Update: Bridgestone to Recall 6.5 Million Firestone Tires

Updated from 3:00 p.m. EDT

In an effort to ease safety concerns, Bridgestone said Wednesday that it would recall 6.5 million Firestone tires that have been linked to dozens of fatal crashes involving sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

"Clearly we are very concerned when there are accidents involving our tires," said Gary Crigger, executive vice president of Bridgestone Firestone, a subsidiary of the Japanese tire maker. "That's why we are taking this so seriously."

Crigger said in a news conference that the company would recall some of its ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT models, beginning in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, where most of the accidents occurred.

Bridgestone Firestone was quick to note that it had yet to pinpoint any design flaws in the tires, but Crigger himself acknowledged that the reports regarding Firestone tires are "very disturbing." The National Highway Safety Administration is looking into whether the tires are to blame for the accidents.

The division, a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, opened a preliminary investigation in early May after receiving numerous complaints about Firestone tires. It concluded that more than 80 injuries and at least 46 deaths, most of which occurred in Southern states, could be related to some of Firestone's ATX, ATX II and Wilderness tires.

But the heat in Southern states, Crigger said, could have contributed to the accidents, which occurred because of tire blowouts and tread separations. Other factors, including under-inflated tires and overloaded vehicles, could also have played a part in the accidents, the company said.

For now, though, the immediate focus is on replacing millions of tires. After targeting the initial states, Bridgestone officials said they would replace tires in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma and Tennessee before recalling tires across the rest of the country.

Crigger declined to say how much the recall effort would cost, but acknowledged it would be a substantial amount.

Drivers who own the tires will receive letters from the company informing them of the recall and the steps they can take to replace their tires, Crigger said. The company said it has produced 14.4 million of the questionable tires, and 6.5 million are still in use.

The tires in question have been used on Ford (F Quote - Cramer on F - Stock Picks), General Motors (GM Quote - Cramer on GM - Stock Picks), Toyota (TM Quote - Cramer on TM - Stock Picks), Nissan (NSANY Quote - Cramer on NSANY - Stock Picks) and Subaru vehicles.

However, most of the accidents involved the Ford Explorer, a fact Ford said was unsurprising considering the sheer number of the sport utility trucks on the road. And many of the accidents involved tires made in the company's Decatur, Ill. plant, raising questions about how Wilderness tires are produced at that site.

Rosalyn G. Millman, deputy administrator for the National Highway Safety Administration, said she was "pleased that Firestone has taken a positive step toward resolving this safety issue," but would continue an investigation to ensure that all safety issues are adequately addressed.

Shares of Bridgestone shares fell Wednesday following news reports that it would announce the tire recall. The stock, which has been under pressure in recent days, closed down 8%, or 185 yen, at 2075 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Two days ago, Sears Roebuck(S Quote - Cramer on S - Stock Picks) said it had stopped selling the questionable Firestone tires.

In the largest tire safety recall ever, Firestone recalled 14 million tires in 1978 because of tread separations and blowouts, and federal regulators consequently fined the company for concealing safety problems. Facing bankruptcy, the company was eventually bought by Bridgestone.

Joan Claybrook, who looked into the Firestone tire problem in the late 1970s as head of the highway safety administration, argued in a statement that it took the company too long to announce the recall.

"It's about time that Bridgestone Firestone acted in the public's best interest," she said. "The 46 deaths that have been reported are only those that are known publicly. It's likely that there are many others that have not been attributed to the tires." Claybrook, now president of Public Citizen, a watchdog group in Washington, said she believed more than 100 lawsuits had been filed against the company for serious injuries and deaths.