Michelin recalls 1.2 million tires over product defect

A malfunction in the tires of a vehicle can lead to serious risk of injuries for anyone in the vehicle, as well as for anyone in the zone of danger. A blown tire can cause a driver to lose control of the vehicle. That should be fairly obvious. Our Pottsville area readers would understand that the tires are where the rubber meets the road….literally.

A potential defect with some Michelin tires has led to a recall of 1.2 million tires that were sold in the United States beginning in 2010. Many of the tires were installed on new vehicles, but others were sold as replacement tires for a variety of vehicles, including commercial light trucks, vans, smaller recreational vehicles and large pickup trucks.

The tires subject to the recall are from the LTX M/S series of tires manufactured by Michelin from the beginning of 2010 to the middle of 2012.

The tire company says that a safety issues may exist with the tires. The tread can separate, leading to the real potential of a traffic accident. The recall announcement says that the company is aware of 20 incidents that involved property damage resulting from the flaw in the tires. Michelin says that the company is not aware of any accidents that have involved injury or death related to the tire safety issue.

In addition to the potential for tread separation, Michelin says that some consumers note unusual vibrations, odd wear patterns and other issues with the suspect tires. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration apparently knows of the issue and is expected to review information that will be sent out to consumers related to the safety issue.

Defective tires can pose grave danger to motorists and pedestrians alike. Replacing defective tires is vital. A sudden malfunction of a tire (or tires) on a vehicle may occur at any time. Occupants of the vehicle can suffer injury in a single vehicle accident. Other people also can be endangered form this type of product defect.