Florida Launches Civil Racketeering Probe into Recall Timing

Investigators say they want to know why it took more than a year for the companies to disclose tire problems to U.S. car owners.

The recalls began in the Middle East last August but did not extend to the United States until this month.

The Florida attorney general's office has issued what is believed to be the first subpoenas by a state for a comprehensive review of corporate records.

Both companies say they will cooperate.

The request for records includes everything from research and design of tires to reported defects, to the training and number of factory workers assigned to each shift.

Most of the six-and-a-half (m) million tires recalled in the U.S. were on Ford Explorers.