Bridgestone

Company History

Founded in Japan in 1931, Bridgestone is the world’s second largest tire manufacturer, behind Michelin and ahead of Goodyear, and was the world's largest tire manufacturer up until 2008. Bridgestone has factories in more than 30 countries today. The company broke into the United States in 1983, manufacturing radial tires for trucks and buses at a plant in Tennessee. In 1988, Bridgestone completed a successful takeover bid for Firestone, then the No. 2 tire manufacturer in the U.S. This purchase gave Bridgestone a bevy of new manufacturing plants throughout North, Central and South America.

Based out of Nashville, Bridgestone Americas Holding is the American subsidiary of Bridgestone. BSAH produces Bridgestone, Firestone, Dayton and other brand name tires for consumer and commercial vehicle manufacturers, as well as for industrial vehicles.

Class Action Lawsuits

• In 2003, Bridgestone/Firestone agreed to a class action settlement in Texas after the company recalled 6.5 million ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires in 2000. Bridgestone had to pay more than $26 million and offered free tire rotations and discounts on new tires and tire alignment for the customers affected by these models. The company also had to pay for the creation of a consumer awareness program.

• In May of 2008, a class action lawsuit was filed against BWM and Bridgestone alleging that Bridgestone’s Turanza run-flat tires were defective and received premature wear, causing an unsafe riding experience and requiring the tires to be replaced sometimes before 10,000 miles and often before 20,000 miles.

Recalled Tires

• In 2004, Bridgestone recalled 297,000 Steeltex Radial A/T tires in what they called a voluntary safety campaign. Bridgestone offered to replace the Steeltex tires size LT265/75R16 LR D, which were used on Ford Excursions between 2000 and 2003.

• In 2008, Bridgestone recalled 135,000 of the Firestone brand FR380 P235/75 R15 tires that were manufactured in Costa Rica during 2007 and 2008. These tires lacked sufficient tread base and could have led to loss of control of vehicles. The recall continued into 2009, as 127,000 more tires were recalled in the summer. This particular recall also included 27,000 of Bridgestone’s LeMans Champion SE P235/75 R15 tires.

• In April of 2009, Bridgestone announced a recall of its Exedra G850 G motorcycle tires size 180/70R16 77H, which were manufactured for 2008 and 2009 Triumph Rocket III Touring motorcycles. The torque and speed of these motorcycles caused a cracking of the innerliners in the tires, which led to the rear tires slowly releasing air. Bridgestone agreed to replace the tires, including the front tires for matching purposes, even though they were unaffected by the default.