Discount Tire said it would stop selling the Firestone models in question at its 450 stores. Montgomery Ward also said Monday that it would stop selling the Wilderness AT tires in about 230 Wards Auto Centers until the highway agency's investigation was complete. Concern about the tires prompted Sears, Roebuck and Co. to pull them from its store shelves starting Friday. Sears is the largest tire seller in the nation, with 780 Sears Auto Centers and 350 National Tire and Battery shops. Most of the accidents reported to the highway agency came from Texas and southern and southwestern states with warm climates.
Heat can affect tire tread bonding.
Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Aug. 8, 2000. All rights reserved. Produced by Journal Interactive .