Over 82,000 Tires Were Just Recalled For An Unusual Error

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is a government organization with a focus on making sure America's vehicles and roads are safe. One of the ways the organization accomplishes this is through recalls, where it will remove products from the market if they are deemed unsafe in any way. While these recalls can be the cause of major issues, such as the Takata airbag recall, some of them are slightly less severe.

NHTSA recently announced that tires from PT. Multistrada Arah Sarana, TBK (Multistrada) are being recalled due to an unexpected issue. With a potential of 82,964 units affected, the Achilles ATR Sport 2 tires from the Indonesian company are being recalled due to their Tire Identification Number being too long. Because the TIN is too long, the tires cannot be registered by owners, as there is a character limit for registration.

According to NHTSA, "As such, these tires fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Number 574, 'Tire Identification & Recordkeeping.'" The government safety organization explains that, to remedy this situation, drivers will have to bring their vehicles to a local dealership. The dealers will then inspect and provide a refund of the tires, free of charge.

NHTSA also recommends owners contact TBC Quality Assurance at 1-800-739-7698 to see whether or not their tires are affected.

This isn't the first time that Multistrada has been involved with a tire recall. Back in 2018, the brand was forced to recall its Achilles Desert Hawk Q/P tires, size LT215/85 R16 115/112R 10PR. The tire failed to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, which means the tire had the potential to exhibit lower sidewall separation. Under certain circumstances, the rubber threads holding the tire together could detach, causing potentially catastrophic damage to your tires, vehicle, and self.

Multistrada's recalls are far from the worst in history. The biggest tire product recall in American automotive history was for Bridgestone/Firestone tires in 2000. The brand was forced to recall 6.5 million Firestone tires that had caused almost 175 deaths and more than 700 injuries. The issue here was that the tread could peel off, causing the tire to blow out.