July 1, 2004
In February 2004 Firestone found itself in the headlines again when it agreed to recall 497,000 Steeltex tires that were predominantly installed as original equipment on 2000 through early model 2003 Ford Excursions (04T-003). While no specific defect pattern was noted, the tires experienced sidewall failures, tread separations, blowouts and unexplained loss of pressure and caused at least six crashes involving five deaths. The Steeltex line covers a number of different tire types and sizes, those subject to the recall include only the Radial AT size LT265/75R16, Load Range D manufactured in the Joliette, Quebec plant during March 1999 through December 2002 and installed on Ford Excursions.
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) systems are still only on a small percentage of U.S. models yet they offer significant improvements in performance by sensing when a vehicle is about to lose control and intervene to keep the vehicle stable. ESC systems, which are known under a host of other acronyms and various trade names, work by using ABS brakes as a foundation and with the addition of sensors measure steering wheel angle, yaw rate and turning force. Software algorithms interpret the sensor data and determine whether the vehicle is travelling the way it should given the driver input. If not, the system automatically activates the brakes on one or more wheels or activates the throttle slightly to bring the car back in line.