BALTIMORE -- Dill Air Controls, the company at the center of an investigation by the National Highway Transportation Administration, has announced a recall of 1.8 million of its tire valve stems, NewsChannel5 sister station WMAR-TV in Baltimore reported.

The company said the recall comes because of a safety defect that could cause tires to lose pressure, potentially causing damage, blowouts and loss of vehicle control.

Dill believes only 11 percent of the recalled valves are defective but because these parts are difficult to trace, they're recalling a larger number of items.

Models involved in the recall were all produced in 2006. They include numbers:

• TR 413/T-13-WZ
• TR-413-chrome/T-13-WZS
• TR-414/T-14-WZ
• TR-418/T-18-WZ

Consumers are advised to have a professional check their vehicles for faulty valve stems, which may be cracked. Finding out the model number for the valve stems on your tires requires the tire to be removed from its frame and the valve stem pulled out.

A WMAR Investigation into flawed tire valve stems focused on Dill and its knowledge of defects within its products. The company has been blamed for providing valve stems on a vehicle involved in a fatal crash in Florida.

Robert Monk was killed when his SUV rolled over following a reported blowout. WMAR spoke exclusively with the widow of the victim in that case, Sara Monk. Her lawyer, Frank Melton, said, "Sara is very pleased Dill finally did this recall. We wish it would have been done sooner but we're sure that with this action, some lives will be saved."