Bad Tire Valves Still In Use

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- David Nicholas works in the airline industry and pays close attention to safety issues.

"This is serious and this is a known problem," says Nicholas. Nicholas knows first hand the gravity of the problem. He says, "You're not believing it, you expect your tires to stay inflated." Recently, Nicholas was driving his Ford F-150 on Highway US-1 when two of his tires failed. "The vehicle turned to left and I was able to control it but what if I had a load on my truck it would have been hard to keep control of the vehicle," says Nicholas.

The problem was not a blowout, the problem was two defective tire valve stems.

"One of those things that's a sleeper and it is hard to notice," says Nicholas.

Nicholas had his wheels inspected and discovered that the tire valve stems were cracked and that they were part of a nationwide recall.

He was never notified of the recall.

"So if you bought tires between 2006 and 2008, there's a possibility that these stems could be on your tires," says Nicholas.

The stems were made in China and distributed by Tech International to car care centers worldwide.

Nicholas says "The cracks are very visible if you bend the stem at the base of the stem." Even if there are no visible cracks, a tire repair shop should inspect the valve stems to see if they're among the recalled valves.

"If there are 30 million of these in the marketplace the word needs to get out and they need to be inspected and replaced,"says Nicholas.

He replaced the stems on his vehicle at his expense and would like Tech International or his tire retailer to replace his damaged tire. For more information on the valve stem recall, contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration's hotline at 1-888-327-4236.