Michelin recalling over 632,000 Agilis tires for insufficient snow traction

GREENVILLE, S.C.—Michelin North America Inc. is recalling 632,000-plus Agilis CrossClimate C-Metric tires in the U.S. and Canada because they don't exhibit sufficient snow traction to warrant their being labeled with the industry's 3-peak mountain snowflake marking.

The recall affects 632,488 tires in two 15- and four-16-inch rim diameter sizes: 185/60 R15C;205/65 R15C; 195/75 R16C; 205/75 R16C; 225/75 R16C; and 235/65 R16C.

Since the tires do not provide sufficient snow traction, they fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 139, "New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles," according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Agilis CrossClimate C-Metric is a tire range designed to fit a handful of commercial vans, often referred to as Euro vans.

The recalled tires have DOT codes marked either with FK, 1FK, B5 or 1B5—the codes for Michelin's Cholet, France, and Olsztyn, Poland, plants—and the date codes 0117 through 1423, indicating they were built over a seven-year period, from January 2017 through the 14th week of 2023.

The recalls covers 542,110 tires in the U.S. and 90,378 tires in Canada.

Michelin said it discovered the issue when it was conducting testing of the products as part of plans to move some production of the affected tires to the U.S. from Europe. Those tests showed the tires failed snow spin results.

If placed into service, the subject tires may not provide the expected traction performance in severe snow weather conditions and could potentially increase the risk of a crash, Michelin said.

Dealers will replace the tires, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters informing owners of the safety risk will be mailed June 12. Owners will receive a second notice once the remedy becomes available.

Michelin also said it has implemented warehouse blocks to prevent further distribution into the U.S. market.

Owners may contact Michelin's customer service at 866-324-2835. Owners may also contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 or see www.nhtsa.gov.

Michelin further explained that during the development of the tire line in 2017 in Europe, testing to qualify the tire for the Alpine Symbol for Europe, the U.S. and Canada was performed and certified, and that Michelin North America reviewed and accepted this certification at various times between 2018 and 2021, prior to offering the tires for sale in the U.S. and Canada.