Rollover and Firestone Tire Controversy

Firestone vs Ford Motor Company controversy

In May 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contacted Ford and Firestone about a higher than normal incidence of tire failures on Ford Explorers, Mercury Mountaineers, and Mazda Navajos fitted with Firestone tires (later including Ford Ranger and Mazda B-Series pickup trucks). The failures all involved tread separation— in which the outer tread carcass would delaminate and cause a rapid loss of tire pressure. Ford investigated and found that several models of 15 in (381 mm) Firestone tires (ATX, ATX II, and Wilderness AT) had higher failure rates, especially those made at Firestone's Decatur, Illinois plant. Ford argued that Firestone was at fault. Ford's argument noted that its SUVs and pickups equipped with Firestone-competitor Goodyear tires experienced no rollover issues, even at low psi levels. Since most Explorer, Mountaineer, Ranger, B-Series, and Navajo tires have been replaced, the rollover reports have subsided, further lending credit to Ford's position that the design of its vehicles were not at fault. Although the Explorer having a manufacturer recommended inflation of only 26 PSI likely contributed to the tread separation problem by causing the tires to operate at higher than normal temperatures. Part of the rollover issue was poor driver reaction to the tire blowout. When a tire blew, the driver experienced a large jerk and many drivers reacted by jerking the wheel in an attempt to regain control. This action causes a shift of the vehicle's weight, which results in the roll-over of the vehicle, especially when this occurs at higher speeds (many reports of roll-overs were of vehicles being driven at speeds of 70 MPH and above). Larry Webster, a test-driver for Car & Driver magazine was able, in a test simulating dozens of tire blowouts, repeatedly able to bring a 1994 Explorer to a stop without a single rollover, even at speeds of 70 MPH.[6][7] According to Forbes magazine, car experts and NHTSA claim that the vast majority of crash accidents and deaths are caused not by the vehicle, but by the driver, by road conditions or some combination of the two.