Analysis of M880 Tire Failure Accidents

In August 1978 Goodyear started a recall of 9.50 R16.5 steel belted radial tires that were manufactured at its Fayetteville, North Carolina, plant from 1 September 1975 through 28 August 1976. This recall was in response to reports of failures and accidents involving these tires mounted on M880 1 14-ton trucks. The problem was in the method by which the rubber was processed during tire manufacture. This problem made the tires subject to separation between the belt plies which causes belt deterioration or separation at the belt edges. In turn, this leads to vibration in the tire and tire failures with sudden air loss. The recall program was closed out in January 1980 with 55,000 tires having been replaced Tank-Automotive Command M880 Newsletter Number 12, 13 January 1980. However, since that time National Guard Bureau NGB personnel have reported a large number of failures of the replacement Goodyear tire i.e., preliminary results 26 states reporting of a NGB survey indicated that 1,211 of the replacement tires had failed since 1 February 1980. NGB was told by TACOM that no recall of the replacement tires was planned however, Goodyear was producing a second replacement tire The Wrangler to be issued as the first replacement tires wear out or blow out. The problem is if the replacement tires are defective as suggested by the NGB survey, then they should also be recalled, not replaced as they fail. Currently, TACOM reports that the original Goodyear replacement tires are experiencing a 1-1.5 failure rate which is better than civilian experience and that the largest problems are speed and under-inflation i.e., the operators manual and Chrysler recommend 35 psi on front tires and 55 psi on rear tires while Goodyear recommends 45 psi on the front tires and 55 psi on rear tires. Goodyear is currently analyzing some of the tires that failed on NGB M880s and will report the results to TACOM in the near future.