Bridgestone/Firestone Tire Recall Crisis Communication

In August of 2000, Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. announced a voluntary recall from defected tires. Defective tires included Firestone Radial ATX and Radial ATX II tires in size P235/75R15 produced in North America, Mexico, and Wilderness AT tires in size P235/75R15 produced at the Decatur, Illinois plant. All the owners of vehicles with defective tires were contacted by mail for replacement of tires. Gary Crigger the Executive Vice President of Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. announced the recall, out of the 14.4 million tires produced 6.5 million tires were recalled. In response to this PR crisis, Crigger announced that
"We felt we must take this extraordinary step as a precaution to ensure consumer safety and consumer confidence in our brands. So, no matter how old the tires, no matter how many miles they have on them, we will replace them with new tires…Throughout this process, we have been working very closely with Ford Motor Company and NHTSA to determine the cause of the accidents involving vehicles with these tires. While we have not determined what, if any, problem there may be with these tires, our review of the data suggests three things…We will inspect each customer’s tires for damage or excessive wear, while checking to make sure the tires are inflated to the level specified by the vehicle's manufacturer….We extend our condolences to families that have lost loved ones in accidents. We also apologize to our customers for the inconvenience this recall causes and we ask for their patience," --Crigger
Crigger handled the Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. tire recall quite well by using effective crises communication in his statements. Criggger used concern, clarity, control, confidence, and competence in his statements to the public which was a positive PR image for his company.
CNN article about tire recall