The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is getting ready to release its Motor Vehicle Safety Report. And Yokohama Tire Corp. has something to say about it.
The information (49 CFR Part 573) pertains to potential defects to motor vehicle safety. The contents were generated from quarterly data provided to NHTSA -- under the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act -- by tire manufacturers and other automotive equipment manufacturers.
(Some of the safety recall information for vehicle and equipment manufacturers tied to the automotive industry can be found on www.safercar.gov under "Early Warning Reports." To date, the tire manufacturers included are American Kenda Rubber Industrial Co., Cheng Shin Rubber/Maxxis International, Federal Corp., GPX International Tire Corp., Kumho Tire Co. Inc. and Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp.)
"The published results, while informative, represent claims that have not been substantiated," says Jim MacMaster, executive vice president of Yokohama's Business Division. "The statistical data pertaining to claims filed against tire manufacturers has been culled from allegations, not corroborated fact."
The report states that "... a claim exists regardless of any denial or refusal to pay it, and regardless of whether it has been settled or resolved in the manufacturer’s favor." The report also explains that a complaint is defined as "a communication of any kind made by a consumer (or other person) to a manufacturer expressing dissatisfaction with a product...."
"Yokohama Tire believes that motor vehicle safety is paramount, and that educating the driving public is always a positive development," says MacMaster.
"We fully support all of NHTSA's efforts to safeguard consumers on America’s highways -- including this data on potential defects. We want to assure the public realizes, though, the data is merely unverified information."
