Warning issued on faulty tire valve stems following rollover death

The death of a Florida man in a rollover accident coupled with the recall of faulty tire valve stems made in China has prompted at least one safety expert to caution consumers to check vehicle wheels to make sure they don't contain the rubber replacement tire valve stems. The valves may crack prematurely and lead to serious crashes, says Sean Kane, president of Safety Research and Strategies in Rehoboth, Mass.

One U.S. distributor, Tech International, recently issued a recall of 6 million of the Chinese-made valve stems, which have been tentatively linked to the fatal rollover crash of an SUV in Orlando last year. The valve stems were made for Dill Air Control Products of Oxford, N.C. by Shanghai Baolong Industries Co. in China. 

On November 11, Robert Monk of Orlando, Fla. died when the right rear tire of his 1998 Ford Explorer failed, triggering a rollover crash. The failure of the tire, which was installed in the fall of 2006, has been linked to a cracked Dill TR-413 valve stem manufactured by a subsidiary of Shanghai Baolong Industries for Dill Air Control Products. In March, the Monk family filed suit against Dill Air Control Products, alleging that the defective tire valve stem caused the crash.

On May 15, the National Highway Traffic Safety administration opened an investigation of the valve stems.

Dill has told NHTSA that as many as 30 million of the suspected valve stems have been distributed in the North American market. The suspect valve stems identified by Dill include its TR-413, TR-413 chrome, TR-414 and TR-418 models, which were manufactured between August 2006 and November 2006. (The valve stem is a rubber tube with a metal valve used to inflate the tire with air.)

Cracks in valve stems can cause tires to lose air quickly, and such air loss at highway speeds can result in tire failure and a loss-of-control crash.

Most consumers will have a have a hard time figuring out with any certainty if they have any of the defective valve stems on their tires, however. That's because once a valve stems is installed, the only way to check to see if it is one of the suspected models is to dismount the tire from the wheel and inspect if from the inside.

"Once they are out of the box and on a vehicle there is no tracking for these products so you can’t notify owners," says Kane. He advises any motorist who has had a tire replaced since July 2006 to immediately have their valves inspected for signs of cracking.

"Radial tires do not show signs of under inflation by a visual inspection until they are significantly under inflated, at which point the tire may have sustained irreparable damage," says Kane. "Motorists may not realize that they are driving on tires that are under inflated and overloaded."

Eugene Petersen, program leader for tire testing at Consumer Reports, says the difficulty in identifying the faulty valve stems represents a real problem for consumers.

"I can't imagine tire shops or service centers would have kept any records on any valve stems they may have installed on a vehicle," says Petersen. "That apparently means the tire will have to be removed from the wheel to identify the manufacturer of the valve stem. That brings you to the question of who will pay for all this."

At a minimum Petersen says motorists should conduct a visual inspection of their valve stems to check for cracks. To do this, he say, remove the hubcap (if there is one) and move the top of the stem around, checking for any sign of cracks in the base of the stem where it meets the wheel.

Petersen says newer vehicles with direct tire pressure monitoring systems require special valve stems, unlike the generic-type valve stems that are involved in this recall.

Both Petersen and Kane say consumers who have had their tires replaced since the summer of 2006 should have the valve stems checked for any signs of cracking. Ideally, they say, consumers should have the tire removed from the wheel and checked by a professional to make sure the valve is not one of the defective models.

Photos of the defective valve stems can be found on the Web site of the Newsome Law Firm, which is representing the family in the lawsuit.

Motorists should report valve stem failures on the Web site of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or by calling NHTSA at 888-327-4236.

Comments

[p.j carnright]

sat. night 10-18-08 i had the two right tires on my toyota pick up blow out on rt. 95 this was quite an experiance it cost me 275,oo dollars and as they were checking the other two tires a third valve stem let go all four were DILL ACP 7710 TR413 WITH VERIOUS NUMBERS AFTER THE 7710
watch out i had no warning such as soft tires.

[Tina]

Jason: Tech International will replace the valve stems with non-defective valve stems. Further, if a defective valve stem has caused structural damage to a tire, the tire will be replaced as necessary. The recall began on May 13, 2008. Owners may contact Tech International at 1-740-967-9015.

[emilio garcia jr]

ihave a 2008 avalanche i have taken it back to the dealer about 4 or 5 times and i contact good year and they can notfind out why the tires all 4 or losing 5 to 6 pounds every 3 to 4 days.can you help me. thank you emilio garcia

[JD]

10.l3.2008

I am surprise that this information has not hit the news media outlets. This need to be address before people get hurt. I am out $120 but I am alive.

[Jason]

I purchased 4 new tires from Merchant's tires on 7/7/07. On 9/8/08 my wife got to work and a co-worker noticed she had a flat drivers side tire. She had a co-worker pick up some fix a flat and when she went to use it she noticed that the valve stem was messed up. She put the spare on and took the tire to the local Merchants. They said the tire had to be replaced becasue she had drove on the tire while it was flat so we had to buy a new tire. We were never told about the valve stem issue or I would have made them replace the tire for free. ABout a week after the other front tire was flat. I took it to another Merhcants and they said the valve stem had to be replaced. Still never was informed about the valve stem issue. My mother in law was searching the web for new tires and she noticed that Merchant's had a warning about the Dill valve stems. I called them concerning my issues and wanted a refund for the tire I had to replace. They informed me for a refund it would have to go through Dill Valve Stems. I am trying to find a number to get my refund on a tire I had to purcahse becasue of a valve stem issue that was their fault. Does anyone know a number or who needs to be contacted in order to get a refund on the tire I Had to purchase?

Thanks,
Jason

[Ben W]

After my third flat in a 6 weeks time period--this one with my grandaughters in the car--I decided to look into replacing my relatively new tires. I found information on the tire company's website about the Chinese tire stem recall and their willingness to inspect and replace stems installed between August 2006 and October of 2007. Unfortunately, the company apparently has not instructed its personnel to inform customers, check for purchase dates, or to inspect stem valves on unaffected tires. Although I had a valve stem problem, I was not told of the recall and my other tires with the same defective stem valves were not checked--leading to a rapid flat at highway speeds in 6 lanes of traffic with my family in the car.
I have filed a complaint with NHTSA calling for an immediate mandatory recall that would force informing consumers of the situation, I have talked with the tire company and gotten promises of action (and their informing me--which has not happened), and am contacting my auto club to let them know they could save themselves numerous emergency assistance calls and save money and lives.
I have no proof, but I suspect that if tires have low pressure, are driven at highway speeds, maybe in hot weather, after a certain length of time, that the valve stems. fail. Look at the number of people here who experienced multiple tire failures in a short period of time like me. Call your tire company, file a complaint with NHTSA, do whatever you can to let people know that a tiny, cheap component on their cars can threaten their lives.

[juanita andrews]

On September 22,2008 I walked outside my house only to find out I had another flat tire. The 3rd one in 3 months. AAA came out to repair it. It was the stem vavle again. Why didn't Sears replace all of them the 1st time. I'm sure they knew about the recall. I purchased my tires from Sears. I could have gotten killed on the highway. Thanks God for saving me. I purchased my tires in March of 2007. Michelin the best.

[Juanita F Andrews]

Today is Monday September 22,2008
I just had AAA come to my house to change a flat tire. I bought my Michelen Tires from Sears in March 2007. I have had (this makes 3) flat tires since July 2008. It was the stem valve for 2 of them. After reading the article about the death of the man from Florida I thank God for watching over me. Each time my car was parked, and I or my son noticed that I had a flat tire. Sears should have replaced them all when that (1 tire) was flat. I would not have none about the recall if it wasn't for the AAA technichian

[Whitey]

I got a letter from Discount Tires about this last week. Unfortunately, Sears wasn't as smart. I have had two sets of four valve stems installed by Sears. After five flat tires, they finally put in good valve stems.

I suppose my experience with Sears could be worse. I could be dead.

[Kwame L.]

Jeez, I wish I read this a few months back. I bought four new tires from Sears in June '07 and I found out this morning that my other stems are cracking. I had already replaced one two weeks ago thinking some kids pranked me by letting the air out while I was parked in a garage. Yesterday I got a flat coming back from work due to another cracked stem! This morning it finally hit me that I should check out the other tires and sure enough a quick inspection showed that they are about to go as well. Good thing they died when the car was parked. I'm definitely going to grab the serial numbers this time. Check your stems for cracks people!

[Al]

Thanks to this blog post, I inspected the valve stems on my wife's Honda Odyssey, which were installed in June 2007, and all were faulty. I didn't get to see inside of the valve stem, but all the valve caps had "DILL" written on them.

My tire shop replaced all four valve stems, no questions asked.

You can see photos of the cracked valve stems and the valve cap on my blog at www.GearheadLife.com.

Thanks CR.

[E DANIELS]

Tire Destroyed,tires only have 24,000 mi .After replacing tire,found no reason what could have caused the tire to blow,noticed that all valve stems on car were cracked! Had all valve stems replaced because they were bad. Had tire shop give me the stems and the tire until this could be farther investigated.Contacted NHTSA for farther instructions.

[Tire Shop Employee]

If you bought your tires between 7-06 and 8-07 you should get your valve stems replaced, why take a chance. I work for one of the largest Tire retailers in the country and although Dill has not set a recall We as a Company have. We have sent out letters to every customer whom bought Tires or had a Tire repair during this time period to come in and get their valve stems replaced at no charge to the customer, How ever we have only seen about 10% of the people who received their letters come in,I don't understand why you would not want to get this fixed. (its free people) From a different prospective Please understand this is not a quick fix for the Dealer either its no different than going in and buying 4 tires it takes time so please be understanding its not a 10 min job,And if you come in for your valve stem replacement and your tires are Bald you need to buy new tires (its not the guys at the tire company fault your tires are bald) don't take it out on them, I have heard all kinds of things like you sent me this letter so you could sell me tires Wrong answer,You should respect the the people who are looking out for your safety and understand first and for most we are the professionals you expect us to let you know when you need to replace your tires but some how we are the bad guy when we tell you your tires are shot,These people are here to help you they didn't build the valves they are just the retailer.As a side note 2-3 32/nds is not safe to keep on your car if you dont believe the salesperson ask to see his tread depth guage and check them for your self.

Signed Frustrated Tire Guy

[isaac]

If we find out we have this defective stems, what can we do to get reimbursed for the new tires? I clicked on the "recall" page and it says dealers will get reimbursed, and customers will not be charged. Thanks.

[David T]

Flat tire today. Valve stem torn. Web search showed this article. Stem replaced; damaged one retained - is a Dill TR413

[Nancy Straub]

We purchased 4 new tires from the local Pep Boys in August of 2007. Their invoice lists the PARTS NUMBER for the Rubber Valve Stems. The IDENTIFYING LETTERS in our parts number are TV.

We appreciate the alert, and agree with others that consistent Quality Control inspections need to be done at the production level.

[M Radwan]

Between 5/16 and 6/11/08 I had three flats, one while driving and ruining the tire. (the tires were less than a year old and only 8900 miles. One was repaired in a regional tire store, one in a Firestone shop and one at a dealership. At each place, the same cause-valve failure. No one ever aknowledged the known cause. They should have as the importer sent an advisory letter to all customers in the retail tire industry. Had the first one done so, I would have had all the stems replaced. A letter to Senator Lautenberg, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, has not been acknowledged. M. Radwan

[Rae H]

I had all four tires on my Avalon replaced at the dealership on a Saturday with top of the line tires and on Monday started on a 5 hour trip. About 20 minutes into the trip the car starting shaking (55 mph) at first I thought the tires were out of balance, but 15 minutes later I was driving on the interstate at 70 mph and I had a blow out on the right rear, I was able to keep the car under control and change lanes to stop. I called the closest tire dealership to come change the tire and when they arrived the other 3 tires were flat. After evaluating the tires it was their conclusion that the valves stems were not replaced with the new tires or the new valve stems had failed. The tire shop said they had never seen all 4 tires blow or go flat at the same time before.

[Ann]

Why doesn't the tire manufacturer make the valve stems for their own tires? IE Goodyear, Michelin. Lord knows I paid ALOT for the tires I bought. You'd think they'd be included. Course, then in this instance, they wouldn't be at fault. Put our people to work here in the USA!!! I know we'd have better quality products than China, thats for sure. But, companies here don't want to pay a decent wage to american workers anymore. What's happened to this country??? I could go on and on.......

[Ronnie]

Valve stem failure is not necessarily a common occurrence, but they do happen occasionally. Most valve stem failures show up as a slow loss of tire pressure, but evidently these particular stems under the microscope at the moment are suffering a catastrophic failure which leads to a very rapid tire deflation. If you take the valve core out of a tire valve stem with the tire aired up, you'd be surprised at how few seconds it takes to go from normal inflation pressure to zero psig. In fact, when most tire sales centers are preparing to install new tires, they typically screw on a valve stem puller to the old existing valve stem, snap the stem off with the puller, and the tire is deflated and ready to remove from the rim in only seconds (of course, snapping the old stem off insures that a new stem MUST be installed while the tire is off of the rim). On tubeless tires, the valve stem has to be inserted through the rim from the inside first, then the valve stem puller tool is screwed onto the threads to finish pulling the new stem up into the locked position on the rim (the bottom of the valve stem assembly is much larger in diameter than the exposed valve stem tube, plus there is a recess on the stem shaft where the stem physically locks into the hole inside of the rim).

As for loss of control following a valve stem failure, several factors come into play. Is the vehicle a front wheel drive, a rear wheel drive, an all-wheel drive, or a part-time 4 wheel drive?.......the reason that this plays a major factor is due to weight distribution across the 4 wheels on the ground. A front wheel drive vehicle may put as much as 65% of the vehicle weight on the front tires, where a rear wheel drive vehicle is more like 55% forward / 45% rearward, and these variations will impact exactly how much a sudden deflation on any particular corner of the vehicle will affect the overall handling. If the sudden deflation leads to momentary loss of vehicle control, it's easily conceivable that someone might move off of the edge of the road and wind up "hooking" the shoulder as they attempt to get the wheels back up on the pavement (especially if there is a very pronounced dropoff at the edge). If you panic and attempt to overcorrect the situation too fast, that dropoff can act just like a brick wall and literally yank the steering wheel away from you. And typically, the vehicle is going to pull towards the side which has the deflated tire.

I've seen the results of several severe wrecks on the highways and freeways before where someone would accidentally veer off the edge of the road, overcorrect in an attempt to regain control, and instantly some lost total control as they try to get the tires back up on the pavement.....one such incident nearly killed a friend's husband on one of the freeways nearby back about 10 years ago (he was driving a work van), as he veered off the right edge of the road, lost control when trying to get back up the dropoff on the edge, crossed 2 lanes of freeway traffic, and then rolled the van 3 times across the median (and there wasn't even a flat tire involved in this incident).

The vehicle "center of gravity" also plays a major factor here as well. As we all know, Ford Explorers have a very high center of gravity (as do a lot of other SUV type vehicles and some types of pickup trucks), and a high center of gravity will definitely work against you in a quick lateral accident avoidance maneuver.....the high CG makes such a vehicle a LOT more unstable in such a condition, which greatly enhances the chances of total loss of control and even rollover.

Of course, a front wheel sudden deflation is going to generate a lot more problems than a rear wheel deflation, but either can quickly lead to loss of control. The Explorer is by nature a high center of gravity vehicle (already laterally unstable), and since it is typically a rear wheel drive vehicle this will put the weight distribution closer to 55% front / 45% rear, so the rear wheels are going to be more active in such a situation (versus a typical front wheel drive car). And of course, if there is a vertical ridge along the edge of the road, the exact height and slope of the ridge plays a major factor too. And don't forget about vehicle speed too, as it also plays into the exact situation.

For those who have never experienced a situation where you have a sudden tire deflation at road speed, I can assure you that it will definitely prove to be an attention getter at the very least.

[HGB]

Frankly I don't care where the stem is made but I do care about its quality, its mechanical integrity.
So...I'm blame the government...our government for not inspecting products that are sent here. Not every item can be checked, that's understood but certain parameters must be set and be met!
What do I get to protect me with my tax money? I am so angry at the greed and incompetence shown.

[Dave Varner]

The valve stem is mounted in the wheel, not the tire. They are installed when the tire is off the wheel. I have always insisted on new valve stems when buying tires. In this case, the old ones were probably safer.

China does it again. Is anyone in Washington paying attention?

[Tony B]

Stems are installed on the wheel so they are generally installed new with the new tire.

[Clifton Pilgrim]

I do remember that as an extra precaution if you have any of the regular rubber valves fitted that they are easily damaged when they are old and have been exposed in the sunlight and UV rays.When we go to the automated car washes that use brushes to clean the wheel assemblies, these brushes can bend the valves over far enough to tear the rubber at the base by the rim.

[Jack in San Diego]

Surely, there should be a directed recall by shops that had these valves as part of their stock. Another question: when tire shops receive tires for sale (such as a Discount Tire Center)are the valves not already installed?

[Stuart]

It's evidently a gradual loss of pressure over several months. See the recall announcement given in the link above.

http://safetyresearch.net/Library/08T018.pdf

It sounds to me like this says that SUVs are not very stable, and that you should check your tire pressure once a month at the very least.

[Fred Muzzin]

Paul,

Any quick change in vehicle height can cause a rollover, particularly at high speeds. In the case of a rear tire there are a few factors that worsen when air pressure is released. Personally I have had both fornt and rear tires lose air pressure in cars and motorcycles at various times (I drive a lot).

As you mentioned, the first issue is tracking. At the car/truck lowers it's center of gravity it puts additional pressure on different areas of the remaining tires , thus changing the direction you have to steer enough to have to compensate. I believe it's the quickness of the directionaly change that catches an unaware driver that ultimately causes the car to go too far off it's linear path.

This effect causes the second factor - where inexperienced drivers overcompensate on steering and braking. This forces the vehicle into a worse sideways posture. Even seasoned drivers don't get a lot of practice handling rapid vehicle attitude change and they can be fooled into overcorrecting.

The higher the center of gravity the smaller the margin of error for making a mistake that can tip over a car. I don't know the numbers off-hand but I suspect it's exponentially more likely as speed and vehicle height increases.

ESC, electronic stability control, should be mandatory on all cars. There is no human substitute for such a feature, or ABS for that matter. I have friends that are weekend rally racers with "no ESC" stickers on their cars. It's a flawed approach. With all of the money spent on high performance hardware for these and other cars, ESC should be near the top of the list of safety features. Even above air bags. An accident avoided is always better than protection during one.

-Fred M.
BSME, MEMS

[Louis A. Carliner]

Reply to Paul R.'s Post: SUV's because of their relatively high center of gravity, are subject to rollover in emergency maneuver situations. This is one of the reasons that Consumers Union strongly suggest that capable stability control systems be STANDARD EQUIPMENT with SUV's, in particular, and in general, and why NHSTA Administration is phasing it in as a requirment. Sudden loss of tire pressure on changes the center of gravity too quickly for even expert driving to prevent a rollover!

[Bill Patterson]

Well once again we are recalling defective products from, guess who, CHINA. And our government continues to let CHINA import goods that are a danger to our public health (dangerous lead levels) and safety (now defective valve stems). What will it take for our government to cease all imports from CHINA until that country get's it act together.

[Gilbert H.]

My daughter was driving her GMC 1500 PU to Birmingham from Tuscaloosa to catch a flight home when she had a blow out on I59/20. The blow out, she said, happened so quickly she didn't realize what was going on and had difficulty controlling the truck. When she got out of the truck, she said, she was shocked at what she was looking at. The tire sidewall was completely gone! Two weeks later, on the same interstate, the other rear tire blew out! Now, 1 week after buying a new set of tires because I didn't trust the two tires on the front, I receive a letter about faulty valve stems. I purchased my tires from Discount Tire Store in Houston,Tx.

[daren]

i just had a blow out running 70 mph speed limit on my suburban i had good tread on tire i checked all tires before leaving on vacation with my family the car was driving fine and with in secounds the frontend started shaking and the right tire blowed out so fast i did not have enough time to slow down and i almost lost control of are car /i took the tire to discount tire and he said the valve stem was the cause of the tire blowing out. and today i recive a papper in the mail showing that the valve stem are bad .that was in stalled on are car/ i should of recivied a warining way before the tire blew out .

[Donald Petersen]

Seems to me that if I was going to pay to get the tires pulled off the rims, I should probably replace the valve stems regardless of how they look. It can't add much more to the total cost and then I know when they were installed and that there are no problems.

[Ralph C]

everett whitney: "Air will escape from this entire valve stem hole..."
If you read thru the warning I don't think it implies that there is a sudden total failure of the valve stem with air rushing out a 3/4" hole. More likely there was a low-level constant leakage from cracks in the defective stem over a period of time and the operator didn't notice or check for low tire pressure. This would cause the tire to overheat and eventually be damaged by flexing and overloading and "blow out". The blowout would of course release all the air in seconds and make the vehicle unstable, especially on an SUV with a higher center of gravity.

This has been a good reminder to me to regularly check tire pressures. A small nail puncture could have the same consequences if gone undetected and not repaired.

[Pete]

Had a faulty valve stem on a tire I had installed within the past 24 months. Luckily I heard a hissing noise while driving and pulled over to check. Earlier in the year my wife had a blow out on one of the other tires while driving our three children. That tire was also new and when I took it to the shop and inspected the tire there were no signs of a puncture either in the tread or on the side walls. The technician there could not explain it. Now I suspect that was caused by a faulty valve stem as well. We are planning to have all of the valve stems replaced on the remaining tires.

[everett whitney]

To: Paul - 17 June " WHY a deflated tire ...?"

This phenomena is NOT the deflating of one tire in the usual sense.

Rather, it is the total 'failure" as whenever the Firestone tire fiasco W. Ford units some years ago also caused immediate & violent loss of vehicle control while traveling @ Interstate speeds.

Vehicles are then going about 90+ feet in each second, leaving NO time to "accommodate" the immediate loss of that inflated tire now "wobbling" upon the wheel rim.

Air will escape from this entire valve stem hole - i.e.-about 3/4" diameter on SUVs - with far greater speed than simply the customary nail, etc..

[Paul R]

I have a decent understanding of physics, but I don't understand how a deflated right rear tire can cause a rollover.

If a rear tire deflates, wouldn't the other three tires keep you going straight while you safely pull your vehicle to the shoulder?

The only time a rollover should occur in this scenario is if there were a sudden movement of the steering wheel to the left (away from the shoulder) that would offload weight (and hence traction) from the left rear tire. This could cause the rear of the vehicle to swing around and the vehicle would then "trip" itself.