Cooper Tire is recalling its CS4 Touring (VR) tires, which are said to be defective because they can lead to tire tread separation and cause a serious auto accident. According to this news report on Consumeraffairs.com, these defective tires were apparently cured for an inadequate amount of time. This condition could lead to tire tread separation, which could cause a motorist to lose control of the vehicle and thereby result in a crash.

The recalled tires are size 215/55R17, manufactured between September 7, 2008 and October 11, 2008. Cooper Tire will notify owners and replace, mount and balance any of these defective tires without any charge to the consumer. Dealers will first examine suspect tires to check whether they are part of the recalled batch of tires. This tire recall is expected to begin this month. Consumers who seek more information are asked to call Cooper Tire Consumer Relations at 1-800-854-6288 or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at 1-888-327-4236. You could also visit the NHTSA’s Web site at www.safercar.gov.

Tire tread separation can be catastrophic. Tread belt separations frequently trigger tire blowouts that could cause even an experienced driver to lose control. These often result in serious auto accidents such as rollovers, which lead to major injuries and fatalities.

Tire tread separations are often the result of design and manufacturing defects for which tire manufacturers are liable under the law. Manufacturers of these products also have the legal responsibility to notify consumers about dangerous defects with their products and undertake recalls. We have seen many cases of defective tires being sold to consumers or put on new vehicles by manufacturers. There have also been many instances where tire manufacturers fail to recall defective tires until lawsuits have been filed by injured victims or the families of deceased victims.

Since July 2006 Cooper Tire has recalled close to 300,000 defective tires, most of them for tread separation problems. That number does not include the current recall. If you or someone you love has been seriously injured by one of these defective tires, I’d like to hear about it.