How Goodyear Covered Up a Tire Scandal That Killed Drivers Across Europe
A decade-long scheme of silent settlements, NDAs, and deflection tactics that put reputations over road safety.
In the world of supply chain and transportation, trust in component quality is sacred. Tires - those black rings of rubber under 40-ton trucks - are expected to do their job silently and without fail. But when they don’t, the consequences can be fatal.
That’s precisely what happened in a growing scandal engulfing Goodyear. The American tire giant stands accused of knowingly distributing defective truck tires across Europe, concealing the danger for years, and engaging in calculated efforts to suppress the truth. The revelations are chilling: defective Goodyear Marathon LHS II and LHS II+ tires may have caused multiple fatal accidents. Instead of issuing recalls, Goodyear allegedly compensated logistics companies under non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to buy their silence.
This isn't just a story about faulty tires - it's a story about systemic corporate deception within the supply chain.
A Timeline of Concealment
The central defect involves Goodyear's Marathon LHS II series tires, particularly those used on the steer axle of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). Independent investigations, notably in France, revealed that these tires suffered from tread separation, a potentially catastrophic failure mode that leads to sudden air pressure loss and loss of vehicle control.
“The tire didn’t just burst. It exploded like a grenade,” said one French forensic crash investigator, describing a fatal accident in Doubs.
Goodyear reportedly became aware of issues as early as 2013. Internal documents later revealed the company had flagged over 56,000 tires for removal from the market, citing the risk of tread separation. But instead of launching a transparent recall, Goodyear opted for a limited, under-the-radar “exchange program” in markets like Czechia. There was no Europe-wide alert. No formal notification to supply chain stakeholders.
And the silence came at a cost—human lives.
The Role of NDAs: Paying for Silence
When tire failures led to crashes, Goodyear allegedly moved fast—not to warn others, but to settle and silence. According to the Arte documentary Sophie Rollet Takes On Goodyear, numerous logistics companies who experienced blowouts or accidents were contacted directly by Goodyear and offered private settlements.
“We were told it was a known issue but that it would be handled quietly,” confessed a former fleet manager for a French transport company who requested anonymity. “They paid for the damage, but we had to sign a non-disclosure agreement.”
The most egregious example? A 2014 crash in France that killed a British national. Goodyear is said to have paid a “nine-figure” sum to the logistics company involved—on the strict condition that the cause of the tire failure and any connection to Goodyear not be disclosed.
Such tactics effectively buried the pattern of incidents, allowing the same tires to continue circulating across European fleets, unchallenged and unexamined.
How the Supply Chain Was Complicit—and Compromised
Many logistics operators suspected issues with Goodyear tires but were either appeased or intimidated into silence. These companies operate in fiercely competitive markets. A free replacement or a payout from a supplier, coupled with the avoidance of legal proceedings, was often too tempting to pass up.
“The risk of going public wasn’t worth the backlash,” said a senior executive at a Dutch transport group. “Our insurers told us: settle and move on.”
The result? A culture of willful ignorance, perpetuated across the supply chain. Transport companies, tire resellers, and maintenance managers turned a blind eye to what was increasingly evident: Goodyear had a defective product, and people were dying.
Whistleblower Bombshell: The USB Stick That Changed Everything
The silence was finally shattered when an anonymous whistleblower handed over a USB key to French authorities. Inside were dozens of internal documents, including emails and spreadsheets from Goodyear managers. These revealed the scope of the problem—and a shocking strategy of containment.
One document described a “risk matrix” used to assess which clients could be compensated quietly and which were considered a “media risk.” The goal was not to fix the issue, but to minimize exposure.
“Their entire focus was on brand protection,” said a source close to the French investigation. “Safety came second.”
The Regulatory Black Hole
What makes this scandal uniquely disturbing is the regulatory failure. Despite hundreds of accidents—including at least seven fatalities in France alone—there was no EU-wide recall or alert. How could such a massive defect escape detection?
One reason is that Goodyear avoided the official EU safety alert system (Safety Gate) by opting for internal “exchange programs” that were limited in scope and geography. By not issuing a formal recall, Goodyear avoided triggering wider regulatory action.
“It’s a loophole,” noted Dr. Anna Meyer, an EU transport law expert. “Exchange programs are treated as customer service gestures. They don’t show up on regulatory radars unless someone blows the whistle.”
Goodyear’s Defense: A Familiar Playbook
Goodyear has denied any systemic defect or cover-up. In official statements, the company says it is “fully cooperating” with ongoing investigations and insists that the Marathon LHS II and LHS II+ tires are “distinct products with no proven causal link to any series of accidents.”
However, the company’s credibility has been undermined by its history of similar behavior.
In the U.S., Goodyear’s G159 tire—used on RVs—was linked to at least eight deaths and dozens of crashes. There too, Goodyear used confidential settlements and fought to seal court records, effectively preventing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) from acting for nearly two decades.
“This isn’t an isolated incident. It’s part of a pattern,” said attorney Sean Kane, who investigated the G159 case in the U.S. “They’ve perfected the art of denying, deflecting, and delaying.”
Logistics Leaders React: “We Were Misled”
As more evidence surfaces, logistics leaders across Europe are reevaluating their relationship with Goodyear.
“We were never told there was a risk,” said the CEO of a Spanish freight company that experienced two blowouts in 2015. “We switched to Michelin after that, but we now know we were running defective tires for years.”
Another operator in Luxembourg confirmed they received Goodyear tires as OEM equipment in 2013–2014 and were never informed of any risk—despite internal Goodyear documents showing the tires were flagged for removal as early as 2013.
“We trusted the brand. That trust is now broken.”
Legal Reckoning: Manslaughter and Deception Charges
In May 2025, French prosecutors formally charged Goodyear France and Goodyear Operations SA (Luxembourg) with involuntary manslaughter and deceptive commercial practices. The charges cover three fatal accidents between 2014 and 2016, and authorities say more may follow.
Under French law, deception involving consumer products can lead to fines of up to 10% of global revenue—potentially billions in Goodyear’s case.
“This is one of the most serious legal threats Goodyear has ever faced in Europe,” said French prosecutor Etienne Manteaux. “And it all could have been avoided if they had acted transparently from the start.”
Lessons for the Supply Chain Industry
The Goodyear scandal is not just a cautionary tale about product defects. It exposes a critical vulnerability in modern supply chains: the over-reliance on supplier honesty and the absence of strong enforcement mechanisms.
Suppliers can exploit fragmented regulatory systems.
Logistics firms, driven by cost and convenience, may accept unsafe goods.
Settlements and NDAs can prevent defect patterns from emerging.
As one industry watchdog put it:
“This case shows how a defective tire can travel through borders, fleets, and years of operation—killing people along the way—and no one stops it. That is a supply chain failure of epic proportions.”
Profit Over Safety, Silence Over Accountability
For over a decade, Goodyear allegedly prioritized brand reputation over road safety, engaging in what appears to be a calculated campaign to minimize liability, conceal risk, and silence victims. The use of NDAs, the lack of transparent recalls, and the quiet payouts to logistics firms all point to a disturbing reality: the world’s roads became more dangerous because a corporation feared the cost of honesty.
The Goodyear tire scandal is a wake-up call to the logistics and transportation sector. Accountability doesn’t begin in court—it begins in the warehouse, on the maintenance floor, in the boardroom.
And for once, thanks to whistleblowers, relentless investigators, and courageous voices, the truth is finally catching up.
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