CCTV re-exposes Kumho Tire's death case before and after manufacturers respond to contradictions

Kumho Tire, which is widely used by automobile manufacturers, is actually overdosed with recycled rubber. This is one of the blockbusters thrown at the 315th this year. How Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd., as a party, responds to this report What about CCTV's "Consumer Advocate" reporter from Tianjin on March 16 and 17, sending back the latest interview.

Positive response

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After the 315 party ended, the reporter arrived at the Kumho Tire Tianjin Plant for the first time. The Minister of Quality Assurance of the Kumho Tire Tianjin Plant, Yin Zongda, told reporters that there was strict management of the tire quality factory.

Reporter: "Has it been found that this exceeds our corporate standards?"

Yin Zongda, Director of Quality Assurance Department of Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd.: “After daily monitoring by our quality manager, if we find this situation, we will take measures after the batch is retained and then use it.”

Reporter: "Has it been discovered?"

Yin Zongda, Minister of Quality Assurance, Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd.: “There have been.”

Reporter: "How much is this phenomenon?"

Yin Zongda, Minister of Quality Assurance of Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd.: “This frequency is not very high.”

Minister Yin acknowledged that the phenomenon of excessive use of recycled rubber for tire manufacturing does occur in factories. Is it really just an accident as he said?

Review of events

In fact, reporters had unannounced visits to Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd. more than once.

Reporter: "Did this find a pipe?"

Workers of Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd.: "I didn't say anything."

Workers of Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd.: "It's all okay, nothing."

Reporter: "How many are you now?"

Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd. Tread workshop workers: "2:1. Two original films returned."

One evening in the summer of 2010, the reporter went directly to the production workshop of Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd. The reporter in the tread shop saw that the three-disc rubber was being sent into the material inlet. The paper above the material inlet read: 1366, which means that the original film was used on the production line at this time.

Surprisingly, when the reporter approached it, he discovered that two of the three packs of plastic were number 1366 in the original tablet, while the other tray was a 4366 return.

Reporter: "4366, what is the one in front of you?"

Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd. Worker: "Yes."

Reporter: "Then you are the ratio of 2:1?"

Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd. Worker: "Yes."

Reporter: "How much do you think this should be?"

Workers of Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd.: "It should be 3:1. It should be three good ones and one back to refining."

The operating standards stipulate that the ratio of the original rubber and the recycled rubber of the tread is 3:1, but it can actually be 2:1. The amount of recycled rubber has obviously exceeded the company's operating standards.

This is the scene of the reporter's second unannounced visit. The amount of recycled rubber still exceeds the company's operating standards. In the tread shop, two rubber compounds are being sent into the material mouth, one is the original glue with the serial number 1385, and the other is the recycled rubber with the number 4385.

In other words, the blending ratio between recycled rubber and the original tablet actually reached 1:1.

In the airtight layer plant, two of the three trays of rubber that are entering the inlet are the recycled rubber with the number 3350.

Reporter: "Two?"

Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd. Worker: "It's okay."

In the second round of unannounced visits, the blending amount of the inner liner was much higher than the operating standards.

On the night of January 1, 2011, the reporter made a third visit to Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd.. This time, what is the actual proportion of recycled rubber?

Reporter: "It is now a few pieces of the original film back to refining? Two original film a practice?"

Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd. workers in the airtight workshop nodded.

In the production of tread, it is still in violation of the operating standards for the excessive blending of recycled rubber. At this time, what about the situation of the inner liner production workshop?

Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd. Tread shop workers: "2:1. Two original films returned." The company's normal operating standards should be 6:1. In another airtight floor workshop, a similar scene was once again staged. When some unqualified semi-finished products were used again, they were actually added directly to the material outlets without going back to refining.

Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd. workers in the airtight layer workshop: “No, it didn’t take long to go offline, and there was no need to go back to refining.”

During the three unannounced visits by reporters, the Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd. drilled back to blend the amount of glue, far higher than the company's operating standards.

Kumho apologizes

Reporter: "Why did we see two sets of standards when our reporters paid an unannounced visit and an unannounced visit?"

According to Yin Zongda, Minister of Quality Assurance of Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd.: “After seeing the report, we will definitely conduct an investigation on this phenomenon. In this case, as you said, we can also answer positively. ... First of all, I'm sorry to have caused this unease to consumers."

Here, the reporter encountered law enforcement officers from the Quality Supervision Bureau of the Tianjin Binhai Development Zone who came to conduct a law enforcement inspection. Zhang Bai, deputy director of the Tianjin Binhai Development Zone Quality Supervision Bureau, said: "It hasn't just come over. When we see the TV, we rush over."

Reporter: "Did we find this situation in the previous supervision of the company?"

Zhang Bai, deputy director of Tianjin Binhai Development Zone Quality Supervision Bureau, said: “Our former supervision was performed in accordance with the requirements of the work procedure. That is to say, we did not find any product quality problems in the company, nor did we receive relevant information. Complaints."

Reporter: "So what are we going to do next?"

Zhang Bai, deputy director of Tianjin Binhai Development Zone Quality Supervision Bureau, said: “The next step is to use the facts as a benchmark and to take the law as the yardstick to perform our duties fairly. Once there are problems, we must implement them in accordance with the law."

Quality supervisors said they would strictly handle the matter. However, when reporters asked to film the law enforcement process on site, they were rejected.

Kumho Tire Tracking 2: Add the proportion by quantity or weight?

After the 315th night of the Kumho Tire Tianjin plant's illegal operation standards and a large number of problems involving the use of reflow adhesives were exposed, on March 16th, Kumho Tires made a public statement stating that “the ratio of the original rubber and the return glue was based on weight. To calculate, it is not an intuitive quantitative ratio. Is this really the case? Look at CCTV's survey.

Workers and production responsible population are called "films"

Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. responded to the 315 party report through the official Weibo report, saying that "the ratio of adding the original glue and returning glue was calculated according to weight, not an intuitive quantitative ratio." The reporter interviewed at the Kumho Tire Tianjin Plant in January 2011. At the time, the workers on the production line introduced the proportion of return rubber:

Reporter: "A few pieces of original plastic back to refining?"

Workers (female): "The three original gums, the proportion of back refining is one, and the middle cut is a small one."

Reporter: "That is equal to half a slice?"

Worker (female): "Yes, this is 6 to 1."

When asked by reporters how the workers responsible for the feeding of the tires generally use plastics, the workers replied: “The proportion of rubber that is returned is 3 to 1, which is equal to the value of OE (manufacturer's package), RE (domestic sales). The blending back off."

Reporter: "How much is RE (market retail)?"

Workers: "RE (market retail) was mixed with 3 to 1, and three original films returned."

Reporter: "Equivalent to feeding four pieces of plastic, right?"

Worker: "Yes."

Reporter: At the same time, four tablets of glue are available?

Worker: "Yes."

When workers interviewed reporters to introduce the proportion of return rubber, the units used were clearly stated as films rather than units of weight.

In addition, Kumho Tire Tianjin Co., Ltd., who specializes in first-line production, is responsible for introducing the proportion of airtight layer to the reporter in detail. It also uses the quantity unit “film”.

Reporter: "Is this the original film?"

Wang Kechang: "This is the original film."

Reporter: "Which is added?"

Wang Kechang: "Plus this is a refund, this half piece."

Reporter: "It should be 6 to 1 right?"

Wang Kechang: "6 to 1."

Reporter: "What is the concept of 6 to 1?"

Wang Kechang: “One whole piece is two pieces, equal to three pieces of six pieces, plus one piece (back glue).”

The standard "workpieces" written in the factory work standard

Regardless of the worker or the person in charge of the production, the unit to which the material is to be added is the tablet, not the weight. Not only that, but also on the operating standards of the Kumho Tire Tianjin plant, such a clear description of the blending ratio has also been made:

Working method of airtight layer: divide into 2 equal parts on the cutting machine, use one of them to mix with normal #1350 3 pieces

Birth ratio 1:6

The unit used here is also a "piece."

There is also a noteworthy detail. When the journalist unannounced his visit to the Tianjin factory of Kumho Tire, he saw that in the airtight layer production line, there was no original piece of glue, and all of the materials used were back-grade rubber, and there was no added ratio at all.

Reporter: "What are you using today?"

Workers: "It's all 3350. They are all back to refining."

Reporter: "I see 6 of them are back refining."

Worker: "I'm all over there, too."

expert's point:

What is the normal percentage of return glue? What is the hidden danger of using a lot of return glue? With doubt, CCTV’s “Consumer Claims” reporter went to the Beijing Rubber Industry Research and Design Institute and has long been engaged in tire manufacturing research. Director Li Dawei told the reporter that in order to save costs, defective products can be put into the tire production line again, but in order to ensure that the performance of the tire is not affected, the amount used is very small. No matter whether it is the inner liner, tread or sidewall, it will return glue. The use ratio should generally not exceed 20%.

Li Dawei: “This 20% is a more extreme data. Of course, we cannot guarantee that 15% will not work and 10% will not work. In short, the lower the better. 20% of this ratio is based on process technology. Experience is less than 20%, which will not have a big impact on the performance of the tires."

Director Li told the reporter that the proportion of returned rubber should not be more than 20%. When returning to the refining industry, it is necessary to return the rubber materials with different properties to the refining process.

Li Dawei: “If you have defective products, you should separate the above mentioned glues and separate them with cutting methods. During driving, during tire rolling, its force is not the same during rolling. It has its mechanical properties, so it must be made of rubber with different properties. If you go straight in without going through the cut, then this feature will not work out, and it will produce a reversed direction. Destruction."

Director Li said that using a large amount of return rubber will greatly affect the performance of the tire. First of all, if the airtight layer does so, it may leave hidden dangers such as slow spreading.

Li Dawei: “After it is mixed with too much, the rubber material appears to be in use during the processing process. The appearance of gel will cause the airtightness of the tire to decrease, and the air pressure will decrease during use. This will result in A relatively large quality problem with the tire."

The use of a large amount of return rubber to make the sidewalls will reduce the use characteristics of the various parts of the sidewall. The problem is even more serious if you are using return glue that has not been recycled back into the compound.

Li Dawei: "It's easy to crack, for example. Although it's hard, it's hard to break the spurs off to the side of the tires. Although it's hard, it's easy to crack, and this tire's safety hazard will occur."

For treads, the safety hazards left by such work may be more, for example, the thermal performance of the lower layer of the tread may become higher.

Li Dawei: “The lower layer of rubber in the tread is relatively low in heat generation. If the heat is very high, it can easily cause delamination of the tire. If once delaminated, the tire can easily open from the crown, which is very dangerous. ”

Kumho Tire's "Past"

After searching on the Internet, the reporter found that the quality problems of Kumho Tire occurred from time to time.

As early as July 2006, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a document to issue a quality warning on Kumho Tire, claiming that 9 light truck tires produced by Kumho Tire Co. were recalled because of potential safety hazards on the tire sidewalls. A total of 78,321 items are involved.

In China, since 2007, the Kumho Tire Drum event has been occurring continuously.

From the end of 2007 to the beginning of 2008, Kumho Tire suffered a “breaking door” turmoil. Many owners pointed out that there were serious quality problems in the Kumho Tire 4606 batch.

In 2008, Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. received an “abnormal bulging” phenomenon on the Buick Excelle. Some owners who encountered the Kumho Tyre Drum set up a QQ rights group and the number reached the maximum limit. With the further expansion of the impact of the “Guaranteed by the Door” incident, more and more complaints have been made. There are incomplete statistics of the media. The incident affected 18 provinces, cities, and regions such as Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Shanghai. At the same time, in the face of consumer skepticism, Kumho Tire Co. also responded by stating that it has indeed encountered some problems in the use of Buick Excelle tires, especially the bulging phenomenon.

In May 2009, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine issued a message that: In the year of 2008, China Consumers Association received 495 complaints against tires, and the more serious ones were Kumho Tire's bulging and side cracks and Hankook Tire's bulging.

Case I: One dead and two wounded tires

On June 22, 2009, Zhou Zhigen of Fuyang City, Hunan Province, drove Beijing Hyundai Motors, a newly-buying car for 6 days, on the expressway. He suddenly suffered a puncture in the left rear wheel, resulting in a fatal accident of one death and two injuries. This car is equipped with Kumho tires!

Zhou Zhigen: Suddenly I heard a loud noise and a buzzing ring, when the car got out of control. The steering wheel is useless, as if the steering wheel was empty. All of them were thrown from inside the car and from behind the window. Seeing their loved ones lying there, dying there, and having a good friend who is now lying there and unable to move, it is really impossible to say anything.

At the time, besides driving the car, Zhou Zhigen also sat Zhou Zhigen’s nephew Zhou Yanqing and his friends Ouyang Xiaobo and Xiao Luhui. Zhou Zhigen was not injured because he was wearing a seat belt. However, his nephew was thrown under the highway by a powerful inertia in a car accident. He died on the spot and his friend Ouyang Xiaobo was seriously injured.

Ouyang Xiaobo: (knees) are broken, and they are shattered. Then I use a big pot to hold it tight. The cervical spine broke and broke three quarters.

Xiaolu Hui was still pregnant with 4 months pregnant. Fortunately, the car accident did not cause any impact on the child in the abdomen. However, the car accident caused Xiaolu Hui's comminuted fracture of the hip to lie on the bed for 9 months.

Xiao Luhui: In any case, the legs are not straight. At that time, my legs were not straight. It hurts and it hurts.

Case Two: Visually Identifying Tire Quality?

Ms. Bu who lives in Dongying City, Shandong Province, who bought the Buick Excelle car is also Kumho Tire. After her car was opened for only six months, the three Kumho tires on the front, rear, and right side of the car configuration appeared large bags.

Ms. Bu: I think it's definitely a quality problem. A tire has a bulge and three tires are bulging at the same time.

Ms. Bu said that since she is a novice, she usually drives carefully and has never had a collision. When she appeared in a bulge, she only had a mileage of more than 7,000 kilometers. This inexplicable tyre bulge made Ms. Bu difficult to accept.

Ms. Bu found Kumho Tire Dongying agents.

Jinhu Tire Shandong Dongying regional general manager Wang Yinfeng: (Buick) does not add any (tire) brand, only one (Kumho) brand, the main Buick cars are used Kumho tires, nothing else. (Isn't it a bad bulging chance or is it a bit higher?) You say that, I don't deny it either.

The agent of the Kumho Tire Dongying District admits that the phenomenon of bulging of Kumho tires in the Buick configuration is not a minority, but whether Ms. Bu’s Kumho tire bulging is caused by quality problems does not require confirmation before it can be identified.

Jinhu Tire Shandong Dongying Regional General Manager Wang Yinfeng:

(How to solve this kind of thing?) Used to identify, take the identification fee.

(Where to identify ah?) Just in my identification.

(Identified by you, do you have any equipment?) I don't use the instrument. I have no objection to you when I'm satisfied with your assessment.

(What do you use to identify?) I visually identify.

(You can use the eyes to see if it is a quality problem. What caused it?) It should be possible.

(Do you have an appraisal report?) Yes, I can produce an appraisal report and it is approved by the manufacturers.

Ms. Bu was very surprised that the quality assessment of Kumho Tire was actually carried out by its agents themselves, and it was intuitively done by the naked eye! The agent also told Ms. Bu that the identification fee for each tire was 40 yuan. , Within one week after the identification, a quality assessment report approved by the manufacturer can be issued. But is such a quality appraisal report scientific and rigorous and objectively fair?

Jinhu Tire Shandong Dongying regional general manager Wang Yinfeng: I said it is not a problem, it is not a problem, so to speak. It is definitely not a problem. I was trained by the manufacturer. I started with the embryos of the production line.

A staff member of the agent simply looked at the tire that Ms. Bu brought and immediately produced a quality appraisal result.

Kumho Tire Shandong Dongying area distributor staff:

(What is the situation with your appraisal?) The appraisal is man-made. It must be something on the surface, or on the pit or on the side of the road, anyway.

(You can only run this tire in asphalt, you can't run anywhere else, can't you run in a pothole?) I don't tell you, and I understand you very well.

The identification result of this staff member is that Ms. Bu’s tire bulging is not a quality problem but is caused by man. Therefore, Kumho manufacturers do not assume any responsibility, and Ms. Bu’s tires will not be replaced with new ones for free.

Case 3: Less than a month tire package

Mr. Yao from Henan Luohe City purchased the Swift-type vehicle for less than 3 months. The Kumho tyres for the car configuration had a bulge!

Mr. Yao: Because I was running in the downtown area for more than 1,800 kilometers, and the speed was not high, I didn't have a particularly violent driving situation. I felt it was a problem with quality.

On February 22, 2010, Changan Suzuki 4S shop in Luohe City, Henan Province, retired the Kumho tire that had been bulged, and replaced it with a new tire for Mr. Yao's car.

Although the bulging tyres have been replaced with new ones, Mr. Yao’s concerns about the quality of Kumho tyres have not been eliminated. Recently, he found that his car's left front tire had a bumpy appearance.

Mr. Yao: It's uneven here. You can see it on the side. You can feel it with your hand and it's not even. There are concerns that this high speed car must have concerns. The danger is that it is a high-speed tire burst. It is very dangerous. Car crashes can happen. So, I am very worried.