How Do Tire Safety Recalls Work?

A safety recall involving a motor vehicle or an item of motor vehicle equipment can be voluntarily conducted by its manufacturer or ordered by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The U.S. Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (or TREAD) Act was enacted to increase consumer safety through NHTSA. The TREAD Act requires manufacturers to report information related to defects, injuries or deaths related to their products, as well as other relevant data in order to comply with "Early Warning" requirements that enable NHTSA to collect data, notice trends, and warn consumers of potential defects in vehicles, or vehicle equipment.

Tires sold in the U.S. are required to be branded with a DOT (Department of Transportation) Tire Identification Code that identifies where (tire plant) and when (week and year) the tire was manufactured. In the case a recall is necessary, the tire manufacturer can identify which plant and time period the suspected tires were built and submit the information to NHTSA. NHTSA monitors each safety recall to ensure the manufacturers provide owners effective remedies according to the Safety Act and Federal regulations.

Manufacturers are obligated to attempt to notify owners of recalled products. For equipment where state registration records do not exist, manufacturers are obligated to notify their distribution chain and known purchasers of the recalled equipment. However, even if owners do not receive a notification, the manufacturer remains obligated to provide a remedy for tires involved in a safety recall.

Getting Tires Replaced

Tire Rack will assist retail customers with recalled tire replacements. South Bend, IN-area consumers can call Tire Rack customer service at 888-981-3953, to make arrangements to come to Tire Rack's South Bend headquarters for tire inspection and/or replacement.

All other retail customers who purchased tires from Tire Rack that were subsequently recalled can purchase approved replacement tires from Tire Rack, initially paying for tires, shipping and installation costs (including return shipment of recalled tires). Then upon return and inspection of the recalled tires to Tire Rack, customers will be reimbursed for tire, all shipping and normal installation costs, resulting in a no cost replacement.

If this is not convenient, tire recall procedures provide for consumers to have their affected tires inspected and/or replaced locally free of charge including mounting and balancing. Authorized dealers can be found on the manufacturers' website Dealer Locater.

Tire manufacturers reimburse their authorized dealers for approved replacement tires and compensate them for installation services and handling fees.