China-Made Tires Come Under Fire

A New Jersey importer has been ordered by the federal government to recall 450,000 radial tires made by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber for pickup trucks, SUVs and vans because of alleged flaws that could lead to tread separation.

Foreign Tire Sales, the tire importer, on Monday petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for help in recalling the tires. The tires may lack a layer of rubber between the belts that adds durability and prevents separation. Tread separation led to the recall of millions of Firestone tires in 2000, a flaw that was linked to increased risk of rollover.

An NHTSA official told The New York Times that the agency is "outraged" that it took the importer more than two years to disclose suspicions about the tires. On Tuesday, Hangzhou Zhongce told Bloomberg that it denies selling defective tires.

The tires were sold under at least four brands — Compass, Telluride, Westlake and YKS — by distributors in California, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota and Mississippi, according to safety advocacy company Safety Research & Strategies. The company said on its Web site that the number of defective tires may be higher than initially reported and noted that the tires were made without the "gum strips, a key safety feature."

Foreign Tire Sales was sued in May by the families of two men killed when a van allegedly equipped with Hangzhou tires crashed last year in Pennsylvania. The lawsuit led to the importer suing Hangzhou in late May and alerting the NHTSA on June 11.