This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 1998 Ford F-150. The vehicle has General Grabber aw tires, size P275/60/R17 (na). The contact noticed that within the last three years, all three tires (excluding the driver side rear tire) have spontaneously blown out. The failures have occurred while driving 60 mph. After inspecting the tires, he noticed that the tread was separating from the tires and the wires were sticking out. He inspected the rear driver's side tire and noticed a large bubble forming on the interior of the sidewall. The contact has pictures of the failed component, and still has possession of the defective tires. The tire failure mileage was 10,000. The current and failure mileages were 40,000.
I own a 1998 F150 approx. Two and a half years ago I purchased a set of 4 general ameritrac SUV tires from sears, size P225/70 R16 109S. Within a period of one year and a range of 18 to 28 thousand miles, three of the tires have had the tire separate from the steel belts, the last which happened today, almost killed me. Something is wrong with the manufacture of these tires. I do check the pressure on a regular basis, every 2 to 3 weeks. I still have the last two tires that have failed.
My husband and I were on I-95 the rear tire thread separated and lost complete control of truck which cause it to hit the wall in the median twice. As a result we both sustained injuries in which we are currently under doctors care along with therapy. Bottom line we almost lost our lives. The tire had been purchase almost 6 months prior of accident to replace another one we told was defective. It was a P275/70R16 Continental tire on our 1998 F-150 truck.
While driving at approximately 55 miles left rear tire blew out and came off the vehicle, and there was a roll over. Wheel and tire brook off. Both consumer and passenger where injured in the accident. Consumer and passenger filed a claim due to the injuries sustained during the accident. Claim number 00181339133.
I have a 19'98 Ford F150 that came equipped with Firestone 235/70R16 wilderness ht tires. One of those tires started to separate about two weeks ago. I have replaced the tires so the safety issue has been dealt with. However, I've tried talking to Firestone about the tire separation & they aren't the least bit interested. Their district mgr ( bob ) said the tires are six years old and I should be happy that I've gotten that much service out of the tires. Their store mgr ( mike hemel ) in charlotte nc said tires separate when then get old. After a 30 second analysis of the tire he said my vehicle was out of alignment which conforms to the first rule of bad customer service => blame someone else. I offered to kathy smith ( Firestone corporate) to take the vehicle to my normal mechanic and have the alignment checked under the scenario that if it is misaligned, I would pay the bill & if it is in alignment, Firestone would pay the bill. She declined my offer, again suggesting Firestone really is not interesting in getting to the root cause of the problem. I do not know anything about the reliability record of this type of tire or the process to get one of your specialist to analyize the failure mode of this particular tire. I have all five of the oem tires, one of which is the spare ( new condition ) I'm more than happy to make these tires available to you for analysis; but, I'd rather not keep these tires around for very long if this is something that you believe does not warrant an investigation please advise me how to proceed as soon as practical.
- Davidson, NC, USA
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While driving at 70 mph, the vehicle vibrated violently, seconds later a loud explosion was heard. The consumer pulled over to the shoulder and found that the front left tire lost its tread. The tread was wrapped around the axle of the wheel.
Firestone tire wilderness ht P235 70/16 104S M/S tread seperation (can see steel cords) (bulge) tire hasnt failed yet but probably would if I didnt see " 98F150 about 60K miles on tire still lot of tread left. Know similiar tires recalled but were at models looks like other models are " also (ht).
While driving at highway speed, the driver side rear tire experienced tread separation. The consumer noticed the tire wasn't flat. The tread had separated on the tire like a can of peeled biscuits. There was still some tread on the tire.
Consumer states that left rear tread seperated. There was some damage to the vehicle, the dealer was contacted. Original equipment, 46K miles, Ford F150 1998. The consumer states that tread seperated totally and suddenly making the vehicle jump off the ground.
Felt change in front end handling at interstate speed. Stopped and noted tread separation. Steel belt wires protruding through tread and significant deformity.
Consumer stated while driving, the right front tire experienced tread separation, suddenly causing vehicle to pull hard to the right and the steering wheel began to shake violently, consumer was able to maneuver vehicle off to the emergency lane, after pulling over, consumer then attempted to restart the engine, but it would not start, consumer then smelled rubber, he then walked aroung the vehicle and noticed the tread was gone, the plastic cowing in the fender well was gone and there were small vacuum hoses hanging down, the tire was still inflated, however the tread was gone from most of the tire.
While traveling approximately 65 to 70 mph in a 1998 Ford F150, the left/rear Firestone wilderness ht tire, size: P235/70R16, dot: W2081pt088, experienced tread separation. This incident caused damage to the left/rear wheel well and to the rear bumper. There were approximately 30,000 miles on the tire and it was original equipment. Note: Tire available for inspection.
While traveling approximately 65 to 70 mph in a 1998 Ford F150, the left/rear Firestone wilderness ht tire, size: P235/70R16, dot: W2081pt088, experienced tread separation. This incident caused damage to the left/rear wheel well and to the rear bumper. There were approximately 30,000 miles on the tire and it was original equipment. Note: Tire available for inspection.
While driving to birmingham, al one day, the left rear tire tread separated from the tire, and almost caused an accident, but luckaly I maintained control altho I did swearve, and another car that was behind me ran over my tread. While Firestone maintaines that ht tires are superior to at tires, I believe they ought to be on the recall list, as another tire on my truc is starting to crack and may seperate at any given Sunday. All attemtps at getting Firestone to replace my tires for nothing have gone by with no luck. They need to be put on the recall list. I have pictures. Please put these dangerous tires on the recall list as well. (dot number: W208 1pt tiresize: P235/70R16)
While traveling approximately 70 mph in a 1998 Ford F150, vibration was felt coming from vehicle. When consumer stopped and examined vehicle, left rear Firestone wilderness ht tire, size: P235/70R16, dot: W20B1pt397 had 1'6" of tread separation. There were approximately 41,000 miles on tires, and they were original equipment. These tires are not included in recall 00T005, however consumer is still requesting reimbursement.
While traveling 65mph vehicle started to shimmy. Was moving to shoulder to check tires and heard a loud bang. Tread had unraveled completely on right rear tire, and damaged the bottom of truck. Replaced damaged tire with spare. Firestone, wilderness ht, LT235/70R16, original equipment.
Tire tread separation. About two weeks ago front end began experiencing steering problems which caused the steering wheel to move from side to side and the front end to bounce. When it first started, I checked the tires and couldn't see anything wrong. After about 4 days of this and repeated visual tire checks, tires finally showed visible signs of tire tread separation. We had the two front tires replaced with new general 550 as tires. About three days ago (24 Jul) I noticed that the rear end of the truck was bouncing and that something wasn't right. A visible check of the remaining two original general as 550 tires did not reveal a problem, but I knew something was wrong. After driving my son to driver's ed this morning, I stopped for gas and noticed tire tread separation in the back tires. I know you are looking into tire tread separation on the am gen 550 as tires and I wanted you to know that all four of our tires had separated and had to be replaced. I do a lot of expressway/highway driving; thankfully nothing catastrophic happened due to this incident. I learned from it too...tire tread separation does not show up immediately and when it's discovered, it could very easily be too late. (tiresize: P235/70R16)
Tread separated on left rear, chunk of tread missing and 8 inches of belt exposed. Left front tire has cracks and holes around sholder of tire that go completely down to the steel band.Firestone representative warned me not to drive truck at speed as front tire is dangerous. Rear in bed of my truck now. I have pictures of tires. Firestone refused to replace the tires under saftey recall. (dot number: W2081pt487 tiresize: P23570R16)
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- Oakland, CA, USA