RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.—GITI Tire (USA) Ltd. is voluntarily recalling 218 Runway Enduro 816 radials, size P235/60R16 99T, built earlier this year at a GITI Tire Co. Ltd. plant in Fujian, China, because of a molding problem that could lead to the tires developing cuts in the shoulders.
GITI said the tires being recalled are part of a batch of 498 built in the second week of 2013. Of these, 218 were exported to the U.S.
They are identified by the Tire Identification Number 5WWK-00A and the date of manufacture code 0213.
The subject tires were made in a mold that was not in good working condition, GITI said. When under stress over time, GITI said in a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, tires from this batch may develop a cut in the shoulder sipe that could in some cases lead to rapid air loss, which could pose a safety risk.
GITI identified three U.S. distributors—Martin Tire Co. of El Paso, Texas; Wheel Mart of Sacramento, Calif.; and Bridgestone Americas—as having received all of the suspect tires. A technical bulletin with details can be viewed at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov.
GITI was made aware of the problem in late May by its representative in Colombia, which said it had received complaints from dealers that some of the target tires showed signs of air loss during mounting.
GITI Tire (USA) said it has begun to take steps to contact the dealers and any other parties who may have purchased the subject tires in the week beginning June 3 in order to recover the tires and replace them with tires fit for the intended purposes.
The manufacturer said it also will reimburse the costs and expenses incurred by the customers for remedies made prior to the recall where appropriate.