Preliminary Evaluation · Closed
LOWER SIDEWALL BULGE
Manufacturer: American Omni Trading Co.
What NHTSA is examining
On march 5, 2009, odi opened preliminary evaluation pe09-015 to investigate lower sidewall bulges in kona clt lt215/85r16 tires.the tires were imported into the united states by american omni trading company (aotc) of houston texas and are manufactured by the shangdong yongtai chemical group company in shandong province, china.the office of defects investigation (odi) has received 2 vehicle owner complaints describing problems with a total of 17tires that were removed from service because of severe sidewall bulges that formed between the tire bead and the lower sidewall. Analysis of tire adjustment data provided by aotc indicates thatmost claims involved tires with a visible sidewall separation or out of balance condition.in many instances this occurred within a few months of service.according to american omni, production of the subject tires was stopped in october 2008.this investigation has been upgraded to an engineering analysis (ea09-012) to further assess the scope, frequency and safety consequences of the alleged defect in the subject tire.
Vehicles under investigation
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation records, updated daily. An investigation is not a determination that a defect exists; many probes close without a recall.