Ford Motor Company is being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States for use of tire valves made by Topseal Automotive, a subsidiary of Shanghai Baolong Automotive Corp. The faulty valve stems can crack and leak, leading to NHTSA receiving 37 complaints.
Of the complaints, 23 had at least one valve that was “severely cracked or cracked and leaking” according to NHTSA. In 11 of the complaints, the tire lost inflation and had to be replaced after being damaged.
The tire stems are on more than 1 million Ford vehicles from the 2007 model year, including the Ford F-150 , Mustang, Edge, Fusion, Expedition, Explorer, Focus and Escape, and the Mercury Grand Marquis, MKX, MKZ, and Milan.
NHTSA began a separate investigation of Shanghai Baolong in May over a separate 23 million valve stems manufactured by the Chinese company. NHTSA has received over 4,700 complaints of faulty stems – including a fatal rollover last fall involving a 1998 Ford Explorer equipped with the stems. The 1 million stems now also under investigation were factory-installed by Ford.
