Replacement tire blamed for seven crashes

Thursday, July 26, 2001 | 11:01 a.m.

A tire that Ford Motor Co. is using to replace Firestone Wilderness ATs has a higher rate of damage claims than the Firestones do, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said as it opened a defect inquiry into the tire.

The tire, the General Ameri..550 AS, made by Continental Tire North America, a division of German-based Continental AG, has caused seven crashes, including two rollovers, with 17 injuries, the traffic agency said. But it warned that the inquiry did not mean the tires were dangerous.

Ford said that its testing indicated that the tire "meets our performance and durability requirements," but added, "we have removed this tire from our approved tire replacement list until NHTSA. completes its investigation."

Ford has replaced about 3 million Firestones so far but has used only 4,300 of the Continental tires, the company said. The tire in question is size P235/70R16.

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