I have had two flat tires, one front and one rear. Both happened while the vehicle was parked. Once in my garage and the other in the parking lot of home depot. Both about a year apart. Both tires were inspected by my mechanic and both tires he had to replace the valve stems as they failed. I am glad it happened while the vehicle was parked. I notified Ford Motor Co. Of my problems with the tires and received no satisfaction. The vehicle now has 35000 miles on the Michelin tires and I can't wait to change tires and valve stems. I read somewhere that the 2007 Mercury Grand Marquis was one of the Ford products that has a defective tire valve stem made in china. It should have been a recall back in 2007.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Reference NHTSA action number PE 08060.on 7 April, 2011 I had failure of two tire valves and destruction of one tire. Both valves leaking air at point of insertion, ie cracked stems.visited local Ford dealer, carbone Ford-Lincoln on 11 April 2011. Was told no recall would fix for a price. Told him of NHTSA report and that it was a manufacturing defect and Ford should be responsible and was told I was being unfair. In my request. Got nowhere with Ford, they did not even want to inspect problem, just pay or leave. On 12 April 2011, I contacted Ford motors by phone and spoke with denise. Denise was surprised to hear of such a problem ("?") told me the service manager should not have been rude to me and informed me there were no recalls on my vehicle. I told her that the problem was present in vehicles, Mercury Grand Marquis built between December 2006 and March 2007 and that my car was built in March 2007.she said it didn't apply to mine and that I can return to the Ford dealer and have it repaired for a price and would get a 12 month warranty with the paid repair.I remedied the situation by purchasing a new set of four tires instead of spending $200 on one tire I don't like to match the oe Michelin LX. I live in snow country and the LX do not go in snow at all.

- Rome, NY, USA

2007 Mercury marquis with Michelin energy LX4 P225-60 R16 tires with 15,000 miles. At 65 mph felt vibration in front end, I started braking and pulling to shoulder when left front tire exploded. Inspection of tire showed the outside sidewall blewout. I searched the internet and found several other incidents of this reported. This tire is unsafe and should be immediately investigated. I will take pictures for future reference. The car is still under warranty and I will have the tire replaced. I hope people don't have to die before this gets fixed.

- Jackson, TN, USA

While traveling on vacation tires deflated to 10 psi and overheated.

- Bixby, OK, USA

High speed tire failure - June 7 and June 28 - 2007 Mercury ls - 21000 miles June 7, 2009 driving I-49 South, lafayette parish, la, temperature about 95. Wife only passenger. Roadway clear, no debris or thrash, traffic light, without warning, right front deflates. Drove about 1/2 mile to exit before stopping. Sides of tires still firmly attached to rim. Roadside of tire completely separated from sides. There was no noise such as a blowout. On removing tire to change no evidence of a puncture, outside or inside was seen. New tire purchased June 8, 2009. Dealer would not give consideration to pro rate. June 28, 2009, 2 passengers, driving right lane I-12 East, East baton rouge parish, la, , 73mph, temperature about 97 degrees. Traffic heavy. Right rear tire suddenly deflates (no blowout noise), car swerves slightly into left lane nearly colliding into left lane car. Swerve controlled and car driven to left shoulder. Too far front exit to drive off. Removed wheel, sidewalls still firmly attached to rim. Roadside of tire intact. No sign or evidence of puncture outside or inside. Tire in each instance had little treadwear. Contacted Michelin customer service via phone. Advised to have dealer examine tire and contact them. Bill at delta world tire, 203 guilbeau rd, lafayette, la, on Thursday July 3 looked over tire stated several possibilities but could give a definite cause of deflation, same as other (June 8) dealer. No pro rate or free replacement. That did not make any difference as my reporting the incidents. I am scared with my remaining original tires. Tire: Michelin LX4 ww --225/60R16.

- Lafayette, LA, USA

I purchased a new Mercury 2007 Grand Marquis ls. I have Michelin LX4 energy tires. I had a blow out on front left tire at 4700 miles, the side wall came apart. I had a second blow out on front right tire at 5840 miles again side wall came apart. I had third blow out at 6000 miles on left rear same side wall damage, at this time I replaced right rear tire because I was traveling out of my area. I tried to get dealer to replace tires under warranty but they refused and said it was a Michelin problem. I replaced tires with michelins which I am sorry I did this.

- Davie, FL, USA

Left front tire on my 2007 Mercury Grand Marquis ls blew out while doing approximately 55 mph on highway 85. I slowed down until I could pull off the road onto the shoulder. At the same time I found that the right rear tire was very low.I installed the donut spare on the left front and pumped up the right rear tire and slowly drove to the nearest gas station to inflate both tires to proper pressure. I then went home. The next day I went to my Mercury dealer, they inspected the blown out tire and told me that I was driving on an improperly inflated tire and Ford motors would not do anything for me, but they offered to sell me a new tire and mount it at no charge. I left the dealership and went to a tire dealer that I have used on other occasions for tires for other cars, when he went to remove the blown tire from the rim he found that the valve stem was cracked and could have been the cause of the tire failure, I told him about the low pressure in the right rear tire he pressed the valve stem slightly side ways and the air leaked out, he did the same to the other 2 tires and they seemed ok. He removed the right rear tire it shows several worn spots inside and he recommends changing it also. He told me their is a recall on some valve stems, and we checked out info on google and found that my car has the dill-acp TR-414 tire valves, he replaced both tire and all 4 valve stems. I went to my dealer the owner and tire expert said they knew nothing about any valve stem problems. I gave the owner the google print out he said he would check with Ford and let me know. That was Friday 27 Feb 09. Today is Monday Mar 2 09.

- Ft Walton Beach, FL, USA

Found tire flat on Jan 5, 2009. Called aaa who put on spare. Then drove to dealer. Dealer found tire valve cracked. We purchased new tire. Another valve was cracked in July of 2008. Called aaa and driver put duct tape on tire valve, pumped up our tire and we went to a tire place that replaced our cracked valve stem. Old parts were disposed of by dealer and other tire store. We find this to be a serious safety issue/pattern now and looked at our valve stems that have been recalled by dill. We feel there should be a recall by Ford Motor Company.

- El Cajon, CA, USA

My wife was driving my car to pick up daughter from school. Tire blew and is unusable. I checked the tire itself and could not visually find and nail or other cause of puncture. Checked stem and found obvious crack.

- Redding, CA, USA

I had a tire valve fail. The repair shop pulled the tire apart and the tire was perfect. They said that the valve probably was defective. 2007 Mercury Grand Marquis w Michelin tires ( mileage about 14,000 miles).

- Ocala, FL, USA

1. driving 53 mph on 3 lane freeway, changed into right lane with light traffic. 2. tire blow out - heard load 'pop' from behind me, checked mirrors for object in lane - could not identify issue. Moved to far left lane in anticipation of need for break-down lane. Traveled approx 1/4 mile, could feel right real rub of tire. Pulled of road. 3. contacted aaa, van sent, tire changed to donut. No visible shredding. Aaa drivers stated it appeared to be side wall failure. We replaced both rear tires and are maintaining this 'blown out' tire.

- Graytown, OH, USA

I have a 2007 vehicle which I purchased new in December 2006. The vehicle has been driven just over 9,000 miles and, without warning, a tire valve stem failed and the tire lost all air pressure. My mechanic replaced the defective valve. The day after the failure, a friend pointed out a magazine article regarding defective tire valve stems.

- Boca Raton, FL, USA

Flat tire caused by defective valve stem and required replacing tire and valve stem.

- Chesapeake, VA, USA

On May 28, 2007, the passenger side rear tire went flat on my 2007 Mercury marquis, the tire repair shop said the valve stem was bad. On June 8, 2008 the driver side rear tire went flat and it was also a bad valve stem. The car was bought used with app. 16,000 miles and I am sure the tires are the original from the factory. As a precaution I replaced the two remaining valve stems.

- Aliceville, AL, USA