Bridgestone Corp. said Monday that it will offer free inspections of nine types of imported Firestone tires produced in Decatur, Ill., since 1992.
Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. of the U.S., a subsidiary of the Tokyo-based company, has been offering similar service for 24 products.
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration of the U.S. recommended on Sept. 1 that users check the 24 makes in the Firehawk ATX and Wilderness AT series, nine of which were imported to Japan.
The 24 makes are not among the 14.4 million tires that Firestone decided to voluntarily recall Aug. 9.
Bridgestone Corp. said it is offering the free checks to reassure users of the products' safety and that it believes the nine kinds of tires will cause no safety problems in Japan.
All the tires that the firm now sells in Japan under the Firestone brand are produced at Japanese plants, the company added.
According to the Japanese Transport Ministry, no accidents or problems with the nine models have been reported in Japan so far.
For information, call the company toll free on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 0120-39-2936.