|
Firestone recall timeline
|
 |
September 20, 2000: 11:13 p.m. ET
The short, unhappy history of the second-largest tire recall in U.S. history
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Ford and Firestone officials face a new set of Congressional hearings Thursday concerning the recall of millions of tires reportedly tied to fatal accidents involving sport/utility vehicles. But this time around, it is the design and testing of Ford's popular Explorer SUV that will come under scrutiny.
Here's a brief history of the massive tire recall:
Aug. 3, 2000: The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it had opened an investigation of Firestone ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires after receiving 193 complaints -- including 21 involving fatalities -- that the rubber peeled off the tire casing. Ford Motor Co. (F: Research, Estimates) said it was also reviewing the safety of the tires.
Aug. 4: Sears (S: Research, Estimates), the nation's No. 1 tire retailer, said it stopped selling the tire models.
 Aug. 9: Bridgestone recalled 6.5 million tires -- the second largest tire recall in U.S. history -- in response to complaints the tires might be linked to fatal accidents. The Firestone Web site crashed hours after the announcement, crippled by the number of people trying to access it at once.
Aug. 10: Firestone retail locations across the U.S. were jammed with consumers requesting new tires.
Aug. 11: Customers trying to return Firestone tires said they were frustrated by an inadequate supply of replacement tires.
Aug. 12: Ford, responding to customer complaints that a phased tire recall wasn't moving quickly enough, authorized its nearly 3,000 dealers to replace the tires with other brands if Firestone's substitutes weren't available.
Aug. 13: On the very day Ford ran full-page Sunday newspaper ads reassuring its customers of the safety of Ford autos equipped with Firestone tires, two Ford Explorers -- fitted with Wilderness AT tires -- suffered blowouts in Florida.
Aug. 14: A group of South Florida families filed a class-action lawsuit against Firestone, demanding the immediate replacement of potentially unsafe tires.
Aug. 14: Ford said it would continue using Bridgestone/Firestone tires, but the company would increase scrutiny of quality standards at the tire manufacturer.
Aug. 15: The NHTSA said it found there had been 62 fatalities in accidents involving vehicles using the recalled tires.
Aug. 16: Bridgestone said it would reimburse customers up to $100 a tire for exchanging tires involved in the company's recall and began running ads in 41 newspapers nationwide detailing the reimbursement policy. However, Bridgestone said customers who exchanged tires for non-Bridgestone replacements after Aug. 16 wouldn't be reimbursed.
Aug. 16: A Kentucky judge ordered Firestone to extend its Aug. 16 deadline for reimbursing consumers who replaced tires at independent shops with competitor's' tires. The company wiped out the deadline, but said it had nothing to do with the judge's order.
Sound off: Take the CNNfn poll about the Firestone tire recall.
Aug. 21: Ford said it would halt production at three truck assembly plants for two weeks beginning Aug. 28 in order to free up 70,000 tires so they could be used as replacements in the recall.
Aug. 22: Wall Street analysts cut Ford's earnings estimates, saying consumer worries about the tire recall would temporarily hurt Ford's sales.
Aug. 25: The House Commerce Committee said it would send investigators to Ford's headquarters to talk to Ford executives and study documents about the recall.
Aug. 26: U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater said the U.S. wasn't seeking the recall of Firestone tires beyond those models already identified.
Aug. 28: The U.S. Congress said it planned to hold hearings on the recall on Sept. 6, under the auspices of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Aug. 29: Ford said it knew of problems with Firestone tires on Explorer sport/utility vehicles in Venezuela in 1998, two years before they began replacing tires for customers there.
Aug. 31: Ford Motor Co.'s Chief Executive Officer Jacques Nasser said he would testify at congressional hearings in Washington Sept. 6. Ford chose Michelin as an additional supplier of tires for the 2002 Explorer, removing its exclusive arrangement with Bridgestone/Firestone. Separately, U.S. Firestone workers threatened to strike unless they received a new contract.
Sept. 1: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warned consumers to consider replacing an additional 1.4 million tires, on top of the 6.5 million already being recalled. Bridgestone/Firestone refused to recall those tires. Eight thousand of the company's workers threatened to walk off the job in the face of a strike deadline.
Sept. 4: Bridgestone/Firestone and union officials reached tentative agreement on a labor contract. In addition, an agreement was reached with the Venezuelan consumer protection agency Indecu to recall 62,000 tires that the agency has linked to at least 46 deaths there.
Sept. 6: Congressional hearings began in Washington. U.S. lawmakers sharply criticized Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford Motor Co. for not acting quickly enough to recall the tires. In testimony, the heads of both companies pointed the finger of blame at the other.
Sept. 7: U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno said the Justice Department would review whether criminal charges are warranted against the tire maker.
Sept. 8: In an SEC filing, Ford estimated that 30 percent of the 6.5 million recalled Firestone tires had already been replaced, reflecting a pace somewhat faster than early estimates of the recall. In addition, the company announced that it would extend by one week the shutdown of three assembly plants, which the automaker had closed in August in order to divert tires to consumers.
Sept. 12: At the congressional hearings, Bridgestone/Firestone officials made their clearest acknowledgment yet of defects in their tires and expanded their recall, but also said the design of Ford vehicles may have contributed to the fatal accidents. Meanwhile, a House panel threatened to subpoena Ford and Firestone documents about tire tests if both companies did not release them promptly.
Sept. 15: Ford told analysts in New York that its Firestone tire recall problems will affect the company's results into the third quarter, as expected, as well as the fourth quarter. Also, three Bridgestone/Firestone officials filed depositions in the first defective tires case against the company scheduled to go to trial.
Sept. 18: Bridgestone Corp. president Yoichiro Kaizaki said the company plans to decide on a reshuffle of top management at its U.S. Firestone unit this month and may temporarily close a key U.S. plant.
Sept. 19: Federal transportation officials said Tuesday they are investigating an additional 15 deaths linked to the Firestone tire recall, bringing the total to 103 from 88. NHTSA also said it has received 400 reports of injuries and more than 2,226 complaints about the tires.
Sept. 20: Congressional investigators and plaintiffs' lawyers are trying to determine if the design of Ford Motor Co.'s Explorer sport/utility vehicle could have contributed to the accidents being blamed on faulty tires. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
