More than half a million Michelin tires are being recalled because they fail to meet the requirements for traction in snow despite being labeled as snow tires.
Michelin said its Agilis CrossClimate® C-Metric tires, in sizes 185/60R15C, 195/75R16C, 205/65R15C, 205/75R16C, 225/75R16C, 235/65R16C are being recalled.
These tires are marked with the Alpine Symbol, but failed the test for traction to be classified as snow tires, Michelin explained on its website.
The symbol is a snowflake inside a three-peaked mountain outline.
Michelin recalls more than 500,000 snow tires over traction concernshttps://t.co/xP8BexktrY
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The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration said all 542,100 tires made between Jan. 1, 2017, and April 6, 2023, are defective.
“If placed into service, the subject tires may not provide the expected traction performance in severe snow weather conditions and could potentially increase the risk of a crash,” the NHTSA said.
“Testing done as part of plans to move some tire production of the affected tires from Europe to the US returned failing snow spin results for the subject tires,” the agency added.
The NHTSA said that when production of the tires was moved in November 2022, the company discovered that the initial rating for the tires was done at the wrong tire pressure.
At that time, other data was obtained “which suggested some dimensions may not qualify for the Alpine Symbol,” the NHTSA reported.
Tire testing was done in February. On April 6, the tires were ruled not in compliance. The NHTSA notice was issued on April 13.
The NHTSA notice said that to its knowledge, the tires are not original equipment on any models.
According to Michelin, the tires are often found on Ford Transit, RAM ProMaster, Volkswagen Crafter, Nissan NV200, Chevrolet City Express, and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles.
The Michelin website provides extensive detail on which tires are subject to a recall.
Owners will be given instructions for the replacement of the tires in June.
Michelin said that another time, the LT-Metric, is not covered by the recall because it meets the tests to be labeled a snow tire.
The company said its CrossClimate and CrossClimate2 tires for passenger vehicles and SUVs are also not impacted by the recall.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.