Janet Rusnak wanted to buy a new set of tires, but had little idea how to begin.
She looked at the tire displays at a Goodyear store, counting at least five kinds of all-season radials, from basic to premium, that might fit her 1998 Ford Taurus.
After weeks of reading about tread separations, recalls and lawsuits, she wanted to know which tire was safest.
“I carry priceless cargo–my two children,” said Rusnak, 32, of Fairlawn, Ohio. “I want a tire that won’t conk out.”
Her task, she was finding out, was difficult and confusing. Consumer advocates say there is no reliable, up-to-date clearinghouse on specific tire failures.
Though the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration collects complaints about tires and lists summaries on its Web site–www.nhtsa.dot.gov–some safety experts say tire information is difficult to navigate according to brand, load range or size.
So many consumers base their tire-buying on recommendations from friends, a tire brand’s reputation, advice from independent tire dealers and ratings in consumer magazines.
“There’s just no good way to figure out which tires are safe,” said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Auto Safety. “The manufacturers run their own tests and certify the tires themselves. The government does a compliance test. But their standard isn’t a tough standard, and anyone can pass.”
The government has come under scrutiny for how it handled complaints of tread separations for Firestone passenger tires last year and for not providing an early detection system.
Firestone eventually recalled 6.5 million tires, and the government is investigating whether the tires were responsible for 148 deaths.
In November, NHTSA opened an investigation into Goodyear’s Load Range E light-truck tires.
Goodyear has said the tires have been linked to at least 30 accidents and 15 deaths but said many of the tires it investigated had other problems, and the company has no plans to recall them.
Those kinds of news reports have made some consumers more diligent in shopping for safe tires. And tire dealers say they are spending lots of time helping people sort out their options.Some people, however, are uncomfortable relying on dealers to give them buying advice.
“When I go shopping for tires, I feel wholly inadequate and at the mercy of tire salesmen,” said Ralph Hoar, executive director of Safetyforum.com, a consumer-advocate organization based in Alexandria, Va. “Over the years, NHTSA has made gestures at making this information available. But I don’t think it’s reliable.”
Officials from NHTSA did not return telephone calls.
