WASHINGTON - Continental Tire North America announced Monday that it is recalling more than half a million tires installed on Ford Motor Co.'s sport utility vehicles after some of the tires lost their tread.

        Tread separations led to the recall of millions of Firestone tires in the past two years that were used primarily on the Ford Explorer. Ford officials say they discovered the Continental problem through a rigorous internal process put in place after the Firestone recall to quickly identify possible tire defects. Continental operates a plant in Mayfield, Ky., which produces tires for Ford.

        The recalled Continental tires were installed as original equipment on 106,701 two-wheel drive Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators from the 2000 and 2001 model years. About 60,000 additional tires were sold as replacements for light trucks.

        The recall involves the P275/60R17 size of the ContiTrac AW and General Grabber AW tires. Those involved in the recall have Department of Transportation codes on the backs of the tires that end with date codes ranging from 109 to 4400, meaning they were manufactured between March 1999 and October 2000.

        Continental said property damage and personal injury claims increased significantly against the tires in April. Ford noticed the reports, and the two companies discussed the problem that month.

        According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Continental learned of an accident in California involving a Grabber tire failure in May. There were deaths in the accident, but Continental said in its report to NHTSA that it has not determined if a failing tire caused it.

        Owners will get letters from Continental Tire advising where to obtain free replacement tires.

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