In addition to the growing list of recalls of Chinese products from fish to toothpaste, now a series of tires has been recalled. These tires, imported by Foreign Tire Sales Inc. (FTS), are sold under the names of Westlake, Telluride, Compass, and YKS. There may be other brands involved also.
The recall is due to a dangerous defect — inadequate or missing gum strips. Gum strips are required to prevent tread separation. Inadequate gum strips or no gum strips on as many as 450,000 tires that FTS imported and sold to American companies, including Ford and General Motors. The defective Chinese tires can suffer tread separation, causing crashes and vehicle rollovers.
The defective tires have been responsible for at least two deaths and numerous injuries in the United States.
