4 Of The Biggest Tire Recalls In Recent History

Driving from point A to point B is smoothest and safest when your vehicle's tires are perfectly in shape. As the only component that directly touches the ground, any damage to the tires can significantly affect vehicular performance, safety, and even fuel efficiency. Tires must provide proper traction, stability, and durability even when not running on rugged terrain. That's why each tire should meet industry standards before they are released and sold.

However, considering the volume of tires being manufactured regularly by different tire companies like Michelin, Goodyear, and Kumho, it's almost impossible to ensure an impeccable output each time. Hence, now and then, car owners receive notifications about tire recalls. When ignored, the tires can become serious safety hazards. Recalls ensure that faulty tires are repaired, replaced, or removed from the market before they can cause widespread harm.

For years, regulatory agencies have implemented strict safety measures to protect drivers from tire defects. In 1966, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act granted the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the authority to enforce vehicle safety standards and mandate recalls for products that pose a risk. Despite these regulations, history has seen several major tire recalls involving millions of units, sometimes only after accidents and injuries have been reported. From design defects to tread separation issues, the following recalls show the ongoing challenges of tire manufacturing and the importance of proactive safety measures.

Toyo Tire issued a recall for 14,194 units of its Open Country and Extensa tires in October 2023. According to the NHTSA, the recall was due to concerns over the safety of the tires, since an incorrect mold was used during their production. As such, they were at risk of tread or tire sidewall separations.

The company also issued a voluntary recall notice, urging distributors and dealers to immediately stop the sale of the affected products. In its letter, Toyo disclosed that the faulty tires were not made in its U.S. facility but in its plant in Indjija, Serbia, which opened in 2022. The incorrect mold caused the affected tires to have erroneous dimensions, compounds, and cord tension. The production error meant driving with the recalled tires could increase the chances of a vehicular crash.

To address the issue, Toyo offered owners free replacement tires following an inspection at a registered dealer and sent letters informing customers until December 2023. The free tire replacement remedy program ran until June 15, 2024. Dealers and distributors were instructed to return recalled units in exchange for replacement tires and credits.

Continental Tire issued two recalls in August 2024 over defects found in a number of its tires. The first recall covered 462 HDL2 DL+ tires, size 11R24.5. According to the NHTSA, an incorrect rubber compound used in their production could cause their steel belts or sidewalls to separate. When this happens, the tires could instantly lose air pressure (i.e., a blowout), increasing the risk of a car crash.

The second recall covered 146,568 units of the ProContact GX AO passenger car tires, size 255/35R19 96H XL. Affected units were mainly sold as original equipment (OE) fitment for the Audi A4 and A5 sedans. Only 10% were sold as replacement tires. Similar to the first issue, the ProContact GX AO tires were at risk of suffering belt edge separations. The difference was the second problem stemmed from the tire's design, which allowed for higher flexing in the tread shoulder. This was causing heat to build up in the area where the tread and sidewall meet. Damage to this part could lead to separations, causing a blowout and, potentially, collisions.

To remedy both issues, Continental offered to replace all affected tires free of charge. The company said it has since enhanced the design of the ProContact GX AO to improve its endurance. For the first recall, owner notification letters were mailed in September 2024. Meanwhile, owners of the affected tires in the second recall were notified in October 2024. Unsold units at distributors and independent outlets were also replaced.

In December 2024, Prinx Chengshan Tire North America notified the NHTSA about a safety recall covering 541,632 units of the Prinx HiCountry and Fortune Tormenta tires sold as replacement tires. All the affected units were labeled as snow tires. However, upon checking, they were not capable of providing enough traction when driven in snow weather conditions.

According to the NHTSA, snow tires that do not provide sufficient traction are a safety hazard since they have a high risk of causing car crashes. When we covered this winter tire recall late last year, we encouraged owners to check the code on their tires and see if they matched any of the listed recalled units and call Prinx Tires for assistance, since the recall notice did not include a remedy at the time.

Since then, the NHTSA has said that owners of the affected tires were notified of the remedy program by February 1, 2025. The corrective measure was still not indicated in the document, but it did say that the remedy tires should be compliant with regulatory requirements. Per the agency, the affected tires should not be allowed on American roads during winter since even though they passed European tests, they did not pass the traction standards in North America.

Even though this recall was not directly due to a tire defect, we included it here in our list to show how faulty tire pressure systems can also be hazardous to drivers. This recall was announced by Tesla in December 2024, and it covered 694,304 vehicles or 2,777,216 tire units. The affected vehicles were some of the Model 3 mid-size sedans, Model Y compact SUVs, and the Cybertruck all-electric pickup trucks.

According to the safety recall report issued by the NHTSA, the problem stemmed from a software release that caused the tire pressure monitoring system warning light on the affected vehicles to "not remain illuminated between drive cycles." As such, drivers may not know when their tire pressure is low. The agency indicated that driving vehicles with poorly inflated tires could lead to collisions.

Tesla worked on resolving the issue even before the safety recall report was released to the public. As early as November 12, 2024, it already rolled out an over-the-air software update to fix the warning light. The remedy was free of charge. Vehicles that were still in production also received the same software update. Meanwhile, car owners received notification letters about the issue by February 15, 2025