Feds Investigating Ford Vehicle Valve Stems
It's a warning we put out to drivers of 2007 Ford vehicles last month. Now the feds are standing behind us, looking into problems with faulty valve stems on those specific cars because they could be linked to a bad batch of stems made by a Chinese company. ABC2 News told you last month that Ford 2007 models seemed to be at bigger risk for having dangerous tire valve stems based on the extremely high number of complaints we found in federal investigation files. As Investigator Joce Sterman explains, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is looking deeper into those complaints, starting its own evaluation of more than one-million Ford vehicles.
Flip through page after page of tire valve stem complaints filed with NHTSA and you'll find one constant, problems with 2007 Ford vehicles. Last month, we asked Don Mays with Consumer Reports about what seemed to be a trend in our research and he told us, "We've heard the theory that, in fact, there may be many defective valve stems used as original equipment on 2007 model year Fords. That has not been confirmed by NHTSA but I know NHTSA is concerned that is a possibility."
But it’s a possibility NHTSA is now looking at more seriously. The agency has opened a preliminary evaluation into more than one-million Ford vehicles because they could crack, leading to flat tires, blow-outs and accidents. The models involved in the investigation include Ford F-150, Mustang, Edge Fusion, Expedition, Explorer, Focus and Escape as well as Mercury Grand Marquis, MKX, MKZ and Milan.
The potential Ford connection is not news to us. It's something we told you about last month, when our ABC2 News investigation into faulty stems turned up a surprising pattern. We broke down complaints filed with NHTSA’s Office of Defect Investigations and discovered there were nearly six times more faulty valve stem complaints about 2007 Fords than any other car, make, model or year. And according to consumers who complained, the situation was “serious” and “frightening”, with more than half the Ford complainants reporting more than one valve stem on their vehicle was “severely cracked or cracked and leaking and had to be replaced”. One victim told NHTSA said they lost control of their vehicle when their valve stem leaked air and ended up in a ditch. Another told the agency, “If I didn't have a warning light I would have probably wrecked because the tire pressure dropped quickly".
Those were scary experiences, but Ford tells ABC2, “We are aware of the NHTSA preliminary evaluation and will cooperate fully with the agency in its investigation. Ford monitors the performance of all of its products and has not identified a risk to safety as a result of reported valve stem cracking and leaking”. However, Ford’s Communications Manager Wes Sherwood did tell ABC2 last month that the company uses valve stems made by the same Chinese company that's at the center of NHTSA's investigation.
At this point, no injuries or deaths have been reported in relation to stems on 2007 Fords. However, one death has been blamed on faulty valve stems made by the same manufacturer, Topseal, and distributed by Dill Air Controls. NHTSA says as many as 30 million faulty valve stems could still be on the road. That’s why experts say you should consider getting your valve stems checked. Many tire repair shops will check your vehicle for free, although the replacement of faulty valves could still cost you.
Why Are Flawed Valve Stems Still On The Market?
It's a product recall that's gotten some play in the press. But ABC2 News Investigator Joce Sterman is digging deeper into the problems with tire valve stems. She spoke exclusively with the woman who ignited a nationwide recall and prompted a federal investigation into a car part that's on every vehicle on the road.
At just seven months old, Justin Monk's happy little smile shows no sign of the loss he's already suffered. His mother, Sara Monk, says, "I think I'm trying to avoid thinking about that conversation when I'm going to have to tell him what happened to his father." Monk is a widow at age 33, losing her husband, Chip, when she was six months pregnant. She tells ABC2, “One day we were shopping for strollers and baby beds and stuff. The next day I'm sitting in a room of strangers being asked if I knew whether my husband preferred to be buried or cremated."
They were unimaginable choices for a woman who, until now, has never spoken publically about the crash that killed her husband. It was roll-over crash on a Florida highway that she says was caused by a tiny part that's on every tire on the road. It's called a valve stem, the rubber piece that lets air in and out of your car's tires. Monk’s attorney, Frank Melton, says, this is what happened to the valve stem on Chip Monk’s car, "We looked at it closer and the valve stem was cracked all the way around. It looked like someone had taken an Exacto knife and cut all the way around."
But tampering may not have tainted the valve stems on Chip’s SUV. The bad stems are now evidence in a wrongful death suit filed by Sara Monk, because her lawyers allege the valves were defective - part of a botched batch out of China that according to reports from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) can crack at any moment. Melton says, "They can lose air pressure just like that." And that’s what they believe happened to Chip’s car. The right rear tire blew out on his SUV, giving way to the pressure. And it turns out valve stems on 2 other tires on his car had the same bad valves. All of them were purchased in the fall of 2006. According to the NHTSA, between September 2006 and June 2007, bad valves made were installed onto millions of U.S. cars.
The Monk’s story and the lawsuit that followed prompted one distributor, Tech International, to recall nearly six-million valve stems. But as many as 30 million more defective stems may still be out there according to NHTSA’s investigation. That’s because Dill Air Controls, the company that reportedly sold the stems involved in the Monk crash, has not pulled its product. Don Mays with Consumer Reports says, "We think there should be further recalls. In fact, Dill has already put up a warning on its website, helping consumers identify problems with their valve stems. But they really need to do an official recall to get these things back."
But Dill has made no move despite the lawsuit and the federal investigation launched by NHTSA in its wake. And that’s troubling to Melton, “It just doesn't make sense and it's not safe for the public. It's not just a suspicion of a problem. They know there's a problem." Evidence in a government file shows Dill has known for awhile. The documents they supplied to NHTSA show the company was fielding complaints and getting bad valve stems returned to them as far back as July of 2007, months before Monk was killed. Melton says, "They could have done something but they waited until someone died."
Dill General Manager Brian Rigney wouldn't answer our direct questions about their delay in notifying NHTSA and the public. But in an email he told ABC2, “The breadth of the issues is from a few lots made in the summer of 2006, significantly less than 30 million are in question. That was the original amount we were studying with the independent rubber labs to narrow down what changed and when. We determined the suspect figure is well under 1 million pieces.” He also says, “We are encouraging people to inspect their valve stems for cracks no matter who the manufacturer is. Our testing shows us that the bad part will crack early and the crack will propagate slowly, from months to years giving time for inspection.”
Many drivers say they’ve found those cracks, thanks to leaks, flat tires and blow-outs. And they’ve reported their findings to NHTSA, with those complaints turning up another twist in this story. We went through the complaint logs to take a look at the numbers.
