Goodyear Tire Deaths for RVs

[LiebetheGSD]

Just thought I would post this story on the Goodyear Tires...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/04/05/goodyear-motorhome-tires-may-have-caused-95-deaths-injuries-government-report-claims/488815002/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/04/05/goodyear-motorhome-tires-may-have-caused-95-dea...

[afidel]

wa8yxm wrote:
I will say again only this. The tires affected were made prior to 2003 or 4, You should not see them anywhere other than a junk pile today. I'd not wear them or any other tire made in 200x,

The whys and hows and such. Who's fault it is and so on, it appears this is all being hammered out in court.. I forget the law, though I once wrote an article on it.. Part of the consumer protection act..

I would be interested in following it.. but alas. Discussion should be Generic

ALL tires can fail. No matter how well built. Some do it faster is all.

Would I refuse Goodyear? Moot question they do not make a tire to fit my ride.

There were 94 deaths or injuries from this one line of tires that were reported to NHTSA/Goodyear, probably more that went unreported and yet they continued to manufacture and market them for RV use. In my mind that's unconscionable action and makes it easy to skip over Goodyear when tire shopping (already do after I got a set on my current car that had a blowout and cracked sidewall at <20k miles)

[daveengstrand]

I went to CapriRacer's website and I highly recommend others do the same. He has volumes of information there, based on many years experience in the industry. With so much at stake, damage to the vehicle, injury and even possible death, it is important to know the facts.

[msmith1199]

10 years? I thought the industry standard was 5 years? I have Toyo's on my RV now that are six years old. Against my better judgment I went ahead and replaced the front tires a few weeks ago. I decided the run the rears a few more years. I've put less than 25k miles on the tires and I store my motorhome indoors. Do you think the rear tires are good for at least 4 more years?

[CapriRacer]

Allow me to fill you in on what I know about tire age. - and for those who don't know me, I'm a retired tire engineer. I've sat on industry committees where tire age was discussed.

First, the company I worked for has a 3 year old policy - anything older than 3 years is tossed! They start in the second year to reduce the buying price to the dealer, so they don't reach 3 years (in our warehouses). What happens after that is not under our control, but we recommend that tires not sit in the dealers warehouse - but dealers are notorious for not listening when there is a buck to be made!

Because of the 3 year policy, our company tested freshly manufactured tires agianst 3 year old ones - and couldn't find a difference.

It is my understanding that other tire manufacturers did 6 year old tires and couldn't enough difference to justify merely scrapping them at 6 years - hence the industry stance that 6 year old tires are OK to sell.

And as some have mentioned, the real problem is what happens when the tires leave the manufacturers warehouses. Some are stored in old shipping containers in the desert sun! Some are stored in properly equipped warehouses just like the manufacturers do.

Plus, the industry is aware that tire in the desert SW - say Phoenix - are much more prone to aging than tires in the frigid north - say Minneapolis.

So how can anyone make a definitive statement about age - too many variables.

Further, NHTSA tried to develop an aging test so they could set a regulation - and failed.

So what you will find are industry statements that tires should be removed from service at the 10 year mark - with the preface that there isn't any data that supports a clear picture on the subject.

[rgatijnet1]

The facts are that nobody knows whether or not their tires were engineered and manufactured right. Brand or country of origin does not matter and as a user you will not know if there is an inherent problem until it happens to you or to enough other users that it becomes newsworthy.
Even if you have a problem, then you need to determine whether or not your tires were inflated properly and that the air pressure was according to the actual weight on that tire at the time of failure.
Naturally we already know that ALL RV owners always weigh their rig and inflate their tires to the correct tire pressure. They also check their tire pressure every morning when the tires are cold and never trust their TPMS system to be 100% accurate. Any problem on an RV tires is automatically the fault of the tire manufacturer. :B

[GeorgeandTheBea]

I've always wondered about tires that have been on the shelf for a long time. I'm inclined to agree with the tire dealer. I would think they would be the same as one that just came off the line, since they haven't been exposed to the elements, heat/cool cycles, thousands of pounds resting on them, but I don't have any science to back that up. Is there any data regarding "shelf" time?

[pusherpilot]

I have been proactive in learning about the tire issues since we first go into RVing. Believe me when I say that the general public is oblivious to the issues with old tires. I've had family members and friends who have had problems with trailer tires that were over 10 yrs old and were not aware of the age dates etc. A friend was bragging about the great deal he got on tires for his car. I checked them and found they were 5 yrs old! He went back to the dealer ant was told that the "clock" didn't start until they were sold and in use. The industry needs to begin a customer awareness program to insure that everyone who is using their products knows about the fact that tires deteriorate and what rate that occurs at. OBTW while at a Rally in Oregon years ago the GY rep their told me the G670s on my MoHo were good for 10 yrs. One of them just blew out in Tulare Ca last month at age 7. No damage, just inconvenience.

[msmith1199]

dougrainer wrote:
OK, What is the purpose? The LAST tire was made in 2003. In the BEST case, the tires were outdated in 2013, but really 2010/11. Which means, this is a NON story. It died(pun) when the last operational tire should have been gone by 2011 at the latest. There should be NONE of these tires anywhere on the road and NONE at a Goodyear Retailer. Doug

The article says the number of deaths are counted through 2015. So somebody was still running them. But at least Goodyear has a defense for blowouts after 2008.

[GeorgeandTheBea]

I looked at a 2001 Georgie Boy last summer. Never owning an RV, I knew less than nothing. I joined the first forum I found and started asking questions. The first thing that I was advised to do was to check tire dates. Of the ones I could see, the dates were 3200. Apparently, it still had the tires it was born with, 17 years earlier. Even worse, they were G159 and G670s...yikes! I hope the guy that eventually bought it replaced them.

[CapriRacer]

moisheh wrote:
......RV mfrs. do not spec tires. They go to the tire mfr. and get specs and quotes. GY marketed these tires as RV tires knowing that this was false. And they kept that up for many years all along denying any liability!!!!

Moisheh

Ah ..... Mmmmmm ..... Not exactly.

RV manufacturers buy bare chassis's and build a body on it. Those chassis's come from the factory with either the tires that the buyer specifies or what the factory installs as default. In either case, the RV manufacturer has control of what tires are supplied to the end user.

And, No!, GY did NOT market these tires as RV tires. They marketed them as short haul delivery tires.

[wa8yxm]

I will say again only this. The tires affected were made prior to 2003 or 4, You should not see them anywhere other than a junk pile today. I'd not wear them or any other tire made in 200x,

The whys and hows and such. Who's fault it is and so on, it appears this is all being hammered out in court.. I forget the law, though I once wrote an article on it.. Part of the consumer protection act..

I would be interested in following it.. but alas. Discussion should be Generic

ALL tires can fail. No matter how well built. Some do it faster is all.

Would I refuse Goodyear? Moot question they do not make a tire to fit my ride.

[rgatijnet1]

moisheh wrote:
But this should be a warning to stay away from GY RV tires. The replacement for the 159's is the G670. Another GY piece of junk with no warranty!!!

Moisheh

And what make you so sure that lawyers won't be going to court 10 years from now about the tires that you are using today? What makes you think you will not have a catastrophic tire failure next week?
Back during the time these tires were being used, the owners didn't know of the issues, just like you have no idea how good the tires are that you have on your RV.
You buy the tires and hope for the best, no matter who makes them. :R

[TropicalRV]

My research indicates that G159 tires were designed for delivery trucks and the speed rating was 65 MPH, max. Then Goodyear started marketing these to the RV industry. Hopefully, they have all been retired from that application, but if anyone has those tires on their motorhome, I would get rid of them quickly.

[moisheh]

From one of the law firms that are/were suing GY:

Lawyers in the section that handles Product Liability cases have handled several cases and learned that Goodyear’s own documents showed the company was aware the tire would fail when operated at highway speeds when used on RVs. Goodyear learned through numerous field complaints and failures that this tire was not safe for RVs. In fact, Fleetwood, one of the largest RV makers, instituted a recall in 1999 that mandated replacing the G159 tires on its large RVs. Despite Goodyear’s knowledge concerning the safety issues with the G159, it continued to sell the G159 as RV tires until 2003.

RV mfrs. do not spec tires. They go to the tire mfr. and get specs and quotes. GY marketed these tires as RV tires knowing that this was false. And they kept that up for many years all along denying any liability!!!!

Moisheh