Sears halts sale of tires possibly linked to deaths

By ROSALIND HELDERMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 5, 2000

A string of 21 fatalities possibly linked to certain models of Bridgestone/Firestone tires prompted Sears, Roebuck and Co. to stop selling the tires Friday.

The move has left some Tampa Bay area motorists worried and area Firestone dealers rushing to declare the tires safe.

Nationally, Sears does not stock the tires but sells them by order only.

"Since we sell so few of these anyway and since there is some question, we decided to be very cautious and not sell them until we get more information," said Tom Nicholson, director of public relations for Sears.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating Firestone ATX, ATX II and Wilderness tires in May after receiving 193 complaints that the tires peeled off their casings, sometimes while moving at high speeds. Reportedly, 21 fatalities have occurred during related accidents.

Two Florida families filed suit July 24 against Bridgestone/Firestone and Ford, which puts the tires on its popular Explorer sport utility vehicle, alleging that the tires were involved in a fatal accident. The tires also have been linked to an accident Thursday on Alligator Alley in which five people were injured.

Bridgestone/Firestone issued a statement Friday calling Sears a "longstanding and valued customer" and urging ATX and Wilderness owners who are concerned to contact their dealers. The company has not recalled the tires.

But bay area stores that regularly stock the Firestone ATX and Wilderness lines said Friday they will continue to do so despite the investigation and Sears' decision.

Olson Tire, a chain that sells the tires at 568 locations nationwide, does not plan a recall. Ken Spalter, manager of 17 bay area Olson Tire stores, said he is convinced the tires are safe and attributes most customer complaints about the tire to recent news coverage.

"We haven't experienced any problems," Spalter said. "Without the media, it's not a problem."

The Firestone ATX line, which sells for about $80 a tire, comes as original equipment on Ford Explorers. It is also a popular model for Ford F-150 pickups and other sport utility vehicles.

Spalter said that with approximately 47-million of the popular tires on the market, it's only reasonable that there are more documented cases of tread separation for the ATX and Wilderness tires than for other models.

Still, Spalter said each of the 17 local Olson Tire stores has received about three or four calls a day since May from concerned sport utility vehicle drivers. He instructs his managers to do whatever they can to reassure nervous drivers.

"We tell people to bring the car on down, and we'll do an inspection," he said.

If customers are concerned, Spalter said his stores will replace the tires.

Donna and Dave Bush of Largo no longer have Firestone ATX tires on their Ford Explorer. That's because the right front tire shredded when the family was returning from a vacation to Pennsylvania in 1999.

"The front end of the car just started shimmying," Mrs. Bush recalled.

She said the family pulled over twice to try to find a problem but couldn't see anything wrong with the Explorer. The Bushes continued to drive at approximately 75 mph, trailing a camper.

"It got to the point where I couldn't drive it any more. I made Dave take over," Mrs. Bush said.

Less than 15 minutes later, the tire shredded, sending a piece of rubber flying into the driver's side mirror and denting the door and bumper. The Explorer skidded sideways to a halt. The Bushes were frightened but uninjured. "I don't even want to think about what could have happened," Mrs. Bush said.

The tire, which is supposed to last for 50,000 miles, was 3 years old and had been driven about 35,000 miles. Until news reports, the Bushes had thought their experience was a freak accident.

Todd Murrian, manager of Bob Lee's Tire in St. Petersburg, still thinks such incidents are exactly that.

Murrian said he would sell any of the tires in question to any customer who asked. "I would sell you that tire, and I wouldn't think twice about it," he said.

- Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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