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Ford lets Local Ford dealers have been authorized to immediately replace the recalled line of Bridgestone/Firestone tires with a different brand.
dealers sub tires
But supplies are running
out in HawaiiBy Jaymes K. Song
Star-BulletinHowever, the supply of replacement tires -- which include Goodyear, Michelin and Uniroyal -- is running out at local dealerships.
Mike McKenna's Windward Ford has been swapping tires since Thursday, but had run out this morning, said Bobby Evans, the company's service manager.
"They were going pretty quick," Evans said, adding that it could take a couple of weeks to get another shipment of tires from the mainland.
Cutter Ford/Isuzu in Aiea said today that it was also out of the replacement tires.
McKenna, Cutter and Honolulu Ford are the three Oahu Ford dealerships among thousands nationwide that were told not to wait for the rolling recall of 6.5 million tires by Bridgestone/Firestone Inc.
At least one other company is already offering an alternative.
Beginning today, Lex Brodie's Tire Co. will start offering people with Firestone/Bridgestone a $50 discount on a replacement set of tires. Officials at the Kakaako store said they will also give the Firestone/Bridgestone tires back to the customer to take back to their dealers later. And it reports having an ample supply of tires.
There are an estimated 1 million Ford light trucks carrying recalled tires in the United States.
With 2,900 Ford dealers authorized to sell and service tires, the move also would leave Bridgestone/Firestone's recall plan in question.
The tire company on Wednesday announced a three-tier recall to manage demand for replacements, outraging worried customers. The tires involved in the recall are P235/75R15 Firestone radial ATX and radial ATX II tires and Wilderness AT tires carrying the code name "VD," most of which are on Ford vehicles. The government is investigating the tires in more than 300 accidents.
For more information, call Firestone/Bridgestone at 1-800-465-1904, or Ford at 1-800-660-4719.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Bridgestone-Firestone recall page