Tyremaker orders another recall

More bad news for Firestone

Another recall has rocked tyremaker Bridgestone/Firestone, as it said it is calling back nearly 100,000 tyres originally installed on Nissan cars.

The announcement follows Firestone's recall last year of 6 million tyres fitted on Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicles, a move the tyremaker later blamed for its worst profits in 10 years.

Firestone said on Tuesday it is voluntarily recalling 98,500 Firehawk GTA-02 tyres, most originally installed on 2000 and 2001 Nissan Altima models manufactured in the US.

Firestone initiated the recall after an analysis of tyres returned for adjustment showed surface cracks could form at the edge of the tread and shoulder of the tyre.

The recall involves 23,000 Nissan SE models sold in the US, Canada and Guam.

The balance of the tyres made it into the tyre replacement market.

Aside from the US, Canada and Guam, the Firestone tyres were distributed to Puerto Rico and Trinidad.

Bridgestone is not aware of any accidents that may have arisen out of the problems it noted.

The recall is not related to the earlier Ford Explorer.

Steel belts cited

In a statement, the company said that while the company's analysis indicated that the tyres, for the most part, were performing at appropriate levels, the firm had identified a design flaw.

That flaw resulted in too little rubber sitting between the edge of the steel belts, used to reinforce the tire, and the surface of the tyre, causing the steel belt to expose itself.

The tyres subject to the recall have one of the following US Department of Transportation numbers:

W2T2 VF3 289 to 529.

W2T2 VF3 010 to 170.

W2T2 VF3 1800 to 4500.

No mention of tread separation

Bridgestone/Firestone's previous ongoing recall of tyres outfitted on the Ford Explorer was spurred on by lawsuits that were filed against the company for accidents believed to be caused by tyre-tread separation.

More than 170 deaths have been attributed to defective tyres installed on Ford Explorers and similar vehicles.

In an interview with BBC World Business, a Firestone spokeswoman said the latest, unrelated recall is evidence that the company has bettered its efforts in alerting the public to possible problems with its tyres.