WASHINGTON D.C.—China's Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum (Group) Rubber Co. Ltd. is recalling nearly 33,500 Duraturn Travia A/T light truck tires because of the potential for a tread and/or innerliner separation.
The tires in question were produced between October 2015 and January 2018 in Shaanxi Yanchang's factory in Xianyang, Jiangsu Province. Due to the time that's elapsed between then and now, Shaanxi Yanchang said it estimates many of the 33,466 subject tires already have been replaced after reaching the end of their useful service life.
Due to manufacturing issues, the tire's tread or innerliner may separate from the tire. As such, these tires fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 139.
Tread or innerliner separation could lead to a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
According to information posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the company first became aware of the problem in early 2017 through warranty claims. Through year-end 2017 the company received 382 warranty claims, Shaanxi Yanchang said, although none of the claims resulted in personal injury.
Shaanxi Yanchang said it will notify owners starting in mid-September, and dealers will reimburse the customer for the affected tires. Duraturn-brand tires are distributed in the U.S. by YC Rubber Co. (North America) L.L.C. of Pasadena, Calif.
The company told NHTSA it will engage Stericycle Inc., a third-party agent, to handle the details of the recall, such as notifying distributors and describing the procedure for recovering and exchanging any of the recalled tires that may have been sold and for any recalled tires that distributors may have in their inventory.
Owners may contact Duraturn Customer Assistance Service Department at 626-513-8989 or contact the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236 or go to safercar.gov.
The recall covers a dozen sizes of the Duraturn Travia A/T, from LT235/75R15 to LT285/70R17 and including LT31X10.50R15; the tires' DOT identification codes begin with UF, contain the size codes PP, RN or UM and end with the date stamp starting with 4015 and running through 0318.
Shaanxi Yanchang said it identified three possible reasons for the problem: incorrectly sized steel belts; a belt compound that provided insufficient adhesion; and a curing press error that led to overcuring.
The company claims it corrected all three issues and Travia A/T tires produced since January 2018 have passed the federal safety tests.