Suspension System in Tire Blowouts Probed

Shock absorbers on Ford Explorers may have gouged Bridgestone/Firestone tires and caused blowouts, the chief of Venezuela’s consumer protection agency testified. A Ford spokesman denied the claim. “We have [an accident-damaged Explorer] in which the tires were making contact with a mechanical part and that mechanical part is [part of] the shock absorbers Ford has been changing,” Samuel Ruh said during a Venezuelan congressional hearing in Caracas on accidents there involving Ford Explorers. Venezuela’s attorney general has granted Ruh’s consumer protection agency expanded powers to investigate at least 46 deaths linked to the accidents. Ricardo Tinoco, spokesman for Ford’s Venezuelan subsidiary, said, “We have yet to see the engineering analysis that supports these allegations.” Firestone officials say Ford changed shock absorbers on its Venezuelan Explorer models in 1999 to correct design flaws. Ford says it changed the design to give the sport-utility vehicles a rougher ride desired by consumers. Ford maintains that tread separation in some Firestone tires was a “common factor” in the accidents and that many tires didn’t meet strength and speed specifications. Ruh’s agency said it is considering ordering Ford to reinforce suspension systems on about 30,000 Explorers in Venezuela.