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Firestone - Tread Separations

Firestone Tires • Prius Problems • SteelTex Truck Tires • Tread Separations • Blowouts • The Ford/Firestone Recall

David of Roswell GA (1/14/05):
SUV Tire separation on interstate highway. We live in Atlanta, GA. My wife, daughter and soccer teammate were on their way to a summer soccer camp outside of Birmingham AL when the rear tire had catastrophic tread separation. My wife was able to gain control of the vehicle and stop. Extensive damage to right rear of vehicle from the tread separation and the tire literally blew apart. Highway patrol investigated the accident and reported the accident was caused by the tire tread separation.

We jumped through hoops to accurately document the damage, incident and events. We followed the requirements of sending the remanants of the tire in with appropriate documentation. The analysis back from Bridgestone/Firestone was that the tire must "have been operated for an unknown period of time while being in an over deflected state causing the detachment you experienced." We maintain routine, scheduled, periodic maintainence on our Honda Passport and the car had just recently been inspected including tire pressures all the way around! The tire blew apart and I disagree that the "bluish coloration on the inside of the tire" points to why my wife and 2 children were put in harms way. The tire was a DUELER 684, P245/70R16.

Damage Resulting: Approx. $1,200 in repairs to the right rear of the vehicle, New tires (couldn't replace just the one).

Shawn of Rancho Murieta CA (9/9/04):
This may seem like an old topic, but after my experience of this last year I am skeptical that Firestone ever fixed the tire separation problem. My tires I purchased in 2002 and 2003 both suffered tire tread separations. Last year I suffered a rear tire blowout on the 99 freeway in CA that resulted from the tread totally separating from the tire and leaving the sidewalls totally intact. I figured that I must have suffered a flat tire and then drove on the freeway and that caused the massive failure. It was close to 100 degrees outside and I was traveling around 70-75 and so a low tire won't last long. I assumed it was my fault and proceeded back to the Firestone dealer.

I purchased another two tires for the front and rotated the two fronts to the back. Everything seemed fine until today when I was again traveling on the 99 freeway and I suffered another tire separation. This time the tire tread come off in a catastrophic boom that sent my car skidding around the lanes and out of control. It was very crowded and I am very thankful for the other alert drivers who somehow avoided my car.

Unlike the previous experience, this time I am quite sure of my tire situation because the car seemed to have a slight vibration coming from somewhere the previous drive home and so I checked everything that night and made sure the tires were full (they were all very close to 32 lbs) and that the tires looked okay.

So the facts behind the tire failure are as follows. Car: Honda Odyssey Minivan. Temperature Today: 103F. Tire tread totally separates from tire and leaves the sidewalls intact. Tire has less than 30K miles on it and is less than 18 months old and was purchased in 2003. Car seemed to have a vibration within 100 miles of catastrophic tread failure.

After this experience I will be changing all four tires at the other tire store and never again allow Firestone tires on my vehicle. I have owned 10 other cars and in college I drove tires until they were bald or just couldn't hold air anymore, but in none of these cases did my tire ever fail and result in my car going out of control. In my opinion, something is wrong with these firestone tires. My guess is the heat is causing them to fail as both my incidents come on 100-degree days.

David of Brecksville OH (6/21/04):
I had been driving my 2003 Honda Odyssey and turned onto Miller Road about 20-25 mph or so and the front driver side Bridgestone Tire blew out. I lost control and was able to bring the van to a stop. The tire was a 147356 Potenza RE92 TL BL PS 225/60R16 98 T Tire. The Firestone dealer said it was not covered under the warranty - a blowout. The tire wall actually blew out a hole from the inside to the outside on the sidewall. I have never seen anything like this in over 30 years of car ownership. No discount was given for the replacement tire. I think this was a defective tire.

I was supposed to drive to Oberlin from Brecksville and was not able to go. The AAA took nearly two hours to come and change the tire. The AAA driver said it was a blowout too. We did not hit anything either in the road to cause this blowout. We could have had a serious accident on I77 or I 480 if we had been going 60-65 MPH when the blowout happened. Why is the tire manufacturer not responsible for this tire? It is only 10 months on the car too. About 13,000 miles on the van.

Jason of Ocala FL (5/17/04):
I have a '97 Chevy Venture with P215-70R1597SM+S tires. A month and a half ago we had a 5-inch piece of tire rip off our right front wheel. Firestone told us to bring it to one of their stores, where the man tried to make me look like an idiot and told me it was my fault. With nowhere else to go I replaced the tire at my expense. One week later, driving down the highway a 9-inch piece of tire ripped off my left front.

Being stranded in a different town with my family, I also replaced that tire. But worst of all, on May 15 my wife and twin one-year-old girls were driving on a highway when the left rear tire totally detreaded at 75 miles an hour. Only by the grace of God did she maintain control and get off the highway. The police officer told her she is lucky not to have had an accident. During the ripoff, the tire messed up the side of the van and ripped apart the back bumper. I am still waiting to get a response from Firestone.

Bruce of Morristown NJ (3/29/04):
I have a 2000 Ford F350 with steeltex 265/75r16 Firestone tires. They have about 34,000 miles on them. While driving on a highway with my family in the truck I had a blowout of the right rear tire. I was able to pull over in the right shoulder and change the tire. I called Firestone safety hotline and was told that they only hade a program now for the Expedition, but she gave me a number to a local Firestone center to have them check out the tires. The man at the store told me that there was nothing he could do for tires with that many miles on them, that it was normal for a tire with that many miles to fail!

He than offered to give me 15% off new tires. Thanks. He gave me a price for new firestone tires I said no thanks and he told he would get me Bridgestone revo tires for about $900. I was so angry I just left the store. I did not expect free tires but come on...

Michele of Jacksonville FL (1/22/04):
My 2002 Ford F250 Diesel truck has just under 21,000 miles on it. I noticed this morning there are tears in the black rubber on the smooth side of the tire facing out. It is tearing in a perfect circle around the rim. I took it to a Ford dealer and was told that Ford had cut all ties with Firestone. So I took it to Firestone and the gentlemen there removed the tires for further evaluation.

There is a slight ridge on the outside of the tire where the separation is occurring, but the inside wall showed no wear or damage. He offered to split the cost of new tires with me to satisfy my concerns about the tires' safety, but I feel like this is a tire issue whether it be cosmetic or not and they should be replaced by the manufacturer. I have been driving for 25+ years and have never seen a tire do this. He agreed that it wasn't something he had seen either, but could not claim it under the warranty due to the inside wall looking intact. It was implied that curb rubbing could have caused it. I do have some rubbing marks on the tires but more on the front than the rear and it is both rear tires that have the most evident problems.

Jack of Pembroke GA (12/11/03):
I purchased a 2500 series Silverado pickup truck with a set of Bridgestone Dueler A/T 693s in June,2002. A few months ago, as I was taking my 4-yr-old grandaughter to pre-K, she exclaimed: "Pe Paw, what's wrong with your truck, its breaking up!" Sure enough I then noticed a vibration that became rapidly worse. I stopped at Thomsons Tire, Ellabell Ga. to determine the problem. They found that a tire had separated causing a huge bubble. The tire of course was out of round causing the vibration.

The tire dealer inspected the remaining three tires, checked for proper inflation and mounted the best two on the back axle. I then purchased two new tires for the front.

One week later, I was on I-16 near Statesboro, Ga around 11:00pm. While traveling at 65-70 mph, without any warning, the back left tire literally exploded! Tire fragments damaged the tail lights, bed side, bumper, tailgate, and numerous other pieces including the rim. I lost control of the truck for a moment, going into the left lane trying not to oversteer. Finally coming to a stop. As the damage was significant and obviously from abrupt tire failure, I contacted Bridgestone to file a claim. The Bridgestone rep. advised me that they would send a claim form to me. He asked me to get two estimates and mail them along with the tire to BFNT LLC, 1102 Appleton, Nashville Tn. I mailed the claim.

In the past I have had some ringing in both ears. The ringing would come and go. Shortly after the accident I noticed the ear ringing was a lot more pronounced but assumed it would get back to normal. It has not and is difficult now to tolerate. Within a week, which is quite amazing, I received Bridgestone's answer to my claim. According to their letter they had examined the tire and I had apparently hit a "pothole, object, curb or something else which was revealed by rupture in the tire". Therefore they denied the claim. They also stated in the letter that the tire would be scrapped in 21 days if I did not ask for it in writing.

I asked them to mark on the tire exactly where the impact occurred (knowing that was probably impossible as there wasn't much left of the tire) and send it back. I received the tire but it of course was not marked. Several days past and I wrote Norma Davis, Paralegal to review the case and also let her know that I had actually received damage to my hearing due to the loud noice of the explosion that night. I asked for a response but am now being totally ignored.

Physical Damage to truck was $4200; to date my hearing has not improved since the accident and probably will never be the same.

Charlie of Savannah GA (11/18/03):
I had 2 new Firestone tires put on my Ford Mustang and this was shortly after the recall. One tire had 4000 miles on it when the tread came off the tire leaving only the sidewalls attached to the rim. I went to the same Firestone dealer who sold me these two tire and he said they would be more than happy to replace my blown tire for 25% off the price as long as I replaced the rim. I went to a Goodyear store who said it was an example of tread separation. I was so upset at having to spend another $200 on a tire and $75 for a rim.

Johnny of Jacksonville FL (11/13/03):
We were traveling about 70mph and changing lanes when I thought the tire blow out, I was able to stop the car without incident. When we pulled over and looked at the tire, it had peeled and shredded and damaged the tire wall, the light panel on the bumper, the bumper and bent all the metal behind the tire on the driver side. We put the spare on and drove home.

Went to Firestone tire shop, they gave us a number to call Firestone regarding the tire, they gave me a claim # and mailed a shipping label for me to ship the tire and send 2 estimates and we had to pay for the tire to be shipped. The tire size 205/65R15 was on my 97 Ford Taurus. After they received the tire, they sent back a statement stating that the tire showed signs of frequent low pressure and they denied the claim and requested that I have my insurance company pay for repairs.

My tires were never underinflated, because I have to be on the road a lot to Ft. Stewart, Ga. from Jacksonville, Fla. and we always check the tire pressure to make sure it is adequate for road trips. I have never experienced anything like this -- the tire shredded and peeled like I was peeling a piece of fruit. I don't think that it is fair to me that my insurance company or myself to be responsible for paying for damage due to a defective tire.

Michael of Fresno CA (6/30/03):
I purchased my car brand new. The car I purchased was fitted with Firestone tires (195/65r15). In the last two weeks both my front tires have gone out. The last one completely blew out on I-5 going southbound. I have rotated my tires and have the documents to prove this. The dilemma I face is that the last tire to blow out will set me back close to $1,000.

Mark of Auburndale FL (6/1/03):
On 11/15/2000 I went to the local Firestone Store to purchase tires for my S10 pickup. I was sold 4 20575R14's. On 5/7/2003 I was driving home on the Interstate and the tread peeled off of my right front tire. I nearly hit the car in the right lane, and thank God for my training as a truck driver that I handled the vehicle properly at 70 mph. One 5/10/2003 I returned to the Firestone Dealer to inquire about the tire and to get a replacement. The manager of the store listed above told me that I would have to call an 800 number for any service. I have called the number twice and have yet to receive the packet they are to send, with information on where to ship the tire.

I went to the Goodrich Dealer down the street. He came out and actually looked at my tires. Not at Firestone. He looked at all of the tires, since I had purchased them all at the same time. The other tires were fine. Then upon further examination he realized something. All the tires were the exact same except the one that the tread peeled off of, which was a different model. Go figure. I went back to Firestone, they told me about the 800 number again and I went back to Goodrich and purchased 4 new tires. The reason the tire went bad was because of an error made at the dealer. They are the ones that made the mistake, as simple of an error as it might be, it almost totalled my truck.

Why must I deal with the shipping of a tire and God only knows what else when it is obvious that the error was made in house. I still have the tires to prove it.

Shyrlene of Mission Hills CA (5/28/03):
I am writing to complain about the Firestone tires I was sold on my wife's 2001 Pontiac Aztec. When we purchased the car, I told the general manager there, that I was very concerned that the car had come with Firestone Wilderness tires. The manager assured me that they were "the new batch" and weren't the recalled ones that we were seeing on tv. I still protested and he said that if I wanted them changed there would be a charge for changing them to another brand. I was pretty upset at that point, but he again said that his own wife had them on her Yukon so he could bet her life on it.

Well on may 1st at 10:00pm on the 405 freeway in the carpool lane, the rear right tire separated and caused my wife to swerve back and forth across the freeway until she spun out and hit the center divider. Thank the Good Lord that no one else hit her. The car was damaged pretty bad, and my wife & nephew sustained severe bruising from the violent impact. So I don't care what "new batch" that they put out, I am never trusting that company or Rydell ever again! We tried to contact both companies to no avail.

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