The warning involves 1.4 million tires beyond the 6.5 million the company has already recalled. It covers 15-inch Wilderness AT, ATX and ATX II tires as well as some 16-inch models of the same brands.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said many of the tires covered by the advisory were manufactured many years ago. So, it is likely that far fewer than 1.4 million tires are on the road. Most of the tires were manufactured as replacements and weren't standard on new vehicles.

The development comes one day after the government said 26 more U.S. traffic deaths - for a total of 88 - are under investigation in connection with recalled tires made by Bridgestone/Firestone, a unit of Japan's Bridgestone Corp.

Government safety engineers are poised to begin examining Firestone tires for possible safety defects. NHTSA said the decision to announce the "consumer advisory" came after Bridgestone/Firestone refused to expand its voluntary three-week-old recall beyond 6.5 million tires. The agency cannot order a recall to be expanded until it completes an investigation, NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson said. The advisory was the agency's only alternative.

The advisory differs from a recall in that the company cited doesn't replace the product. The NHTSA said consumers replace the tires in question and save receipts.

Growing Crisis More than three weeks after Bridgestone/Firestone announced the voluntary recall of 6.5 million tires, the case has intensified.

Venezuelan authorities have recommended criminal prosecution of Ford Motor Co. and Bridgestone/Firestone for deaths there. Firestone tires are standard equipment on Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicles and other Ford cars and trucks.

Congress prepared for hearings featuring testimony from the heads of both companies, while Firestone was trying to avoid a strike by 8,000 workers in plants throughout the U.S.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater said Friday the Clinton administration will confer with Congress to determine whether manufacturers should be required to notify the U.S. government when they recall products abroad, as Ford did with Firestone tires a year ago.

"As relates to the international recall, we were a bit concerned to learn that we found out about that much later," Mr. Slater said on NBC's "Today" program.

"It would have been good to have that information earlier. It could have prompted us to take action a bit earlier."

The NHTSA will move the probe from a preliminary investigation in which the agency asks the companies for paperwork to an engineering analysis, during which engineers study parts to see if they are defective, an agency official said.

NHSA has received more than 1,400 complaints about the Firestone tires, including reports of the 88 deaths and more than 250 injuries that reportedly were the result of blowouts, tread separation and other tire defects.

The agency increased the numbers on Thursday from 62 deaths, at least 100 injuries and more than 700 complaints. NHTSA is examining all 47 million Firestone ATX, ATX II and Wilderness AT tires, not just the 6.5 million that have been voluntarily recalled by Bridgestone/Firestone. If the agency finds that other tires are defective, it can order a broader recall.

Hearing Next Week Congress is holding a hearing on the matter next week, and Ford Chief Executive Jacques Nasser announced Thursday that he would testify, reversing his earlier decision not to attend. Bridgestone/Firestone Chief Executive Masatoshi Ono also will appear at the Wednesday hearing before two House Commerce subcommittees.

The Venezuelan consumer protection agency, known as Indecu, issued a report Thursday to the country's attorney general alleging that Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone suppressed information about defects in Firestone Wilderness tires.

Indecu President Samuel Ruh said that as complaints about the tires increased, the companies held a secret meeting in early 1999 where they agreed to change the tire design rather than issue a recall. Ford eventually recalled tires in some foreign countries in August 1999, and in Venezuela last May.

The delay, the report said, could have resulted in "many consumers of their products losing their lives or the lives of their loved ones." Chief Indecu investigator Jorge Dominguez said "approximately 46 deaths" in Venezuela could be linked to accidents involving Ford Explorers and Firestone tires.

Mr. Nasser insisted Ford didn't cover up the problem. (Associated Press)"I want to just emphasize the accusation from the Venezuelan government official that Ford Venezuela lied is completely unfounded," he said. "We did not lie to the Venezuelan government."

Mr. Nasser emphasized the problem "was a tire issue, not a vehicle issue." Mr. Ruh said a conviction for involuntary manslaughter in product liability cases could result in jail terms of three years to eight years under Venezuelan law. The attorney general will decide whether to bring criminal charges, he said.

Bridgestone/Firestone spokeswoman Christine Karbowiak said the company takes the matter "very seriously" and will work with Ford and Indecu to resolve the issues. "We do not, do not believe there was a conspiracy," Ms. Karbowiak said.

The company had replaced 1.5 million tires as of Thursday and had a jumbo cargo jet to transport tires from Japan, she said, adding that it also hired an independent third party, which she wouldn't identify, to investigate the case.

Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone have said they don't know what caused the problems but have denied allegations by trial attorneys and some safety advocates that they stem from poor tire design, a tire inflation recommendation from Ford that was too low, or both.

Meanwhile, Bridgestone/Firestone has entered a final day of contract negotiations with about 8,000 steelworkers at nine of its plants. The United Steelworkers of America are prepared to picket the tire maker unless a contract agreement is reached by midnight Friday.