VW Atlas Tires Recalled on 2,900 SUVs
Volkswagen has announced the recall of 2,900 SUVs for a possible tire defect. VW says that the tires could fail while driving their 2018 – 2019 Atlas models. In this case, there is a risk of sidewall failure. There is also a risk with the belts failing which could cause tread separation. Volkswagen said that the tires were over-cured thus becoming too hard. In this article, we’ll discuss hard tires and why they’re a major road hazard.
Why tires are made of rubber
On the Flintstones, they use stone for everything. They’re in the “Stone Age” after all. We, however, don’t use stone for our tires and never did. Stone is hard and slippery. The best tires provide traction. Hence why even wagon wheels were made of wood before we have the ability to harvest and reproduce rubber.
Today’s tires are made of rubber because they provide excellent traction. However, tires age, and as they age, they become harder and less pliant. They provide less traction on the road and are more susceptible to blowouts. For this reason, those who drive sports cars, motorcycles, and RVs must be very cautious of replacing their tires once every six years. The risk of a tire blowout increases exponentially with age.
Now, what happens if a tire is over-cured? Well, it causes the tire to show symptoms of aging prematurely. The sidewalls, which are supposed to expand based on tire pressure are a little more reluctant to do so. The treads can much more easily separate from the tire casings. The tire itself is more prone to sustaining a blowout and that places the driver at increased risk of severe injury, a bad accident, or death.
Why tires blowout
Tires can blow out for any number of reasons. Most of these reasons are not manufacturer negligence. In fact, the majority of tires blow out because their drivers have neglected to maintain them. However, as in the case mentioned above, sometimes a manufacturer fails to cure the rubber at the appropriate temperature and this can result in a less-stable tire.
Avoiding a tire blowout while your vehicle is in motion is imperative. Once the tire rapidly deflates, the vehicle begins to pull in the direction of the blowout. It is natural for most people to want to straighten out the vehicle or turn into the opposite direction that the vehicle is pulling, and when this happens, rollover accidents can ensue.
Suffice it to say, over-cured tires would behave like very old tires and there would be an increased risk of sidewall failure or tread separation. Any injuries caused by the defective tire would fall on Volkswagen and the tire manufacturer to settle.
Talk to a Florida Defective Tire Attorney
If you’ve been injured in a tire blowout accident, call the Coral Gables tire defect attorneys at Halpern, Santos & Pinkert today to schedule a free case evaluation and learn more about how we can help.
Resource:
carcomplaints.com/news/2021/vw-atlas-tire-recall.shtml
https://www.tiredefectattorney.com/will-insurance-cover-a-tire-blowout-accident-claim/
