Tests Show Firestone ‘Had to Know,’ Probers Say

Congressional investigators said Wednesday that they have uncovered Firestone tests that offer additional evidence that the company “had to know” of serious problems with the Ford Explorer tires suspected of causing more than 100 deaths.

A spokesman for Rep. W.J. “Billy” Tauzin (R-La.), who is leading the House investigation, said quality control tests conducted by Firestone in 1996 on a random sample of 229 tires from the company’s Decatur, Ill., plant resulted in 20 tread separations similar to the failures that have triggered deadly rollover crashes in Explorers.

“One in about every 10 tires taken off the Decatur production line was peeling like a banana in high-speed testing,” said Tauzin spokesman Ken Johnson. “Someone at Firestone had to know they had a serious problem.”

Dan Adomitis, a spokesman for Firestone, said he was not aware of the test results cited by Johnson, but he added: “Tire failures are an integral part of testing and they are to be expected.”

The disclosure--on the eve of new Capitol Hill hearings focusing on the testing of the 6.5 million Firestone tires recalled last month--came in a day of fast-paced developments:

* Ford said it cannot find records of its initial testing of the Firestone tires, but acknowledged they were not tested on an Explorer. Instead, the company said the tires had been rigorously tested on an F-150 pick-up rigged to mimic an Explorer--apparently a standard industry practice.

* Sentiment on Capitol Hill swung in favor of imposing criminal penalties on auto makers that knowingly sell a defective product as a Senate committee unanimously approved such legislation and a key House lawmaker said that chamber would probably adopt a similar measure.

* In more trouble for Ford, the Transportation Department opened a new safety investigation of 1995 and 1996 Explorers for a suspension-related problem that could affect handling in sharp turns.

Johnson, the Tauzin spokesman, said congressional investigators were taken aback by the 1996 Firestone tests. The results showed that tires of the type ultimately recalled were failing in tests in which they were run at 112 miles per hour for 10 minutes. Johnson said that is not much faster than the top speed of an Explorer, and the results suggested the tires had little margin of safety.

He called the test results “incredible.”

Johnson also castigated Ford, suggesting that an affidavit on testing that the company submitted to the committee was less than full disclosure. In the document, retired Ford engineer James Avouris described 1989 tests of the Firestone tires prior to the introduction of the Explorer. Ford has been unable to locate records of the tests.

Avouris said that the tires met Ford’s performance at the lower inflation pressure of 26 pounds per square inch recommended by the company. However, the affidavit did not disclose the fact that the tires were tested on an F-150 pick-up, not an Explorer. Johnson said House investigators learned that only when they directly questioned Avouris on Tuesday.

“Certainly the wording of the affidavit was very curious,” Johnson said. “But was it an attempt to mislead Congress? I suspect someone will ask Ford that question at our hearing [today].”

Responded Ford spokesman Jason Vines: “They weren’t misled.”

Vines said the F-150 test “totally mimics an Explorer. Is this real-world testing? No, it was out-of-this-world testing. It was excruciating testing. If they are confused, we’ve got to do a better job of explaining to Rep. Tauzin and the non-engineers on [Capitol] Hill.”

Ford said the tires were tested for 200 miles at a minimum speed of 90 miles an hour in 90-degree temperatures.

David Champion, director of auto testing for Consumers Union, said such tests would be acceptable if the F-150 had been set up with the same suspension characteristics and weight as the Explorer.

Bruce Kaster, a Florida lawyer who has represented dozens of victims in tire failure cases, said the new revelations about Firestone and Ford tests will make it easier to prove negligence and punitive damages claims against both companies. “This increases the [financial] exposure that Ford and Firestone have in these cases,” Kaster said.

As mistrust deepened between the Republican-led House investigators and the companies, lawmakers indicated they will seek new criminal penalties for auto companies that knowingly sell a defective product. The penalties are part of a legislative package to strengthen the government’s auto safety agency.

A committee chaired by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that would set a sentence of up to 15 years in prison for knowingly selling a defective product that caused a death. Companion legislation in the House contains only civil sanctions.

But Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), chairman of the Commerce subcommittee on investigations, said criminal penalties are likely to be added to the House measure.

“We now have a death toll of more than 100,” Upton said. “The American people expect products to be safe. If someone knowingly sells a product that is going to cause a death, they are going to get hammered.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers on Wednesday raised strong objections to criminal penalties, saying they would discourage reporting of safety problems.

In a separate development, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it has begun a preliminary safety-related investigation into suspension problems on 1995 and 1996 Ford Explorers.

An agency official said certain bolts that help hold the front sway bar in place can break or detach. The sway bar adds to the vehicle’s stability.

“If it is missing or not functioning, it would degrade the stability of the Explorer under adverse driving conditions such as a hard lane change,” the official said.

The agency has received 13 complaints about the problem, although no accidents or injuries have been reported.

Ford spokesman Vines said most of the consumer complaints involved noise or vaguely described handling problems. “Is this a safety issue?” he asked. “Everything we see says ‘No.’ ”

Vines said the problem seems to be concentrated in cold-weather areas where a lot of salt is used on roads in winter.

However, a NHTSA official said the agency inspected 14 1995-1996 Explorers parked in the Department of Transportation employee garage and found that seven of them had the problem. Washington is not known for harsh winters.

Also Wednesday, NHTSA acknowledged that two pets were counted among the 103 tire-related fatalities that it reported Tuesday.

An agency official said the error occurred because someone apparently entered the two pets as “fatalities” on the front of a reporting form.

“It turns out that we had two fatalities that weren’t human, so we’ve revised our number to 101, not 103,” the official said.

Two University of Maryland students discovered the error when they checked NHTSA complaints from that state.