BFGoodrich Tires Announces Recall

Company's Quality System Results in Early Action to Assure Performance

GREENVILLE, S.C., Sept. 30 -- BFGoodrich Tires is recalling 46,000 passenger and light truck tires after its quality system alerted the company to a condition initially affecting ride quality, but which could possibly result in steel belt separation if not addressed.

To date, there have been no accidents or injuries reported and no property damage claims filed. However, the company's thorough investigation indicates there may be similar performance issues with up to 3,500 tires, representing six tire brands. In order to reclaim that small number of tires, the company is recalling all potentially affected tires produced during the same period in a comprehensive commitment to retrieve from the market any tire that doesn't perform to BFGoodrich Tires quality standards.

"This decision was made based on six tires returned from service prematurely after consumers experienced tire vibration, noise and ride comfort issues," explained Michel Default, quality director for BFGoodrich Tire Manufacturing. "Based on our analysis of these returned tires, we've discovered an issue with one of the semi-finished products sent to our Ft. Wayne, Ind. facility and used in the production of up to 3,500 tires at the end of the 15th week and beginning of the 16th week (April) this year. That issue has been addressed and corrected. Fortunately, the issue was identified very early and we are acting in a comprehensive manner to assure consumer satisfaction and safety."

BFGoodrich Tires informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Sept. 27, 2004 of its U.S. recall campaign and is beginning an intensive communication with dealers, wholesalers and consumers potentially impacted. All recalled tires will be replaced free of charge and returned to BFGoodrich Tires.

The recalled tires have Department of Transportation tire identification numbers which begin with DOT BF and end with the last four digits 1504 or 1604. The DOT codes are found on the inner or outer sidewall of the tire just above the wheel rim and are printed in small type (less than half an inch tall). There are no issues with tires manufactured outside of these DOT weeks.

All of the recalled tires were produced in week 15 and 16 this year (April 11-24, 2004) at the Ft. Wayne facility and include BFGoodrich, Uniroyal, Liberator, Medalist, Phantom and Prospector brands in the following dimensions:

   LT235/75R15 BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO Load Range C RWL
   33X12.50R15 BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO Load Range C RWL
   LT235/70R16 BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO Load Range C RWL
   P245/75R16  BFGoodrich Land Terrain

   P255/70R16 Liberator A/T

   P255/70R16 109S Medalist Trail A/P ORWL
   P255/70R16 Medalist Sport King A/T Steel Radial

   P255/70R16 109S Phantom AP RWL

   P255/70R16 American Prospector AP RWL

   P245/75R16 Uniroyal Laredo AWP
   P265/75R16 114S Uniroyal Laredo AWP ORWL
   P255/70R16 Uniroyal Laredo AWP
   P265/75R15SL112S Uniroyal Laredo A/S AWP

BFGoodrich Tires has begun contacting dealers and wholesalers in the United States to recall as many tires as possible from dealer inventories and to gather information on consumers who have purchased the tires involved. Affected consumers will be contacted by first class mail. Appropriate related actions will be conducted in other countries that received the recalled tires.

Any consumer who believes they are affected by the recall should not wait to receive notification but should call BFGoodrich Tires at 1-877-788-8899 or Uniroyal Tire at 1-877-458-5878 or return to their point of purchase for a free inspection and replacement of affected tires. Additional information, including details on how to determine which tires are affected, can be found online at http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/recall and http://www.uniroyal.com/recall .