DETROIT — Some new Ford Ranger pickups are being equipped with a 15-inch Firestone ATX tire as a spare — the same type included in a massive recall of Firestone tires over safety concerns.

        Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone say there's nothing wrong with the tire because it is marked as a spare, and customers are warned not to use it for more than 50 miles and not to drive faster than 50 mph.

        “We have no indication there's a safety issue with these tires” as spares, Ford spokesman Mike Vaughn said Thursday. “If some body wants to come up with data that there's an issue with spare tires, we'll deal with it, but we want to focus on replacing the bad tires on the road.”

        Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. is recalling 6.5 million tires linked to 101 deaths and over 400 injuries — ATX and ATX II tires in a certain size — P235/75R15 — as well as Wilderness AT tires in that size made in Decatur, Ill.

        The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Thursday that it was aware Ford was using Firestone ATXs as spares. But the agency said since the tires are clearly labeled as spares for limited use, they don't present an immediate safety concern.

        Ford is still using Wilderness AT tires from Bridgestone/Firestone plants other than Decatur as standard equipment on its Ford Explorer/Mercury Mountaineer sport utility vehicle and on its Ranger pickups. But Ranger pickups also come with a full-size temporary spare, stored under the pickup bed, and some of those spares are Firestone ATX tires.

        The use of those models as spares was first reported last week by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

        Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone said the ATX spare is stamped “Temporary Use Only” on the sidewall, and has a speed rating limit of 81 mph.

        A Bridgestone/Firestone spokesman said that outside of the stamping, there was no difference between the ATX spares and the recalled ATX tires. He said the ATX tires had been approved by Ford for use as a full-size spare.

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