My new car came equipped with high performance Michelin tires. I was driving home and noticed a pecular sound and then had difficulty controlling my car. Smoke was coming from the car. I managed to pull to the side of the road. The tire was smoking and there was a strong smell of burning rubber. The tire was completely split around the circumference of the rim. The vehicle stopped because the driver said he could see smoke coming from my prior to the time I noticed a problem. I had the spare put on and went home. The next morning, I had difficulty finding a dealer that carried the tire, 225/10 ZR18. The Audi dealership said that the tires were under a warrenty from Michelin, but were unable to give me a contact number at that time. I took the tire to a shop that could order the tire and replace it in less than 3 days. The owner was concerned that the tire was defective. I call Michelin and spoke to a customer service representative who was clearly defensive and non- specific. He refused to take any complaint or information about the tire because the tire store was not an authorized michilen dealer. He informed me that I could have easily "hit" an object in the road and not felt it. I find that explanation very questionable. I hit nothing. There were no foreign objects, such as nails or glass, in the tire. I purchased the car, an Audi Tt 2002, with the factory installed tires, November of 2002. The car had about 4000 miles on the odometer at purchase and now has 6200 miles. My driving is city/country and, truely, I rarely drive over the speed limit. Although, I would like to be reimbursed for the tire, I am more concerned that this could have resulted in a very serious injury had I been driving on a multilane, high speed freeway. I do not wish to see any other driver be less fortunate than I.

- Fork, MD, USA