Defective Tire Recall System

A 2014 investigation by ABC News revealed that because of a badly flawed and archaic government recall system, millions of potentially dangerous recalled tires remained on the roads, on store shelves for sale, or simply went unaccounted for.

NBC News reported in 2015, that accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board said that while each year tire problems cause 33,000 accidents and kill 500-plus motorists, only one in five defective tires is being taken out of service via recalls. More than half of recalled tires remain in use, investigators found.

Are you driving on recalled tires? How do you know? Where do you go to find out?

During the recent National Tire Safety Week (May 29-June 4, 2016), the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) announced its launch of an online tool to help consumers identify tire recalls.

While RMA identifies tires manufactured by RMA members since 2000 that may be subject to a recall, RMA members represent approximately 80% of all U.S. tire shipments.

The recall search tool works by entering a tire identification number (TIN) that is found on the sidewall of every tire sold in the U.S. The TIN begins with the letters “DOT.”

The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which passed Congress in December 2015, requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to create its own online search tools for tire recalls.

“RMA is assisting NHTSA as it develops a searchable database of all tire recalls,” said RMA President and CEO, Anne Forristall Luke, “by making the product of our work to organize the data available to the agency. Consumers, tire manufacturers and regulators all want recalled tires to be quickly identified and removed from service.”