Chinese Tires Are Ordered Recalled

[HereSince1628]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/26/business/worldbusiness/26tire.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin

Federal officials have told a small New Jersey importer to recall 450,000 radial tires for pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans after the company disclosed that its Chinese manufacturer had stopped including a safety feature that prevented the tires from separating.

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Yes it does seem to have been associated with a rollover that killed two people.

[BlueJazz]

1. This is so silly...What's a little inconvenience ??

[HereSince1628]

2. Hey, THAT is one hot car!

[BlueJazz]

7. Boy..You would think with all the advances in "Space age Materials" that.....

..the car makers could build a car that wouldn't burn like a wooden shack ???

[madokie]

26. more like a barrel of oil ;-)

beings as there are so much of it in the materials in the average auto.

[BlueJazz]

35. Quite True..And (of Course) it could be done but...

...the cost would be high...and folks wouldn't buy them..

[kurth]

3. Watch out for 450,000 tires

This is fucking ridiculous.

[HereSince1628]

15. I think that 450k is just through one importer.

And there were multiple importers. Across the nation the number may be several times more than 450k

[mcscajun]

4. A safety feature? I'd have thought that was basic to the structure...NOT to Separate.

Yikes! Right off, you hope no one is seriously injured or killed before this recall is effected; then there's the small businesses to consider.

Here's a company (Foreign Tire Sales) whose seven employees will all be looking for new work almost immediately. The owner(s) will be ruined. This is a small firm in Union, NJ, now on the hook for the costs of the recall. They maintain no inventory; they are an importer only, selling to distributors. It'll cost $200 to replace each defective tire and pay for disposal of them, according to the article.

That's 90 Million Dollars in recall costs, not counting notification to the distributors and whatever other paperwork is required by the feds. You can be sure there'll be lots of it.

“We don’t really know where to start,” their lawyer said. “There’s no way F.T.S. can recall this universe of tires. It will have to go belly up.”

The article mentions there are at least six other importers or distributors in the United States who've bought these tires.

[jojo54]

5. First kids' toys, now tires.........

What's next Georgie, now that you've outsourced most of our manufacturing to China?

I've got it, how 'bout you let China make bibles that are sold to this country?????? Ha??? How 'bout that one? Hey, Georgie, why don't you answer????? Georgie, I'm talking to ya!!!

[BeyondGeography]

8. Don't forget the pet food and the toothpaste

The situation is out of control on both sides of the producer/consumer equation.

[jojo54]

22. DUH!!! ........I just threw out my Colgate 10 days ago and

constantly kept watch on the pet food brands for the Friskies name (which never came up, thank goodness).

[havocmom]

28. Contaminated flour & gluten in pizza crust and infant formula too

x(

[NewJeffCT]

20. well, I remember in the days after 9/11

the company I worked for at the time gave out small American flags to all their employees. On the seam where the flag was attached to the stick was the stamp "Made in China"

It just seemed wrong.

[jojo54]

23. Really.

I've been looking at everything before I buy, ever since I learned that China is (indirectly) involved in the genocide in Dar fur.

[name not needed]

39. You think that's bad? Check out the cars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9RbZyrJQ4g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZWy_fASSiQ

[TZ]

6. geez

does China have ANY kind of quality control/oversight with their products?:eyes:
(and people wonder why I say regulation is a GOOD thing)

[HereSince1628]

10. But, this is the FREE MARKET, consumers demand this cheap stuff!

Clearly the problem is US consumers have been pampered by more than a half century of safety regulations. This sort of thing will toughen us up; it's exactly what we need. What doesn't kill us will make us stronger. :silly:

[LiberalFighter]

13. Why should they?

Bet they figure once they are the only store in town they will sell whatever they want. And screw the rest of the world.

All the more reason manufacturing should be done in the country buying the products.

[watrwefitinfor]

9. Does anyone know how to find out the names of the tires?

Information on what exactly is being recalled? Or anything about what to look for on tires you bought for your truck?

Wat

[HereSince1628]

11. Westlake, Compass, Telluride and YKS

From later in the article... "The defective tires are sold under the brand names Westlake, Compass, Telluride and YKS, Mr. Lavigne said."

[kurth]

12. They were sold under the brand names Westlake, Compass, Telluride and YKS

Stay away from all Chinese automobile products if you value your life.

[watrwefitinfor]

17. Thanks to both of you for the tire names.

I had to run outside and check the new tires.

I think everybody would love to stay away from ALL Chinese products, if we only had a way to know what they are. So far they are labeling the fish...

Wat

[watrwefitinfor]

21. Details & Contact Info from dmv.org - Please K & R this thread.

From the main page click on Vehicle and Tire Recalls and search on Recalls within the Month. These tires will come up with 41 other tire recalls. You can search the page and find these.

Please K & R this and get the information out there. So many people will never hear of this, since no major manufacturer is involved. Who will send out the notices?

Wat

http://www.dmv.org/recalls.php

Make / Models : Model/Build Years:
FTS / COMPASS 9999

FTS / TELLURIDE 9999

FTS / WESTLAKE 9999

FTS / YKS 9999

Manufacturer : FOREIGN TIRE SALES, INC

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 07T003000 Mfr's Report Date : JUN 11, 2007
Component: TIRES:TREAD/BELT
Potential Number Of Units Affected : 450000
Summary:
CERTAIN FOREIGN TIRE SALES (FTS) TIRES WERE MANUFACTURED WITHOUT A GUM STRIP OR WITH AN INSUFFICIENT GUM STRIP BETWEEN THE BELTS OR OTHER CONSTRUCTION TO KEEP THE BELTS FROM SEPARATING. THESE TIRES FAIL TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 119, NEW PNEUMATIC TIRES.
Consequence:
BELTS ON TIRES MANUFACTURED WITH INSUFFICIENT OR NO GUM STRIPS CAN SEPARATE FROM THE TIRE WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH, PROPERTY DAMAGE OR DEATH.
Remedy:
THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT YET PROVIDED THE AGENCY WITH A REMEDY AND NOTIFICATION SCHEDULE.
Notes:
CUSTOMERS MAY CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.

[madokie]

27. chinese trinkets is all that one should buy for the most part

none of the products coming from there is up to our quality, imho

[LiberalFighter]

14. Company is Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber

[EnviroBat]

16. Are there any Chinese products manufactured that aren't complete shit?

[B3Nut]

25. Some, but not many

Studio Projects microphones built by Beijing 797 Audio (good sounding, well made, affordable alternative to German condenser mics for the small-time musician)
Ibanez Artcore-series semihollow and hollowbody electrics, great sounding and playing guitars
A handful of audiophile vacuum tube amplifiers, the Chinese can handcraft amazing stuff if you give them the wherewithal to do so

I have had problems with Chinese-made Intel server boards, Antec Truepower and Smartpower series power supplies with the godawful exploding Fuhjyyu capacitors (they die after 1-1.5 years), and the decrepit Young Year Electronics-made Apevia/Aspire power supplies...complete crap. Power supplies rated at "420 watts" that can't squeeze 220 watts into an actual load without shutting down. Then there are the complete pieces of trash like Deer, L&C, and Codegen. That shit should be banned from importation, IMHO...they're usually *missing* critical input filtration components and the heatsinks look like they were cut by high-school students with old hacksaws.

Working in IT as a tech and system builder it's DAMN hard to avoid Chinese products, it's really frustrating. I try to avoid Chinese products whenever possible. Damn all this outsourcing and race to the bottom! Consumer electronics is getting crappier by the day.

Todd in Cheesecurdistan

[EnviroBat]

29. Hey Man, I hadn't considered the musical gear that is manufactured there.

I run a small recording studio, and I've heard some good things about the Beijing mics. We use mostly Sure, RODE, CAD, Blue, and Senheiser currently. They still are making some good tubes, in fact many of our tube-mic pre's have Chinese tubes in them.

[B3Nut]

37. The popular MXL mics

are from China as well, most of those were Shanghai Feilo-built last I read, though a few models might have come from 797 (I suspected my little MXL603s pencil condensers came from there...they're smooth on acoustic guitar and sound good on the top of my Leslie as well.)

RODE has some great mics, those Aussies have a mighty fine product. Some really good tubes come from JJ Electronic in the Slovak Republic, www.eurotubes.com sells them among others. I love tubes, but have to admit the manufacture of tubes is environmentally messy. One former tube factory in Eastern Europe (forgot where) is pretty much an environmental hazard zone. Hopefully they're making them more cleanly these days, at least in Europe. I'd doubt the Chinese factories have much in the way of environmental awareness, unfortunately. :(

Tubes are the heart of rock'n'roll, though. :)

Todd in Cheesecurdistan

[EnviroBat]

40. Sadly, you're right about the environmental issues of tubes.

Thankfully there are some advances being made with some guitar amps these days. One of the best sounding amps we have discovered recently is a Marshall AVT2000. It has a tube pre-amp, (12AX7), and a solid-state power section. It puts out 100watts, and man does sound killer with the right mic in frot of it!

[PearliePoo2]

31. I've got to admit

all these defective/deadly Chinese products have affected my shopping habits.
I now make every effort to look at labeling for country of origin.
Just yesterday I saw a sale on Soy Sauce. A very large bottle for $1.00.
I looked at the label and it said Product Of China and I immediately remembered the article about a Chinese company adding human hair to their soy sauce recipe to boost the protein content.:puke:
Take a guess where all that free human hair came from?
Obviously Soy Sauce is associated with China...but I want mine "Brewed in the USA"
Kiss consumer protection goodbye with this administration.

[madokie]

32. we are on our own

[RufusEarl]

33. NO!!

[DS1]

18. Free market wins!

:sarcasm:

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

19. K&R nt

[lonestarnot]

24. CHeap CHinese products. Keep buying CHeap there America.

[madokie]

30. we're kind of in a catch 22 here

with the way inflation is and the eroding of wages so many can't afford anything but chinese made cheap shit. another reason to impeach the whole bunch of them. re:puke:s and dem's a like. Americans have been sold down the river by our pol's if you ask me .:hi:

[lonestarnot]

34. We need to learn to do without when it comes to Chinese products. Just do without. It's simple.

[cyberpj]

36. More on this - plus - Who are the "just seven employees" of 'Foreign Tire Sales' I wonder...

Ms. Hopkins said the agency’s top officials were “outraged” that Foreign Tire Sales’ executives waited more than two years to pass on their suspicions about problems with the tires. The company first suspected problems in October 2005. Almost a year later, in September 2006, the Chinese manufacturer, Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, a former state-owned company based in eastern China, acknowledged that a gum strip that prevents the tread from separating was left out of the manufacturing process.

snip-

Jeffrey B. Killino, a personal-injury lawyer from Philadelphia, said the company came forward only after it was named as a defendant in a lawsuit, filed in May, involving an accident in which two construction workers were killed and a third was severely injured when a van rolled over. The lawsuit contended that the accident was caused by tread separation in a Hangzhou Zhongce tire.

snip-

An official at Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, reached late Monday, declined to comment. The defective tires are sold under the brand names Westlake, Compass, Telluride and YKS, Mr. Lavigne said.

snip-

Hangzhou Zhongce has refused to tell Foreign Tire Sales’ officials how long it omitted the gum strip from its manufacturing process, Mr. Lavigne said. Foreign Tire Sales said it believed that it purchased about 450,000 of the tires in question from the Chinese company.

Hangzhou Zhongce sold the tires to at least six other importers or distributors in the United States.

Foreign Tire Sales, which has just seven employees, buys foreign tires, imports them and then resells them to domestic distributors. Mr. Lavigne said the company did not physically handle the tires.

[bullwinkle428]

38. I work in the tire-related industry and wouldn't trust that crap

if my life depended on it, and as a matter of fact, it does! It's a shame how much people are willing to risk just to save a few bucks. For the record, the tires on my car are American-built, manufactured in a union plant in Salem, VA (Yokohama)...

[VP505]

41. Yes some

will buy that cheep crap to save a few bucks but what about those on the very bottom of the economic scale that either have to do without some other basic need or buy cheep tires? That's where the real shame comes into play, once again its the health and well being of the poor at risk.

[bullwinkle428]

42. I looked at all of the options when I had to purchase

this most recent set of tires for my car, and to be honest, there isn't a prohibitive difference in price between the quality products and the cheaply-made stuff from China. We're talking about $65 per tire vs. around $40 in the size that my car required. I completely understand that not everyone has the money to purchase a "luxury sled", but two things that should never compromised on a vehicle are brakes and tires - we're talking about items that go directly towards the safety of the vehicle.

One might think that the U.S. D.O.T. wouldn't allow products in the American marketplace if they didn't meet minimum safety standards, but this administration continues to rely more and more upon the good old "invisible hand" to take care of everything...it just keeps giving us the finger!

[tomreedtoon]

43. China's tribute to capitalism; no quality control.

People want stuff cheap? They get it cheap. And defective.

I haven't bought any Chinese tires - to my knowledge - but I was once shopping for a motor scooter, so I could get to work using less gas. There are lots of motor scooters around. Some of them claim to have "Honda" or "Kawasaki" engines. It turns out that Chinese producers simply license the original BLUEPRINTS to the Honda and Kawasaki engines, then build cheaper versions that don't come up to the original design's specs. Result: Cheap crap that breaks down or burns out.

I've also bought cheap MP3 players. They actually work. Only thing is, some of the Chinese makers produce versions with firmware that "lies" about how much memory they have. You can pay a premium price for an MP3 player that supposedly has 2 gigabytes of memory, and it could have as little as 128 megs. You can use a utility to find out how much memory the thingies really have, but by then you've bought it and it's too late.

It seems to me that these Chinese manufacturers have adopted the robber-baron tactics of the 1900's - forget the more modern versions currently working on Wall Street. As in the case of these tires, and the things mentioned above, the prevailing belief is "The public be damned." Or maybe, more appropriate for the rhetoric, "The proletariat be damned."