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Ford said that its look into the stems, used in a majority of its North American vehicles, uncovered a low rate of problems and no safety risks. But safety advocates said any threat of sudden loss of air to tires should be deemed serious enough for a recall.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had already launched a separate investigation in May into 23 million replacement valve stems manufactured by Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corp. in 2006. The agency has found 4,767 complaints related to those valve stems, including one fatal crash of a 1998 Ford Explorer after a tire failure.
NHTSA's preliminary probe into Ford vehicles covers 1,050,000 vehicles from a dozen 2007 models; company spokesman Wes Sherwood said the stems may have been used in other models not named by the agency.
The vehicles with the valve stems named by NHTSA include the Ford F-150, Mustang, Edge, Fusion, Expedition, Explorer, Focus and Escape, and the Mercury Grand Marquis, MKX, MKZ and Milan.
NHTSA said it has 37 complaints of bad valve stems from Ford vehicles; in 23 cases, the same vehicle had more than one bad stem, and in 11 instances, the air leak was severe enough to damage the tire.
None of the complaints to NHTSA in the most recent investigation allege any crashes or injuries because of the problem. Several owners said they were alerted to the problem by the vehicle's tire-pressure warning system.
Shanghai Baolong's subsidiary, Topseal Automotive, told NHTSA earlier this year that the replacement valve stems were not properly protected from ozone damage, which can cause them to crack at their base and lose air after eight to 14 months in use.
Topseal is a supplier to Ford and other automakers, and said it provides 8 million tire valve stems a month worldwide.
One U.S. vendor, Dill Air Products, warned customers earlier this year of potential problems with the valve stems, recommending that owners check their stems for cracks. Discount Tire also issued a similar warning for customers who bought tires between August 2006 and July 2007.
Sherwood said although Ford bought the valve stems from Topseal, they were made with different material and on different equipment than the valve stems sold as replacements. He said any owner who discovers a problem with valve stems should call a Ford dealer for service.
Sean Kane, an auto safety researcher who closely tracked the Ford-Firestone case, urged NHTSA to open an investigation last month. He said the problem was likely to escape notice by drivers and tire-repair shops.
"Unexpected air-pressure loss in tires presents an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety, regardless of whether there are documented crashes," Kane said in a letter to NHTSA.
Contact JUSTIN HYDE at 202-906-8204 or jhyde@freepress.com.
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