to dispose of the 11,922 tires from the Kumho warehouse in Itasca, Ill., Kim said. However, Liberty instead sold 7,875 of the tires to wholesalers in Texas, New York, North Carolina and Puerto Rico, he said.
After learning that Liberty sold the recalled tires, Kumho sought Liberty's assistance in locating them, Kim wrote. Kumho also has sought NHTSA's advice on how to proceed in removing those tires from the marketplace, he said.
So far 9,612 of the tires have been removed from the road, leaving 2,310 unaccounted for, according to Kim. There have been no reports of accidents, injuries or deaths involving the tires, he said.
Kumho began mailing notifications to tire owners on May 6, according to NHTSA. Meanwhile, owners may contact Kumho at 909-428-3999.