MIAMI — At least four South Florida families have filed a class action suit against Firestone, the tire company that last week announced the recall of 14.4 million tires, their lawyers said Monday.

None of the claimants have been injured by the reportedly faulty tires, according to Fran Schwartz, a spokeswoman for the two law firms that filed the complaint.

"This has to do with prophylactic measures,'' Schwartz said. "They're worried about driving around these tires while they wait for Firestone to replace them.''

Last Wednesday, Tennessee-based Firestone, together with Ford Motor Co. (F.N) announced the recall of 6.5 million of the 15-inch versions of the tires, mostly fitted to Ford Explorer sports utility vehicles, after a government probe linked 46 car accident deaths to peeling tire treads.

Firestone, owned by Japanese tire maker Bridgestone Corp. (5108.T), made 14.4 million of the tires, but less than half are thought to be still in service.

The action marks the second largest tire recall in U.S. history after Firestone recalled 14.5 million tires in 1978.

No further details on the lawsuit were available, but the