Ford's Action is Precautionary Measure Based On Lack of Confidence in Future Durability of Wilderness AT Tires

Action is Based on Consistent Field Data, Information from NHTSA and Lab and Vehicle Testing

Ford Motor Company today said that it will replace all 13 million Firestone Wilderness AT tires on its vehicles. Ford's action, which the company described as precautionary, is based on analysis of data on the actual road performance of these tires, comparisons with the performance of comparable tires by other tire makers, a review of information developed by and received from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and extensive laboratory and vehicle testing.

The company said that many of the non-recalled Wilderness AT tires on the road today appear to perform substantially better than the tires recalled last year. However, analysis of real world performance data, information from NHTSA and lab and vehicle testing indicate that some of the non-recalled Wilderness AT tires will probably experience elevated failure rates at some time in the future.

Specifically, the company's decision to replace all Wilderness AT tires on its vehicles is based on several factors, including:

• Field data, which is real world tire performance data, recently received from Firestone showed that failure rates had increased for some of the Wilderness AT tires. Projections indicate that the failure rates, while still relatively low compared with tires recalled last year, could reach unusually high levels in the future.



• Information shared by NHTSA showed that failure rates in actual road performance for many of the non-recalled Wilderness AT tires were measurably worse than comparable tires from other manufacturers.



• Laboratory and vehicle testing by Ford shows that tire design and variations in physical characteristics of the non-recalled Wilderness AT tires make them less durable than comparable tires from other manufacturers. The comparable tires include Goodyear tires on more than 500,000 Explorers. These test results are consistent with the NHTSA information and the real world data described above.

Given the consistency among results from Firestone, NHTSA and Ford's own data, the company concluded that it does not have sufficient confidence in the future performance of some of the Wilderness AT tires and that it will take the precautionary measure of replacing all Wilderness AT tires on its customers' vehicles.

William Clay Ford, Jr., chairman of Ford Motor Company, said, "Today's announcement to replace Wilderness AT tires reflects our deep-seated conviction that customer safety always comes first. The actions of Ford's people and its partners, including our dealers, employees, tire suppliers and independent tire retailers, are true to what's at the core of our value system at Ford Motor Company -- nothing is more important than the safety of our customers. The decisions announced today have my full support and that of the entire Board."

Jacques Nasser, president and chief executive officer of Ford Motor Company, said, "Our unequivocal commitment to our customers is the core value of Ford Motor Company. Since last year, we have closely monitored field data from Firestone, worked closely with NHTSA, and conducted extensive laboratory and road testing. Taken together, all the data and analysis do not give us sufficient confidence in the future durability and performance of the non-recalled Wilderness AT tires on our vehicles. While some of the tires we are replacing do not have a substantial failure risk, we are offering to replace all Wilderness AT tires to avoid any confusion among our customers and eliminate any doubt about the quality of their tires. There are early warning signs about these tires, and we will not ignore them."