WASHINGTON — Mexico's Compania Hulera Tornel S.A. de C.V. is recalling 728 Tornel Deportiva passenger tires, size P235/60R14 96S, because of possible off-center belts or low adhesion between the belts and the tread base.
Tornel manufactured the tires in June 2016 and again during October through December 2016 at its factory in Tultitlan, Mexico, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The belts on these tires may have touched the floor during manufacture, causing contamination and poor adhesion between the belts and the tread base, according to the NHTSA defect report.
The belts may also have gotten off-center during application, the report said, a condition that poses a risk of tread block separation between the belt and tread, which may lead to partial chunking of tread blocks.
A detached tread block can cause loss of performance, possibly causing the vehicle to crash.
Tornel told NHTSA it is not aware of any injuries related to this condition.
NHTSA informed Tornel on Jan. 23 that the tires had failed a routine endurance test required by federal regulation, the report said.
Tornel will replace the tires free of charge. The company will notify dealers of the recall April 15-22 and owners April 29-May 6, the report said.
The tires' DOT code information is: 4F-RI-CNH-2216-2216 and 4F-RI-CNH-4116- 5016.
Meanwhile, owners may call Tornel customer service at 281-919-1944, or contact NHTSA at 888-327-4236 or go to safercar.gov.
This is the second recall of a Tornel product in the past couple of months.
In January Tornel announced the rcall of 832 Tornel A/Z 09 light truck tires, size LT265/75R16, due to a manufacturing defect that could lead to sidewall rupturing.
Tornel is a wholly owned subsidiary of India's JK Tyre & Industries Ltd.