On August 9, 2000, Firestone Tires launched a massive recall of tires mainly outfitting the popular Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles. Firestone finally agreed to pull the tires after much speculation that tire models radial ATX, ATXII and Wilderness AT were responsible for numerous accidents resulting in 62 deaths and 80 injuries. The recall number totals about 6.5 million tires still on the road out of the original 14.4 million produced.

The problem stems from a particular model of Firestone tires used on light trucks and SUVs. Failure reports involved tread separating from the tire, sometimes at high speed, causing blowouts and rollovers. Most of the complaints come from states in warm climates, where the heat can affect the tire tread. Dealers are swamped with consumers trying to get replacement tires and there are long waiting lists in most places.

Both Ford and Firestone have come under strong criticism for ignoring early signs of problems. Ford replaced Firestone tires in other countries after they failed, but waited to do so in the U.S. A team of investigators from the House Commerce Committee visited Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan to examine corporate documents and interview Ford management about the recall. Hearings will be held when Congress is back in session.

On One Hand...

Given the large demand for new tires, Firestone is doing all it can to ensure consumers who need replacements get them. By the end of August, the company had replaced nearly 1 million tires - no small feat. The fact is, most drivers are driving on safe tires - consumers who improperly inflate or poorly maintain their tires are at a greater risk. Firestone recommends this class of tires be inflated to 35 pounds per square inch, but Ford advises consumers to inflate to only 26 pounds per square inch.

On the Other Hand...

Despite Ford halting production of Explorers to free up more tires to replace hazardous ones on the road, both the auto giant and Firestone could have and should have done more to prevent this tragedy and get safe tires to consumers. Ford knew it had a serious problem on its hands when it had to replace tires in Saudi Arabia at least a year ago, and there were previous reports of tire failure in Venezuela even earlier. And Firestone, instead of opening itself up to an investigation when it became obvious that there was a link between the tires and accidents, pointed the finger at Ford and at consumers.

• In July 1998, State Farm Insurance emailed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration pointing out 21 car crashes over six years which it believed were caused by faulty Firestone tires on sport utility vehicles.

• The faulty tires were manufactured at Firestone's Decatur, Illinois plant.

• Ford replaced Firestone tires for free on vehicles sold in Venezuela, Ecuador, Thailand, Malaysia, Colombia and Saudi Arabia after tires failed in those countries.

• More than 100 lawsuits have been filed in the U.S. since the recall was announced.

• In 1978, Firestone recalled 14 million of its 500-series tires that had tread separations and blowouts.

Ford, Firestone, NHTSA, ABC News