TORONTO — Bridgestone/Firestone Canada Inc. today announced that it is participating in the tire replacement program announced in the United States by Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. (BFS).
Firestone Canada will replace Wilderness AT tires (P235/75R15 and P255/70R16) produced before May 1998 that are still in use on sport utility vehicles. Firestone's replacement program applies to tires installed as original equipment on certain 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers, as well as tires purchased in the replacement market for Ford, Mercury and other sport utility vehicles.
The company estimates that about 768,000 of the affected SUV tires were in the North American market prior to Ford's replacement program with about 700,000 of that number on Explorers and Mountaineers. The number of tires to be replaced in Canada is not immediately available.
"We wholeheartedly agree with our Chairman and CEO, John Lampe's comments, "says Jerry Priddle, director, public relations and advertising, Bridgestone/Firestone Canada Inc. "We do not agree with NHTSA's findings. Our testing and science show our tires perform extremely well. However, we have decided that it is in the best interest of our company, our employees, our dealers and our customers to replace the limited number of tires in question and close this chapter in the company's history."
Firestone will replace any P235/75R15 and P255/70R16 Wilderness AT tires produced before May 1998 that are still in use on a pickup truck free-of- charge at the customer's request. Firestone's dealers and company-owned stores will support this pickup truck customer satisfaction program on the same basis as the SUV program.