NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 9, 2001) — Bridgestone/Firestone Inc.'s latest tire recall, which involves some 768,000 Firestone Wilderness AT tires, will come with a hefty pricetag.
A spokeswoman for the Nashville-based tire maker said the company estimates the replacement program—ordered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration—“will cost less than $30 million.”
According to other published reports, the president of BFS' Tokyo-based parent, Bridgestone Corp., said the company will take a loss of up to $30 million for the latest recall.
In its long-awaited report closing an investigation of the Firestone light truck tires, NHTSA determined that the tires—size P235-/75R15 and P255/70R16—can develop weak spots around their circumference because of high stress at the belt edge, leading to tread separation.
BFS produced some 3.5 million of these tires, according to NHTSA. But the tire maker estimates about 768,000 of the tires are still in use.