Yokohama

I fixed tire for my i20 for 4 wheels on. After 1 month, suddenly in my back rear tire had a small bulging and suddenly I went to my tire dealer XL tire point but after 3 days, they are telling it can't be accepted for warranty don't know why. But other shop where I asked, all are telling it's only manufacturer's default. I need immediate action for my kind request. Please because can't get any response.

Yokohama tires are bad. I have 22k miles on them and they are less than three years old. They are out of round and cracking on the sidewalls. I would never ever buy another tire from them or recommend them. After 12k, they were out of round and manufacturer gave me the runaround to replace them. What a scam. Don't buy. I will post pictures of tires all over the web to prove the defects. Yokohoma tires do not last.

I purchased a 2010 Dodge Caravan brand new. We have had nothing but issues with the Yokohama Avid tires that came with it from the factory, Size 225/65/R16. At 32000 miles the tires are completely bald. We have had the tires rotated every 6000 miles and we take very good care of our vehicle. These tires should not be bald yet. Also through the 32000 miles we have constantly put air in these tires. They are constantly setting the sensor off in the van and always are low. I have actually been on the internet seeing if I am the only one with this problem, and I am not! I have contacted the dealer and the dealer or the service department cannot do anything about this.

These tires have an excellent warranty on them but no one seems to want to honor it. Also Chrysler is aware of this problem and even stopped using these tires on their minivans. Is there anything I can do about a reimbursement for these tires? I feel as a consumer I should be entitled to something. I bought this minivan because of its safety ratings and through the year of owning it with these tires on it, not feeling all so safe. I believe Yokohama should admit this problem and reimburse the customers with this issue. A good tire would not have gone bad so soon, not to mention the safety issue of them. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

One of my Yokahama Geolandar AT/S 18" tires had a sidewall blowout while traveling down the highway at approximately 65 mph. My husband handled the situation well, and we did not end up in an accident. I did not want to post any stars above, but this form will not submit without at least 1 star selected. I wanted to put a negative number.

We were south of Quitman, MS @ +- 2:30 a.m. We had to change a huge tire ourselves, as traffic both from semi transit trucks and other vehicles returning home from the football game whizzed by. It was very dangerous, but we could not obtain roadside assistance to help. I am concerned about the safety of the other 2 Yokahama tires, especially since this is the vehicle my teenage daughter drives.

I purchased 2 pieces of Yokohama A Drive Tire at their dealer, Molino Bacoor, Cavite Branch on July 6, 2011. I changed the old tires, Yokohama S series, because I am on 1-month holiday in the Philippines and I left August 7, 2011. So meaning, my car is not in use as a day-to-day car.

But last week, my wife noticed the sidewalls of the tire has a lump (bukol) and called the attention of the dealer. But they're hesitant to change the said tire and called the attention of this stupid supplier named Don Rosario.

Upon seeing only with his naked eyes, he strongly disagreed to change the tire because he is insinuating that the car hit some potholes resulting in the lump of the tire. Considering it is only a less than 2-month-old tire. How can it be if the car is seldom used and most of the time the car is in my garage?

He arrogantly said that he is well-trained and equipped with education in Japan to handle quality issue of the tire. Hey, man I don't ** care of your training or whatsoever. I am handling customer service also but that's not the proper way to treat a customer. Remember, I will not sacrifice my family's safety and my hard-earned money as an OFW for your poor quality tires, bad product, poor customer service and bad after sales support.

I challenge you to come here in Lae, Papua New Guinea, City of Potholes. All of the tires here is still in good condition, whereas all of the roads here is in bad condition. Heaps of potholes everywhere.

I am very disappointed with this Yokohama tires. I will change my brand from now on. Do not give a 3-year warranty if you are not explaining your terms and conditions. I'd rather stab the tire to void my warranty than not doing anything at all with the tire. And yet you keep on saying the car hit a pothole. It's the quality of your tires.

I purchased a Yokohama tires October 2008 per sales pitch of this dealership. The 2007 Honda Civic had 64,000 miles on it. The car has had all required maintenance: Tires rotated every 6,000 miles, alignments, balanced, etc. After first 12,000, I began complaining to the dealership about vibration and very loud noise from tires. I was told time and time again that it was because Yok tires were 'hard' and last a long time but could be noisy. I continued to rotate and never got any positive response from this dealer.

Last rotation, I told service manager (new guy) again about tire vibration and noise and he said again that the tires are hard and noise to be expected. Today, 6,000 miles later, another rotation and my complaint. I took SM for a drive down the highway. He agreed to the noise and vibration and oh, yes; he could see this tire had cupping! Now, he says it's uneven tire wear and moved it to the rear of the car. The steering wheel vibrated and the hum was so loud you can't stay inside the car! The dealership knows about this car's regular maintenance because they do it all and couldn't come back with any other 'outs' as I had a response for everything he tried to lay down.

This car has a #6 on all 4 tires and shouldn't have to be replaced yet, but that was his only suggestion. He said the company won't give a rebate/refund because it's uneven wear. How can you get uneven wear continuously on one tire if you rotate regularly and align as required? It's the crappy tires and I hate to have to spend more money now, but I'm going back to my awesome Michelin. This dealership wanted the sale but doesn't go to Yoko to stand up for their customers. Too bad, I will need to find another dealership for my Honda too.

Good Morning Sir, (General Sales Manager),

We spoke Sunday afternoon about the problem with my tires that wore out just over the past year. The Yokohama Corp. sent me the below attached response enabling you guys to do the inspecting. So respectfully, I'm now back to you at the car dealership. My car was bought last June/August of 2010. It had at the time that I took possession of the car, already had 300 miles on the odometer and it currently has 24,400.

When I came by the dealership (around November 22nd 2010) over a week before I spoke to you, my car then had 24,180 miles on it when I spoke to the service advisor, **** who assured me that he would look into what avenue I should take. I still have his business card but I still don't have his response to my request for help as to what to do. Again to reiterate, I believe in roughly a little over a year, the tires have become unsafe and I feel for such a new car that this has been a failure of the product.

Also, the fact this is my second car that is a Scion TC one that I purchased through ****Toyota, SC, I do have a good understanding of what the tire 'should' have lasted from my last experience with the first Scion TC back in 2004/5 model year and the Bridgestone Potenzas that came with that first TC. I understand that tires do deteriorate but alas, when I was at the traffic stop 3-4 months ago, back in July, the police woman then said to me, "I better take a look at my tread-wear," then. That means that the tires then had started to, in a noticeable fashion already, show that they were "wearing out" in the first 11-12 months. I drive 11.5 miles to work and about 15-miles home. Those low miles, accounts for 27-miles per day +/-. I also have had my tires rotated upon my 5,000 mile oil changes and have the documentation to validate. Still nothing could be done to slow this process.

So now, I am no longer in denial about the quality of these Yokohamas S-Drive (S32a's)(215-45-zr 17's - tires). I have to return to the place that stands by their product, service and reputation. I hope now that this dealership has changed to the **** Automotive Group, that this could be handled in the fashion that has made **** number one in customer service in 10-states and 61 dealerships and also has a strong presence here in Charleston, SC, as well as the southeastern region.

I, who have worked in the customer service industry for the last 14 years at local 4 and 5-star hotel establishments here in Charleston, SC., fully understand how this translates to return customers. I hope I can count on this dealership to help with this matter. I am not prepared to have to replace a fairly new product and absorb such a large cost within such a short span of time of purchasing a new car from your dealership.

David ***

To: ****@hotmail.com

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for contacting our office. In order to determine if your tires have a warrantable condition, we ask that you have the tires inspected by the car dealer which you purchased from or a local Yokohama tire dealer. The dealer is authorized to determine warrantable conditions on behalf of Yokohama Tire Corporation.

To find a dealer in your area, please visit yokohamatire.com and enter your zip code in the dealer locator box. If you or the dealer should have any questions, please feel free to contact us at * *** *** **** and * *** *** ****, Monday through Friday 6am-4:45pm (pacific time). When calling, please reference your case number located in the "subject" line of this email.

Thank you for your interest in Yokohama Tire Corporation.

The OEM tires on my Lexus GS were Yokahama run flat tires, 245/40R18 93Y. The tires were completely worn out at 12,400 miles from uneven wear and cupping especially on the inside edges. No, it is not an alignment issue. No, it is not a tire rotation or tire pressure issue. To purchase a premium vehicle with such an inadequate and under performing tire is disappointing to say the very least. The tires were rotated every 4,000 miles (or less). Two four wheel alignments have been performed. Regardless of the extra care given to these tires, they wore out at 12,400 miles. In fact strips of rubber were coming off the edges of the tire. These are unsafe tires.

I purchased four P26570217 Yokohama tires from Big O tires. I was on vacation when I noticed a softball size bubble on the inside wall of my rear tire (defect in the tire wall), which was what Big O tires told me in Boulder City, Nevada. My tires have less than 28,000 miles on them. The warranty is for 60,000 miles. Big O tires said I will get a new tire pro-rated on mileage. I am glad the tire did not blow while I was in the Mojave desert! I am thinking of changing all tires that are not Yokohama. This is a fact Mr. **. Shame on your company for producing a bad product.

Today I replaced my Yokohama AVID TRZ tires because they were worn out at 37,000 miles. I bought these tires at Dunn Tire because of its ratings in Consumer Reports. I am however disappointed with Consumer Reports ratings and Yokohama 80,000 mile warranty.

I am writing in response to the following string that I found on your site today:

"We received this from Yokohama:

As the supervisor of the Yokohama Tire Consumer Affairs Department, I came across your website while doing research. It is terribly disappointing that consumeraffairs.com does not research the claims by customers before posting the information to the website. Your motto is "Knowledge is power!" but knowledge of incorrect information is misinforming your readers and in turn, makes your website look bad. Perhaps you should consider researching the claims posted by consumers so that you can correctly inform your readers.

Nathan **

It's very disappointing to find a company so disconnected from its consumers that it thinks they shouldn't be able to post comments in a public forum without someone else's approval. Mr. ** does his company a great disservice."

Mr. ** is merely stating that he feels it's unfortunate that your website posts complaints from people without any prior research. Nowhere does he states your website should obtain approval from anyone prior to posting. If, in fact, you are allowing postings without first checking into the complaints, it would seem that there is very little validity to the postings. Virtually anyone could post a complaint about a company and it may be completely made up. Perhaps that person works for a competitor or has nothing better to do than to post negative comments. I am curious about your statement that Yokohama is disconnected from its customers. Perhaps the person with the complaint did not file his complaint with the proper company or had the wrong email address or never filed a complaint at all. I have nothing to gain or lose by writing here. I was doing some research on tires to buy when I came across your website.

I bought a set of new Yokohama Avid TRZ tires from NTB in Rosenburg, TX in August 2009. The salesman said these tires have an 80k warranty. Now I have less than 40k miles on tires bought 14 months ago and they are completely worn out and I had to replace one already. I have emailed and called Yokohama. They never responded. They don't care. I think it is terrible to make a claim of 80k and I have 38k on them. How can they get away with false advertising? I would never buy these tires again for my 2004 Honda CRV.

My 2010 Toyota Prius has just over 12k miles on it. Last week, on a major highway going 65mph, the sidewall on my tire went out. I looked online and saw many other complaints similar to my experience. I just replaced all 4 tires for my own safety.

I bought a new 2010 Toyota RAV 4 Limited w/ leather 4x4 in March. I have driven 18,600 highway miles on it in 6 months, RT 50 Washington, DC. My driver side rear tire blew out on the side wall for no reason. No operator error on my part, as witnessed by Mr. Tire Dealer that acts as retail center for the manufacturer and says it was a tire manufacture's defect. Side wall blew out a 4" gash and not caused by operator error as confirmed by Mr. Tire rep. Toyota says tires are Yokohama's warranty. Yokohama says Toyota but not tires due to wear & tear.

Yokohama will only credit a portion of unused tire worn. (I have case number.) Who's to say the other tires won't burst anytime soon like the one did? My family of four is hesitant to trust the tires. In as much as the tires are Yokohama, it's Toyota corp that decides which manufacturer to load car with. Shame on Toyota for selecting junk, criminal on Yokohama's position to not just make good and replace defective tires immediately. Who out there next, driving with family, using Yokohama tires is destined to crash and to be thrown across lanes at 60mph with no warning? Yokohama's position is not to admit product defect as they would be required to have a product recall and cost much yen (money). I want Goodyear, Michelin or even Bridgestone. Please blog to all and look for other stories and boycott Yokohama! Toyota is next!

I am the owner of a set of Yokohama AVID TRZ tires. I have purchased Yokohama's in the past and these tires had received above average ratings from tirerack.com I purchased them 11/23/2008 and have put about 40000 miles on them. The tread is wearing fine. They are wearing evenly and have a good deal of tread depth to go.

The problem is in the sidewalls. These tires are developing cracks that are between 3 and 4 inches long about 2" out from the rims. The deepest are starting to show the cords. In between the cracks, the tire has an alligator skin look where it is covered with smaller dry rot cracks. The existing deep cracks are beginning to spread open, like a skin wound pulled tight. I am afraid these tires are a blowout waiting to happen. At $165 to replace each of the defective tires, it sure beats the cost of the deductible and the headache of having caused an accident due to a blowout and possibly crossing into another lane and causing an accident. A blowout is imminent from watching the deterioration of the tires in just under one month. Tires are not meant to be run with their cords exposed to the elements.

I talked with my tire installer, and he agrees that I do have a dry rot issue, but he also shakes his head knowing that Yokohama will find any excuse to blame this on improper care-- any sign of under or over inflation, examination of the tread to see if there are unusual wear patterns, and also to see if the tires were rotated every 5000 miles. In short, he said that you just won't get satisfaction from Yokohama from his past experience. I am still submitting the claim as the tires have a 5 year warranty on manufacturing defects.

Still, with the attitude of Yokohama from reading user forums, I don't expect a reply. My response is simple - move on. I will find another tire manufacturer who can make a good tire that won't exhibit these defects. I don't want to have to defend my care of the vehicle and its tires. My vehicle is a 2009 Chevy Malibu LTZ which is in fine running condition and will be on its last set of Yokohamas. My advice, take heed and choose another brand!

I will never buy another Yokohama tire again. To make short story shorter, after at 25,000 miles on my Acura TL, one front tire failed on the outside of the tire with a 2" split, right there on the side of the tire. End of the tire, goodbye $300. I called their consumer support line, they gave me a case no., I was to take the tire to one of their dealers and have them look at it. The dealer would "evaluate it." I took it to a dealer on their list. There were scratches on my rims where I hit a curb, but I did. The clerk's basic attitude was: (1) They barely knew anything about Yokohama's supposed program to return the tire; (2) there were scratches on the rim so I must have done something to cause the tire to fail. Somehow I was supposed to prove that I didn't abuse the tire or otherwise cause the tire to fail. Funny, as I've been driving for 30 years, the Yokohama tire was the first tire I've ever had that failed.

I don't have the background to fight with them over a $300 tire (which is what they count on, most claims just go away). I have Goodyear tires on my Acura now and I'm quite pleased with them.

Tire Distributor - Stock Wheels & Hub Caps owners are good people, whom I purchased two Yokohama Tires 235-70-16's through. The tires are still look like they are in Great condition with a lot of tire life as the warranty was 40K miles; we have about 34K miles on them. The problem is that the sidewalls have numerous cracks on the side all throughout the circumferences right along the rim and about 2" above the rim (on both the left & right side vehicle tires) shows the same manufacture defect.

I didn't have the time to take the car in to have the tires checked earlier as we use the car for work and also my daughter uses it for travelling to & from Summer University School. Steve, the owner of Stock Wheels & Hub Caps looked at these tires today 07/31/10 and agreed the tires had a lot of good thread and condition except for the cracks on the tires, Steve went on to mention that this defect can cause a crack to open and the tire to blowout and burst, went on to mention this happens mostly on Yokohama and also Michelin tires. Steve is going to call Yokohama Tires on Monday, and will get back with me to say what the distributor mentions.

My 79 year old mother purchased a left over 2009 Subaru Legacy last September. I chauffer her in it most of the time because I have a truck which she has a hard time getting in and out of. She was on the highway and a young man told her to pull over because she had a flat. He was nice enough to change it for her. When I saw the tire I was shocked because it split on the side. When she called the dealer, he said that's not covered. She explained how it split. He redirected her to a Yokohama distributer he deals with. I'm looking for a distributer in my area to replace the tires. Since I've read the reports online about Yokohama tires, I think I'll get another brand. My mom could have been seriously hurt, even killed. Yokohama should be held responsible for the replacement and it should be made public that their product is defective.

On 1/8/10, I purchased two new tires for the front of 2009 Chev Aveo--at that time, there were 29,145 miles on the car. The tires were Yoko Avid TRZ T Blk at $83.09 each. Warranty: 80,000 miles. The tires were mounted and balanced. While out of town over the weekend, we noticed that the edge of the tires were cracking on the sidewall. I took the car in to have the tires looked at on 7/19/10. The mileage: 47,954.

I was advised that the cracking of the tires "appears to be coming from the alignment. Feathering on edges. Both tires, but the left one is worse." They recommended alignment and tire rotation. Normally, we do rotate the tires every other oil change. However, we knew that we needed two new tires and were unable to purchase them so it was better to have these tires on the front. I have never heard of alignment causing cracking. We weren't offered any kind of compensation for the tires and they are under warranty.

Yokohama tires were on my Subaru Forester upon purchase. First, I only drive to the train station which is under 2 miles away, so after 4 years, I have only about 5000 miles on this 2006 model. But in that time, I have had to replace a bad Yokohama tire at inspection, and it cost me about $200! Now, only 2 months after, I got a nail in a tire on vacation, and was told these 5-year-old tires were cracking and should be replaced. I'm getting four new Dunlops. I am done with this rare, expensive and bad tire.

I have been completely satisfied with Yokohama tires. I work in a limestone quarry and drive my truck over and through mud, water, sand and sharp stones daily. I have had three sets of Geolandar ATS tires and one set of Geolandar HTS tires. All have lasted 40,000 to 50,000 miles and have been very durable. I recommend them to coworkers and some have tried them with complete satisfaction also.

Bought 4 Yokohama Avid TRZ at 2 different dates, 08/07 and 05/08. By June 2010 the tires were worn down, one set had 27,000 miles and the other set 19,000. The warranty is for 80,000 miles. The dealer supposedly tried calling Yokohama all week without a return phone call. I called Yokohama and was on hold for 20 minutes before the recording told me to leave a message because no one was available. I left a message and sent an e-mail, but no response.

I have a feeling this is going to be a very painful process, I think Yokohama will make it difficult so that the customer gives up.

I had the front end aligned yearly, rotate the tires and maintain them inflated. The dealer recognizes that I did what was expected to maintain the tires.

I will post a follow up whenever I get this resolved, either by working with Yokohama or by giving up.

I purchased 4 YOKO tires with 60000 mile warranty for my minivan. In less 30000 miles, I was told that all the tire tracks were pretty worn and need to be replaced soon. Three weeks later, today, one the tires failed on the busy highway because the inner side of the tire split off within 2 min after the warning light came on. I also purchaseed the services for the tires. So, I have the tires rotated regularly and check the pressures and balance. I was really shocked when it happened today. I am not capable of changing tires myself and it's why I take care of my minivan very much.

I was at least three hours away from home with my daughter in the middle of driving on the highway. I'm glad that no accident happened and we were helped and finally got home, althought it took five more hours than we expected to get home.
I've never seen a well-cared tire with less than 30000 miles fail before. Since it is my first time using Yokohama tires, it makes me question about the quality of their products.

Buyers beware!

When I recently drove her car in May 2010, felt a significant vibration, and told her the wheels need to be balanced or aligned. Since Merchants had recently serviced the tires, it was taken to the BMW dealer for an alignment. The BMW dealer stated the belts on the tires were broken. She took the car to Merchants and they said 3 tires had broken belts. The tires had about 28,000 miles on them when the vibration occurred. She replaced the tires with a different brand.

I got my tire change at Fender Mender in August 2010. After driving 12 miles, the tire lost all the thread. I went to Fender Mender and asked about the replacement since the warranty on tire was 20,000 miles. They told me that the tire cannot be changed because I have rotated the tires after 6,000 miles and warranty is voided. I don't understand. If the tire carries 20,000 miles warranty and if I have exceeded that mileage, how can my tire not be replaced?

I bought a 2009 Subaru Legacy in August of 2009 and only drive to work 5 miles a day (includes both ways). At 5000 miles, 2 of the tires busted and I had to buy new ones. At 6000 miles the other 2 busted out the sides and I had to buy 2 more. Now, tell me at $200.00 at tire, I should get more than 5000 and 6000 miles out of all 4 tires, don't you think?

Thank goodness I was at work when our mechanic noticed a golfball size knot sticking out from the side of the tire which caught my attention to keep an eye out for the others. If I had been on the road with my grandchildren and had a blowout on one or even all 4 tires, we could have all been killed. I have not taken my action yet but I plan to in the very near future. Bye the way, I did switch to a different tire besides yokohama but I feel like I should at least get my money back for the junky tires that I spent so much for on my brand new car to start with.

I purchased a set of AS 430 tires in Feb 2009 at Merchants Tire in Richmond VA. The tires have 21,000 miles on them and are worn out. I am a sales rep and keep my car regularly maintained. I have never had a set of tires wear out so quickly.

I have replaced 7 Geolander 900 radial tires in 3 years. I have had slices, punctures, and total blowouts. I am an owner of a Subaru Outback 2007. The blowout occurred on the highway, at a speed of 120km. The service staff was impressed that no accident was caused. If there is an existing class action suit, I would like to be part of it. Each tire costs about US $150 in this market, plus the tire can only be changed at Subaru, because of the special suspension system. Each time a tire is changed, the minimum outlay is over US $250.

Today is March 4th 2010. I purchased four SUV tires which I thought were brand new but they were made in 2007 and have been on this company's shelves exposed to sun, heat, light, and high humidity. I paid over $500.00 for tires that could potentially be dry, rotted or worse. How can they sell tires as new when they are already over three years old. I thought there were laws to protect us from buying old tires.

I am going to go back on Friday and get them to remove these tires. I want my money back. I called Yokohama to see why they were selling such old tires and I got a bunch of excuses. The two men I talked to claimed that the tires are kept in humidifier and out of the heat. I told them that these tires are out in the humidity on racks. It gets to be over 100 degrees here. They said Toyota sells their tires all the time and I wanted to know if they sell so many tires why am I getting four tires all made in 2007 in 2010?

I had purchased Yokohama tires from the Monroe Tire Center in East Aurora, NY. The store located at Quaker Road, East Aurora, NY, 716-655-3370. This was a set of four tires brand new rated for 60,000 miles purchased on February 27, 2009. The mileage on the car was 54,574 miles on a 2004 Honda Civic. The tires were purchased new just before a trip down to Florida.

Two of the tires were completely bald as of September 4, 2009. The mileage on the car was 65,715. This means I only have 11,141 miles out of these tires. We then went to a different Monroe tire center in Derby, NY. The garage said the car was driven hard to wear out the tires that fast. I told the manager that this car is babied. I being a mechanic myself rotated the tires twice before the new replacement tires. Other than the trip to Florida, I do not drive it hard as it is a four cylinder and want it to last. Had the tires pro-rated by the manager which cost me an additional $91.22 to have them replaced on September 4, 2009. All four tires are completely bald now and need to be replaced.

The Honda's current mileage is 70,543. This means on the two new tires that I purchased. They only have 4,828 miles on them. The tires are crap and I would not recommend a Yokohama tire to anyone. I have seen the other reports listed on your site with similar situations and findings. I will be purchasing 4 new tires but not from Monroe Muffler & Tire. They definitely will not be Yokohama tires. Just adding my name to the rest of the unhappy consumers.

I've checked into attorneys with printouts of the past recall of Yokohama tires, air bag failure. It's sad and unfortunate that there has to be a death for an attorney or the remaining parties involved to put forth effort to look into the matter. After the adjusters make the report on the findings being totaled, or repairable, the rental car is returned and me and my family is left without transportation.

It's cold outside when you are on time with every payment required, then when situations arise the same ones knocking two days early, surprisingly (not really) are nowhere to be found. Through faith and strong family ties, me and my family shall make it through the storm. Regardless of the fact that no one wants to take responsibility. I too shall keep applying for help in being compensated for my families pain, the result of Yokohama tires.

At the recommendation of Jason (tire sales rep) at Jubitz truck stop in Portland OR, I purchased steer tires for my over the road expedite truck (a Freightliner FL70. The tires were Y023. At 40,000 miles we discovered a broken cord in the sidewall of the tire. I called Jubitz and was given the number for Yokohama.

I called Yokohama and was eventually sent to Yokohama's Louisville, KY site. I was told to ask for Chris M. and have him inspect the tire. I did so. I was informed that the tire was OK that I had "hit a pothole" or a "curb" amd they would do nothing about the tire. Mr. M. cut a hole in my tire to check the cord. I believe he did it so the tire could never be used anywhere else. Mr. M. is supposedly the Yokohama company expert on defective tires. I am told that all suspect tires are send to him in Louisville.

No wonder no one gets any satisfaction from Yokohama. Look at all the money he saves them. I spend at $1000 to find a new tire, phone calls and fuel in pursuit of a simple tire replacement (with the tire still supposedly under warranty)It took me 10 states and hundreds of phone calls to find a replacement (same tire to match the other one).

I know for a fact these are defective tires. The other tire purchased at the same time as the original defective one now has a strange wear pattern which Jubitz says is due to over-inflation or mechanical problems. No such thing to that either. I will never buy another Yokohama product and fully intend to pursue this matter as long as I can.

I not only risk my own life everyday out on the road, I also risk harming someone else. I hope to soon replace both these tires and send them to the DOT for inspection. I hope there is a recall. The same tire was recalled in 2005.

The economic consequence of this situation is that the tires cost more than $300 each. I have already replaced one and will have to replace the other. The tires should last thousands of miles and certainly more than 4 months on a commercial vehicle. My last set of tires lasted 250,000 miles. These lasted 40,000.

I'm wondering now about the validity of the Consumer Report tests and the honesty in general of the tire store. I'm thinking a little internet research is probably more cost effective. Buy tires online, have the barely trained shop monkeys put them on, and hope for the best because there really is no recourse for a bad product.

I currently own a 2001 Chev. Monte Carlo and purchased 4 Yoko's for it around November 2007. My brother is a true Yoko fan and has them on all 3 of his vehicles. I live in Atlanta and drive roughly 60 miles each day for work and take road trips (400 miles)home as often as time permits. I haven't had any major problems with my tires except for the fact that in the rain they felt like slicks from day one. I've rotated and balanced them like clockwork and to this day the rubber looks pretty good. I am beginning to feel a fish like movement during evening traffic...lol (signs I have gotten my money's worth) but at this point if I am able to find another tire that is geared more for wet handling I will surely purchase another Yoko product. If not, I will have to choose Bridgestone.

I've read this type of blog over and over. I spent 20+ years in the automotive industries, mostly at the manufacturer's level. Like many other complicated consumer products, consumer ignorance is a major problem. I side with the manufacturers on these types of disputes. I believe they have far too much to lose to resort to any sort of nefarious devices to protect themselves. I further believe that anedotal consumer experiences of troubles constitute an overwhelmingly unreliable predictor of product quality.

Things like sidewall bubbles on automobile tires are rarely caused by product defect and almost always caused by impacts beyond the tire's ability to withstand said impact. I would wager that if the condition and variables of each of these anecdotes could be accurately recreated that my point would be proven beyon any doubt.

I further believe that blogs such as these should be very careful about consumer complaints; they're too easy to make with no proof required. Self-policing online systems such as ebay and many other auction sites do a good job in this matter. The baseless lawsuits that arise from misuse of consumer products does our economy no good; unless you're a plaintiff's attorney.

I purchased a new set of Yokohama tires in November of 2008. As fo July 2009 I am replacing 2 of the 4 due to bulging of the sidewalls. It seems to me that this is a more than common problem with Yokohama tires after reading all the reviews. I brought the car back to the tire dealership and was told that since I had not purchased a road hazard warranty there was nothing they could do.

Purchased full set of Yokohama AS430 tires from National Tire and Battery for a 2000 Nissan Maxima SE. One year later, sidewall bulge develops. As I had not purchased a roadhazard plan, I had to pay another ~$150 for a new tire + installation. Two years since initial purchase, a second tire develops a sidewall bulge. NTB insists that it was the result of an impact as does Yokohama. While that may be the case, I've never had this happen with any other brand of tire.

Hopefully others will see these warnings as opposed to the majority of us who come here AFTER the fact. If you are one of those, please don't buy Yokohama tires--that is not unless you purchase a roadhazard guarantee.

The rear tires (AVS ES100) were replaced with the S-DRIVE in January 2009. At 2000 miles the tires were completely worn out. I took the car back to the store where purchased. The "manager" (turned out he wasn't) accused me of driving the car "hard". We called Yokohama and the "customer service" representative said the tires would be replaced as their tires were good for a lot more than 2000 miles. She told us to take it to the Discount Tire of our choice. We did not return to the store where purchased because of the accusations of the "employee". We took it to Discount Tire TXH 57. The tires were replaced free of charge courtesy of Yokohama and Discount Tire.

The new tires (S-DRIVE) were replaced on 3/30/2009 and today 6/05/2009 there's not a weeks worth of tread left on the tire.
The Discount Tire rep this morning told Nathan at Yokohama that the tires were driven hard.

The original tires were requested by Yokohama to be returned to them, I imagine for evaluation as the formula is obviously wrong for a tire to wear out this fast. I have read on BMW blogs of other drivers getting over 48,000 miles with no problems.

Personal History: I drive this car 35 miles per day in traffic to and from work. On the weekends I sometimes use it to take my 3 year old son fishing. I am 60 years old and have had this car since 1999 and running Yokohama Tires since that time.

My daughter drove in a brand new Mitsubishi Lancer under 3500 KM. to Windsor Saturday Apr.25 2009. I checked tire pressure prior trip. Front driver side Yokohama avid blew. She bought a cheap used and came back. I put rear tire to front and used in back. I noticed back tire had a bubble, I took to Goodyear and said is defect must be replaced. I took to Yokohama recommended store and said she must have hit a curb (with rear). I need to buy 2 new tires not even 4000 KM on car. I am very dissappointed!!!! They basically said the warranty on the Yokohama tires is valid as long as your don't drive the car!!!!

I have driven for 38 years without a bulge even when I have hit a curb.

A defective tire should be replaced without question.

Sidewall tire bulge.

I work in a very reputable tyre dealership in South Africa, and have to say that many of the complaint above are fairly common (ie. sidewall bubbles, blowouts, tread seperation) and often have a very simple explanation on closer examination.

Many of my clients with bubbles claim never to have hit anything but on examination of their wheels you can clearly see impact markings.

Tread seperation ..... same story. Poor tyre repairs, overloading, wrong tyre pressures, wrong application for your vehicle.

It is not always the manufacturer or tyre dealership being difficult, but if everyone just complains and gets re-reimbursement tyre prices will have to get a lot higher. I've found all the manufacturers that we deal with more than accommodating when it comes to legitimate complaints.

I slowly backed out of my driveway in my Mini Van. Stopped and let my fott off the brake to make sure I reached the circle on my cul de sac withback rear of my tire, a touch not even a tap. Drove forward and my tire defaled. Turns out my side wall cracked. (a 3 inch fisure) It is an 80,000 mile tire with 15,000 miles on it. Merchant Tire says I must have pinched the tire on the side but did not. There is no damage to the side of the tire. They offered me a $38 credit against a $125 new tire. Any comments? THanks

I have read through the various issues with Yokohama tires published here. And while I do not wish to negate those issues, I do wish to have published my experience with the Yokohama tires.

Being a 'car guy', 3 years ago my sister asked me to research and purchase a set of new tires for her 1997 Nissan Altima. I read customer reviews and the ratings for the Ultra High Performance All Season category on Tirerack & DiscountTire. Two tires came out on top..Michelin's (extremely pricey) and Yokohama's. I decided it was worth a shot to give the Yoko's a try and save some decent money. They were model AVID H4S (size 205/60/15).

Fast forward 3 years and 50,000+ miles later. My sister once again came to me and said it was time for tires as they were in need of replacement in the very near future. I did the research all over again, and not surprisingly to me came up with the Yokohama's & Michelins as my top two choices. With over 12,000,000 customer reviewed miles for each tire, the choice was clear to me. I asked my sister for her input, and if she had any complaint about going for another round with the Yokohama's. She gave me the green light on them. And for the record, the tires experience a 60/40 mix of highway and NYC pothole filled city driving.

problems with his tires and spelling is hardly an issue regarding life and death. I get my oil changed every 3,000 miles and a tire rotation with it. I make 30k a yr and believe me I need my car for a long time.

The past two winters in Pittsburgh with these new tires I purchased brand new of course in Nov. of 2005 is a major investment disaster. My toyota is a 2003 with 45k miles on it. Now figure ?
I drive like an old lady and not very much. These are top of line tires w apprx 20,000 miles on them and I spin in slush, on the level !! I see and read all the great stuff about them, but truly there is a flaw somewhere.

They are all the same tires, air pressured and over all my car is maintained. Toyota Carolla..

I keep 60lb of kitty litter in the back w a full tank of gas at all times.
I just realize this issue is not me just getting older and conerned. Not

when I follow my family to church and I'm spun out and the 3 of them are in line, parked at the curb.. You tell me?

My new 06 Suzuki Vitara came with yokohama 235/65/16 tires. After about 11000 miles and two tire rotations I noticed significant wear on two of the four tires. I opened a case number and gave the tires to a local dealer so the yokohama rep could determine what was the cause of the defect. After 10 weeks of not getting any feedback I called and was told that there was no mileage guarantee so there would not be nothing they could do.

I again stated that it was a defect in the tire since 2 of the 4 were worn unevenly and below the wear bar. Again I was told that there was no mileage guarantee, case closed. In the mean time I purchased Kumho tires since I needed to use the vehicle. Also I did some reseach on complaints about yokohama and found out that there are alot of problems with their tires to include blowouts, tread separation etc. None of the problems have been acknowledged or fixed by yokohama.

I guess I was lucky in that I had no blowout or injury like many others have experienced. If you read this and are considering yokohama tires I strongly encourage you to buy another brand since they don't stand behind their product and are very unsafe. I learned a $400 lesson but at least didn't get hurt! Yokohama tire sales should be banned!

I am sure some out there will try to say that I am in some way affiliated with Yokohama, but that is not true. I was looking at buying new tires- Yokohamas- and I stumbled upon this website. I am looking at Yokohama tires because they came fairly highly recommended by Consumer Reports magazine, which has an excellent reputation for fairness and unbiased opinions. They actually do much research on whatever product they are reporting and do not just take anyone's opinion as the truth.

I read with great interest the consumer reports about their Yokohama tires. I also purchased a set of 4 Yokohama Avid H4 tires for my 2000 Toyota Solara after reading the ratings on Tirerack The tires have performed well for the past 20k miles with some road noise as reported by other consumers. But now I have the vibration issue from 55 mph on to the point I thought my wheels were coming loose. I brought my car back to the tire dealer and had all the weights removed and had the tires high speed balanced ($40). No change, same problem. It even sounds like the tires are out of round by the road noise. I'm glad I read the other consumer reports before I started having more costly repairs of bearings, ball joints and tie rods.

I guess my only recourse is to replace my Yokohama tires and just be glad I found your sight and didn't spend any more money troubleshooting my car's vibration. The real shame about Yokohama tires is they handle great in rain and snow and wear very well. Only trouble is it's like driving with out-of-round tires with the vibration. I am in sales and drive all highway and after a long two hour trip I'm seasick from the vibration.

I own a 2003 Honda Accord LX. I'm now on my 2nd set of Yokohama Avid H4S tires in the past 20 months. The first set were badly cupped after only 20,000 miles, and i got a partial credit from Yokohama to replace them with the same tires (this was about 2 weeks ago). The brand new set is just as bad----on the highway, starting at about 55mph, you can feel a vibration in the steering wheel and can hear the tires--the road noise is ridiculous for an all season tire. I've tried everything---i've had all 4 wheels/tires balanced, i've had all 4 wheels aligned twice in the last month. The problem is definitely the tires. I am absolutely disgusted with these tires, and I will NEVER buy Yokohama tires again.

purchased brand new Suzuki aerio 06, in march of 06. I replaced the front tires in October of 07 with 12,657 miles on them. At this time, I also had a four wheel alignment done and was it was shown that the auto was out of alignment. (due to failed inspection).

Now, September 08 I have to replace all four because they are totally shot. the rear tires have 31,246 on them and the front two having already been replaced have 18,589 on them. This car rides as if it were on a wash board and at low speeds it can vibrate your fillings out. All four tires are completely worn to the point of serious safety risk. These tires are worn in a fashion that shows no pattern of trackable wear. I will be purchasing four new tires now (inspection time) but I will asure everyone, they will not ever again be JUNKOHAMA'S.

I purchased 1 Yokohama tire from National Tire and Battery now known as Merchants on 03/23/07 due to the original tire going bad. The car had 27, 862 miles on that tire but the cause per Merchants was that the car was out of alignment. I purchased the new Yokohama AS430 series tire and purchased their 3 Year wheel alignment program at the same time.

I returned to Merchants and purchased 3 more Yokohama tires, AS430, on 09/08/07. On January 10, 2008, I returned my Pontiac G6 to the same Merchants where I purchased all 4 tires due to the Pontiac not staying aligned. They checked the tires and told me that there was something wrong with the rack and pinion unit gear and I had to return to the dealership. On January 11, 2008 I took the Pontiac G6 to the dealership in which I purchased it and they performed the lubrication and repositioning I shaft per a GM bulletin. The code that is listed for this procedure is 34067.

On February 15. 2008, I returned to Merchants because my car was not staying aligned and there were thumping noises coming from the back area tires. Tires were rotated to the front and an alignment was done by Merchants. I visited Schaefer and Strominger just to check on this issus and they reported that the Pontiac G6 can not be aligned anywhere but at a GM dealership because Merchants can not complete the necessary recalibration. Power Steering Control Module Programming and Setup. I had them print out their report and returned to Merchants with the information.

On june 28, 2008,I had the 4-wheel alignment done by GM after having it already aligned 3-4 times by Merchants and still having the same problem. I returned to Merchants so that I could fight to have my money reimbursed to me for the cost of the Alignment program back on March 11, 2008. Returned the G6 to Merchants on 07/18/08 for same continued thumping sound but now it is in the front. They reported that it was the Aluminum Alloy wheel base and said I needed a whole new wheel which I purchased and they even put on another new Yokohama AS430 tire just to be sure. Drove the car away that day and the thumping noise remained. Today, 09/14/08 I returned the Pontiac G6 to Merchants because the passenger side front tire went flat the night before, Saturday, 09/13/08.

My husband put the spare donut and immediately the thumping sound was gone. Merchants could not find a puncture or leak and reported that the Yokohama AS430 was bad and replaced it at no cost to me. I asked to have a technician come on a test drive BEFORE I take the car home to verify that the knocking sound was gone and indeed it was. My complaint is that I still have 4 AS430 Yokohama tires and I am concerned with our safety and would like all new tires from a differnt brand.

I purchased 2 sets of Avid TRZ tires from my local Toyota dealer, Massey Toyota, in White Oak, PA, early December, 2006. Right away I noticed vibration, when either car approached 55 mph, which persisted and worsened as speed increased. I immediately took both cars back to the dealer for balancing; same problem; had them balanced again; same problem. I took both cars to a reputable tire dealer in the area; same result. I have since taken both cars to another Toyota dealer in the area to have the tires rebalanced. Even Road-force balancing (very expensive machine; very expensive service) rendered the same result. The tires are bad, and have been bad since new. Attempts to contact Yokohama for help have gone unheeded. I will never purchase another Yokohama product, and I encourage others, regularly, to not buy Yokohama products. As I travel extensively (I'm in sales), I talk with a lot of people.

No damage; just the aggravation of having defective tires on my cars that cannot be balanced, from a manufacturer that, apparently, doesn't care about quality or customer satisfaction.

In December of 2007 I took my 2006 Tacoma for new tires. The dealer recommended Yokohamas with a 60,000 mile warranty. At the time the tires were installed I also has the vehicle aligned. At 31,000 miles the tires started vibrating badly. It felt like I was riding on a milled surface even on the smoothest of roads. I returned to the dealer and they stated that the rear tires were badly worn and cupping. They verified that the tire pressures were all within spec and rotated the tires.

Now I had a very bad vibration from the front. I returned to the dealer and had the tires re-balanced. That still did not fix the problem. At 35,000 miles I again returned to the dealer and they advised me that all 4 tires were totally worn with only 10,000 miles on them. They contacted Yokohama and Yokohama refused to honor the warranty. The dealer can vaerify that the truck has baan kept aligned and that the pressures were always within the manufacturer's specs. I now have to buy 4 more new tires for my truck. I can assure you they will not be Junkohamas.

Purchase of 4 new tires much sooner than was necessary.

I have a 06 suzuki grand vitari and i took it sept 07 for inspection and failed for tires with 10,000 miles on it. Called the dealership and they said bring it in and told me when it got shipped over it it was knocked out of allignment so they would put 4 new tires and allignment for free GREAT.

now here i am july 08 and tires shot again with 9500 miles on the tires. took to dealership and they said nothing they can do NOT out of allignment but agree tires are shot and will not pass inspection. THERE IS NO REASON THAT A PERSON SHOULD HAVE TO REPLACE TIRES THAT EARLY. I do not drive alot i am 40. fed up. P.S. I LOVE THE VEHICLE HATE THE TIRES!!!

In frustration about their underhanded tactics I put up a small site to warn people about them. After they learned of it I got several strange emails from a personal email account of Nathan O. Mr. O is Yokokohama's supervisor of Customer Affairs and he was pretending to be someone named Erik. WHY DOES A HIGH RANKING YOKOHAMA EMPLOYEE SEND DECEPTIVE EMAILS AND BEHAVE UNTRUTHFULLY? Is this the sort of company you want to deal with?

A tire delaminated on the interstate as my son was headed to his senior prom. At 70 mph he lost control of his vehicle. It rolled over and was totaled but the passengers lived.

The tires had less than 12,000 miles on them and were in near-perfect condition. The trooper at the accident, several mechanics, a tire dealer and an expert forensic engineer said there was nothing wrong with the tire.

Yokohama behaved horribly from the outset, lied and went out of their way to be difficult. We seent the tire back to them and they performed an objective evaluation. Of course it was all our fault. They even said there was a puncture.

What they did not know was that I had hired an engineering firm to investigate & document the situation and that their report was very incriminating to Yokohama. When I told them and asked for the return of my tire to verify their claims, they stalled, evaded and eventually only returned the rim!

The lies kept coming and eventually they said the tire was lost and they would pay for the truck. ANOTHER LIE! 2 yeats later, despite losing the evidence, they have not done anything but beat us down.

This past weekend, after graduating from college, my daughter and her aunt were traveling on California Interstate 5 when the passenger-side tire, a Yokohama AS430, blew out. It was a miracle that no accident happened. The whole wall on the tire broke open. The tire had less than 15,000 mile on it. I have a digital picture of it; it's pretty scary. I have contacted the shop where I bought the set of tires from, but have not heard back from them yet. However, based on what I have read on this site, I am not holding my breath that the shop or Yokohama will fess up to any problem. No more Yokohama tires for my family and friends!

I have had good experiences with two sets of Yokohama tires on my 2001 GMC pu that now has 196k. The first set were Avid touring. The second set are Avid TRZ which are now in need of replacement. They have become a little noisy on smooth freeway asphalt so I probably will go back to the Avid touring. In the first couple of months of owning the TRZ's I had 3 immediate flats caused by rotten valve stems from the tire dealer. The tires had no damage from this sudden air loss and are still on the truck after 60k.

I purchased 4 Yokohama tires from tirerack.com for my Mercedes SLK. Within 6000 miles, the sidewall of the right rear tire began to fail, forming a bubble which causes an imminent blowout. The tires still look brand new, have never hit anything (ground clearance in an SLK is 4 inches...you would wreck the car first), never drove at excessive speed. This is a weekend car that gets about 3000 miles PER YEAR.

Tirerack has refused to reimburse me for the tire(s), saying that it must have been something I did to the tire to damage it.

Tirerack says that I can, at my own cost, ship the tire back to them and they will inspect it, and if THEY think there is a problem, they'll send it to Yokohama, who will also inspect it, and who will, entirely at their disgression, decide if they will reimburse me. Tirerack continued to insist that I did something to damage this tire, WITHOUT EVEN SEEING IT!!!! They simply don't care, obviously, if they sell defective tires.

What a joke. Essentially, what is clearly a manufacturing defect is not covered by either Tirerack or Yokohama.

So, this is my last purchase of Yokohama tires, and my last purchase from tirerack.com

Be aware: Yokohama is selling defective tires, tirerack knows it, and simply does not care.

Buy beware..this is a ripoff.

I purchased a new Subaru Forrester in December of 07. I do alot of driving both highway and city. My Forrester came with Yokohama Geolander G900. The car has 8,000 miles aon it and in the last month I have had to replace two of the tires.

The first tire had belt seperation which had to be replaced. The second tire had a nail puncture caused a belt seperation and had to be replaced. The general consensus in talking with tire retailers is that these tires are simply lousy tires that are overpriced. I would urge anyone looking to purchase tires to stay away from these. I know that the first chance I get I will replace all four tires.

I purchase one pair of Yokohama Avid Touring and one pair of Yokohama Avid T4 for my 1996 Toyota Tacoma. They have been on the truck for three yeares and less then 25,000 miles. They all have more then adequate tread left, but the tire rot on the Avid Touring pair has forced me to replace them. I have never seen such tire rot on a three year old tire! They Avid T4's have very little tire rot. To Yokohama's credit-I have had a set of Yokohama H4S on my Opel GT for the past 3 years. There is no sign of tire rot on them. Yokohama USE to be my favorite tire company, but after reading other people's complaints here I will NOT purchase them again.

I got out of my 7-month-old Suzuki Aerio today and noticed that both the left front and left rear tires had bulges. Obviously the belts had broken on these tires. I called Suzuki Corporate who told me it was not their issue. I called the dealship who told me they would look at it and see what (they) could do. I called Yokohama who gave me a case number and referred me to their closest dealer -- 75 unsafe freeway miles away. I picked the dealership.

The dealer said there were no abnormal wear problems, the tires were rotated balanced, etc., etc., etc.

However, these tires have less than 9000 miles on them and the tires are coming apart. This was obviously a defective tire issue. These tires are supposed to be the high performance 195 55/15's that come on the sport Aerio.

What frustrates me is that I am a Technical Quality Manager and have worked in the automotive world for almost 15 years. I would NEVER allow a customer to be in a vehicle that was not safe for ANY reason. I have shut down production for less than this.

I can't understand why Yokohama is not doing something about this issue IMMEDIATELY before someone gets killed. But then I remember how many folks were killed by the exploding gas tanks on the Ford Pintos before anyone did anything and I shudder about what has happened to us as a society when our profit is more important than the lives of our customers.

I will end up going to a different tire dealer and getting four new tires on the Suzuki that are not Yokohama tires becuase I drive my prescious 3-year-old daughter around in this car. It will cost me at least another $400. Another day off of work, and much frustration. But all of that is small compared to the life of my daughter.

I have a problem with the Yokohama tire company. First I had what I thought was a puncture in the sidewall of my Yokohama Geolander ATS and had to purshase a new one. This was three months ago. I actually purchased two since they had about 35,000 miles on them. I just had one of the new tires do the same thing in the same spot. The sidewall blows out. I know for a fact I did not run over anything in order for this to happen. Is there a problem going on with this tire? I would appreciate any feed back as to any problems with this tire.

There was no physical damage except for me having to wait for three hours in the freezing cold for a tow truck to arrive.

Bought another tire (not a Yokohama) and suffered quite a lot of stress from the ordeal on the highway. I hope Yokohama tires do not kill anyone.

only consequence is early reoplacement of tires. Yokohama has no interest in responding to consumer problems. I just want to add my name to the list of people advising people to avoid Yokohama tires.

I have a pair of Yokohama Guardex 600 tires. Both have pleanty of tread left and both have been driven gently. They also both have belt separation.

The right rear Yokohama tire delaminated on the Interstate while traveling at 75 mph. There was a complete loss of control and the truck skidded and swerved across all lanes of traffic and back finally skidding sideways into the center median. When the tires caught in the sand the sideways skid came to an abrupt stop and the momentum rolled the truck over. The roof crushed in and the vehicle was destroyed. After all that, the delaminated tire was perfectly inflated and remained inflated for weeks afterward.

Even though 86% of rollovers are fatal, after a long pause, my son and his date crawled out of the truck in formal wear to a round of applause from the wonderful people who stopped to help. (They were on their way to the prom.)

The trooper who responded refused to allow us in traffic to retrieve the small shreds of tread strewn across the length of highway where the skid played out. He also said it looked like a tire defect, but warned of the nasty tactics of tire companies in this type of situation and told us we were basically screwed.

Yokohama proved him right. After many suspicious tactics they later refused the claim, citing many silly excuses including that the delaminated tread was not returned with the tire, inflation issues and a puncture.

Yokohama was cagey and gave me the runaround when we tried to contact them regarding the accident. It took 3 weeks and letters to every member of their Board of Directors before they would even speak to me. When Ann S (Yokohamas product liability person) finally took a call, she was full of, we take these issues seriously and will honor our warranty? blather. Then she demanded the tire be sent to California for an independent evaluation.

The tires only had about 12,000 miles on them and had practically no wear. There was no checking, rot or cracks. There seemed to be no apparent reason for this Spontaneous Tire Combustion.

Before giving up my tire, I sent it to a forensic engineering firm that had tire experts with impressive experience. I wanted their opinion of what could have caused the problem. They found things that could be damaging to Yokohama. When they were done, my tire went to California where Yokohama did an allegedly objective evaluation.

Yokohama's reasons for claim denial report were so bizarre that I couldn't believe they were describing my tire. It totally contradicted my experts findings. Yokohama never actually gave a reason why their tire failed. They just heaped ALL the blame on us. It's a common tire company trick. They used the standatd tire maker lies which you can read about at www.safetyforum.com/tires/article.html.

After Yoko's creative writing exercise, they gave me 30 days to claim my tire if I wanted it. Of course I wanted it! I had to see this puncture that my engineers somehow missed! Yokohama went back to hide and seek again. They ignored phone calls, back-dated a letter, lost phone logs and everything they could do to chew up those 30 days. When they finally had no other choice but to give up the tire, THEY JUST RETURNED THE RIM!

They gave me more runaround when I tried to get the actual tire and in frustration I put up a protest website: www.yokohama-tires-suck.com. Even after that it letters to 13 executives before Ms. S called to say my tire was lost.

Losing my tire meant no tire defect could ever be proven and legally it's called Spoliation of Evidence. Yokahama is obligated to pay the claim.

Four months later they have refused to pay a small claim for an 11-year-old truck and a few expenses. Instead they hired lawyers and pulled even more dirty tricks.

Apparently Yokohama has no regard for the people who buy their products and will do any thing to keep from doing what is right.

My son had a back injury that appeared minor when it happened but he is not healing as expected. The final determination of the permanancy of his injury may not be known for 5-7 years from now. The other passenger was perfectly fine.

I bought a Mitsubisi Montero in June/2001. When my car reached 25,000 miles the rear right tire started to show the wires and the thread started to split, and a bubble was formed on the outside of the tire that is how we discover the wires and thread problem. I called Yokohama and they refferred me to Town Fair in Norwalk, CT. They inspected the tire and replace the tire not before I had to paid half of the price of the new tire because they said I used half of its life.

My car never had a flat tire, the tires were never over or under inflated, I lived Greenwich, CT which is the east coast. We have winter with a lot of snow so my car tires were always checked for the right air pressure.

On July 31/2005 we were coming back picking up my parents from the airport. We were traveling on I95 North at 55 miles per hour which the speed limit. That is when the accident ocurred because the rear right tire (the same tire that was replace it only had 17,000 miles) blow out.

We lost control of the car, we were spinning then the car turned into the right side and then rolled over 3 times ending up at the right shoulder facing the wrong direction.

We were 5 people in the car. We were lucky that the injuries were not death threatening but now we have permanent injuries that unfortunately X-rays won't show the pain that we are going through.

My insurance paid for all the medical care we needed but they said we have got into a point were no treatment will help as a result I cant continue with physical therapy. My mother and sister also are suffering from back, neck, hips, neck problems. In addition, my sister sustained a lot of injuries on her left arm due to cuts when the driver window broke becuase the car was rolling over. Her arm needs plastic surgery and we are fighting with my insurance.

On the other hand we were lucky that no other cars were involved in the accident, even though it was traffic on I95 that Sunday night.

I submitted a complain against Yokohama, they required all the documentation related with the accident and all the medical bills we incurred up to that time. They also asked me to send the tire for them to inspect it. I sent them the paper work were it shows that that tire was replace when the car had 25,000 miles and that at the time of the accident my car had 42,000. After a few weeks they sent me a report where Yokohama stated that the tire was not defective, that the tire was running over or under inflated, that there were some punctures that were never fixed even though I naver had a flat tire.

Sears gave a credit only because of their own protection plan and is no longer going to carry tires by the manufacturer.

We purchased a tire (P195/70R14) tire last year because we had a bulge on it. Now when my wife and I was traveling towards Austin Texas we heard a very loud bang and we were doing the speed limit of 70 miles a hour. We had to try and get out of the line of traffic and to the shoulder of the road. When we finally got off the road and got out of my vehicle I looked at the right passenger side tire and noticed that it had separated from the tire.

I changed the tire and placed the spare on the vehicle. I got home later on that day and placed the tire in my garage. Well I had to go to school in Baytown Texas and on my way back from school that Friday the vehicle started to shake so I stopped at a Sears and made an appointment to get all four tires replaced that Saturday morning.

When the tire tech replaced the front left tire he called me into the shop to show me that the tire had busted inside and the belts had separated so I brought the tire back home and placed it with the other tire.

My wife called Yakohama and complained about the tire and their response was to send the tire by Fedex and they would have someone look at it and get back with me. I have checked the internet and read other stories about the customer service and the response for the same situation I am in.

I as well as my wife could have been killed when the tire went out at the speed we were traveling. I haven't heard from this company yet and I have called the and no one there seems to know how to make a a right call on my situation. I repalced all those Yokohama tires with another brand.

The new tires I had to buy cost me $400 + dollars. My wife was terrified because we could have be killed on that highway.

My new 2002 Toyota MR2 Spyder came equipped with 4 Yokohama tires. I was pleased at the outset because I have always heard great things about Yokohama. Within one year, a huge bulge appeared on the back passenger tire. I called around to find a certified Yokohama dealer. I waited weeks to have my special type of tire ordered (205/55/R15/85V) and when I went to have it replaced I was told that it would be covered under the one year, 36,000 mile warranty. This was after the certified dealer reviewed my damage.

I agreed to have the tire replaced. When I went to pick up my keys, the certified dealer told me that I owed $134. I told him I thought it was under warranty. He told me that I had to pay him first and he would submit the tire and a claim to Yokohama. If Yokohama decided to honor the warranty, they would cut the certified dealer a check and he would refund my money.

As this seemed like a very strange arrangement, I required that he provide me a copy of the Yokohama claim form. For the next several months, I proceeded to call Yokohama to follow-up on the status. The first 30 or so phone calls placed were never returned or I was not connected to anyone that could help me. After I finally reached the person I was told would be my contact he could not find the claim number in the system. He told me that he was not the person to speak to and referred me to someone else.

The new cusomter service rep told me that the claim number was not in the system because it could take 3 months for Yokohama to actually receive the tire from the dealer and then they have to test it in their engineering department. The woman went on to tell me that she doesn't believe it would be covered under warranty anyway because bulges are road hazards and they doubted that my tires were properly inflated, rotated, aligned etc.

I told her that I don't deny that I drive the vehicle on the road and I expect that tires would be able to withstand normal (non-winter!) road conditions for more than 17,000 miles.

7 months later, I still have no status on the tire warranty, from my contacts at Yokohama or their authorized dealer.

Last week, I was turning a corner in a residential neighborhood, a car was driving on my side of the street. To avoid a collision, I drove up over the curb corner (not insanely uncommon). I heard a very loud rush of air and realized that my tire had blown. The same exact tire that was replaced 7 months and 6,000 miles previous. When I changed the tire, I saw that the damage was a crack across the wall of the tire, not a hole or a puncture, but a split. This, of course, is unrepairable and I will be replacing the tires again.

This time, I will be replacing both back tires with Toyo tires. In a few months, I will have the Yokohamas removed from the front as well as tread is very badly worn already (total mileage: 23,000).

As my vehicle is rear wheel drive and my tires were supposedly speed rated for V, I am going to the expense to remove this product from my vehicle NOW to prevent a possibly serious accident in the future.

I have a 2002 Subara Forester that was purchased from Gillman Subaru (Houston and Austin) brand new, with installed Yokohama Tires (P215/60R 16 94H Geolander Radial Tubeless All-Season Tires. I have 36,000 on my vehicle, consisting of all city driving (freeways, streets, etc). My car has independent four wheel suspension/four wheel drive, but I do not drive on ANY gravel, grass, or dirt roads or over any debris.

All FOUR of my tires are in dangerous condition and need to be replaced. These are $110 tires ($110 PER TIRE) and should not be unusable after only 36,000 of normal, slow, safe, city driving! When I attempted to utilize the warranty, I was given the run around.

I have only used between 25-30% of the usable tread. I was willing to replace the tires and pay 25-30% of each tire to cover the cost of the tread I used, but I have had no luck working with the manufacturer or dealer. I have performed all maintenance on my vehicle including proper alignment/balancing, proper tire inflation, etc. Some of the tires have uneven wear, two have wall cracking, and one is essentially shredding itself.

This is absurd. Why spend $400-$500 on a set of high performance tires MADE for four-wheel-drive vehicles if they can't last 36,000 miles? These tires are either defective and/or inferior, and the manufacturer is attempting to avoid their liability and legal accountability under the law and under the warranty. I have never had similar problems with ANY tires I have previously owned/driven on.

I am driving on four dangerous tires. Does Yokohama want to replace these defective/inferior tires now, or after they result in an accident/injury?

I was on my way to work via the Garden State Parkway. I was driving below the speed limit, which is 65mph, when I suddenly heard a loud bang. Instantly my fender was flopping in the wind and my rear view mirror was no longer attached to my car. I promptly slowed down and then pulled into the shoulder. Once I was in the shoulder I got out of my car to assess what had happened. My Yokohama tire was still inflated and hissing out air but the tread had come completely off.

The New Jersey State Police arrived within 5 min of the incident. The police officer reviewed the facts and stated, The tire must have been defective for the entire tread to have come off.

I explained to the officer that my car had four new Yokohama tires on it when the car was purchased from Freehold Toyota and that three of them had formed bubbles in the actual tread itself forcing me to replace the tires. I hadnt had the time nor the money to replace my spare being that I had three defective tires within two months and now the fourth tire was defective, all of which were the same Yokohama make and model.

As a result of this I had to miss a day of work so that my car could be towed to a shop and have a professional mechanic assess and fix the tire so that I could continue to drive my car to work. Before any work was done I took pictures with my digital camera to have a visual record of how much damage this tire had caused. I then proceeded to get two separate estimates, which were both in excess of $2000. I called several certified Yokohama dealers to see if there had been a recall on these tires. Im sure you would be pleased to hear that everyone I spoke with said, Yokohama has no recalls because they are one of the best tires made.

Two of the dealers that made this statement were in shock when I brought the actual tire to them to show them what had happened to the tread. These same dealers then proceeded to state, That is NOT supposed to happen. And Wow that is scary.