Continental has announced a voluntary exchange program involving 822 Continental and General Tire brand passenger vehicle tires that were produced at the company’s Mt. Vernon, Illinois plant and sold in the European replacement tires market. The company believes that 4 of these tires may be defective. The impacted tires may experience sudden air loss or belt edge separation which could lead to partial or full tread loss. Continental has not received any reports of accidents or injuries resulting from this condition. The tires will be exchanged in Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Spain and Netherlands.
Continental has already notified the local authorities of the details of the voluntary exchange program. The company is in contact with the relevant dealers to support notification of customers who purchased these tires or vehicles equipped with these tires. As far as possible, customers will be promptly notified directly and informed about the details of this voluntary exchange program.
Consumers seeking more information, including instructions for identifying affected tires as well as obtaining replacement tires are asked to visit Continental’s website. The tires can be identified by brand, size, Department of Transportation (DOT) week codes and the tire mold number, which are also outlined below. The last four digits of the DOT serial numbers indicate the production period (week/year). Affected tires will be replaced free of charge.
The affected tires of the Continental brand can be identified as follows:
Article description | DOT serial numbers | Country |
Continental PremiumContact 6 SSR* 315/35 R22 111Y XL Tire mold number: 416190 | A3RR D7VC 5118 | Germany |
The affected tires of the General Tire brand can be identified as follows:
Article description | DOT serial numbers | Country |
General Tire Grabber AT³ LT235/85 R16 120/116 S Tire mold number: 416165 | A30R HMRA 0819 | Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Spain |
General Tire Grabber AT³ LT235/85 R16 120/116 S Tire mold number: 416165 | A30R HMRA 1318 | Great Britain |
General Tire Grabber X³ LT265/70 R17 121/118 Q Tire mold number: 414719 | A3AH HMMM 1518 | Great Britain |