epoxi

i purchased a set of steelies for temp use, and on my way home this afternoon, i heard a snap,crackle,pop...tread flew off, broke my side view mirror, and knicked my cheek...dont ever buy firestone tires.

has anybody dealt with this sort of issue before? what should i do? any advice is appreciated.

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it wasnt me.......

GilbertsGrape

call CS and give them a ear full

Get a Incident report made out as well incase you need to tale legal action

TERRIBLETOM

Those look like they were re-treads, is that what "steelies" are?

epoxi

re-treads?? if thats what i think it means, do tire corporations really do this?

I refer to stock hubcab wheels steelies or blackies.

attgig

THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING!
i thought most people would've learned after the big deal they all made about how the treads were coming off...
(actually one of my co-workers was interviewed by dateline for his explorer)


so, yeah..there's been sooo much hoopla with firestones that they're kinda required by law to help you out...
they should fix it for you.

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dave

Whoa... I never seen a tire like that. Glad to see you are OK though.

TERRIBLETOM

Yes tire copmpanys still do re-treading, but it's more common with truck tires than passenger tires.

Apex

Don't buy re-treads. Doesn't matter which company.

The Ford Explorer issue was not so much an issue with Firestone tires (though they did contribute), as with driver/user incompetence. Anyone know what a Ford Explorer (any year, practically any condition) will do when any one of its 4 tires experiences catastrophic pressure loss?

Bires

... and I wore out another set. Altogether, I've been VERY pleased with the price/performance of my firestones, but mine are "Firehawks" (the performance series). They're quiet, drive on wet roads very well, and handle excellent. (on my Integra and 200SX)

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Five years...

Bires

Pop-roll-crash ?
?

Apex

Not even close. The explorer tracks straight forward, even if you completely let go of the steering wheel. To roll over, it requires that you jerk the wheel to one side or the other. It also helps if you jam on the brakes at the same time (if you brake slowly or steadily, it will not happen).

Bires

Wouldn't it be great to be rich enough to try it?

Apex

Yeah, would be lots of fun. There was a program on TV that tried it though. I remember watching them do it awhile ago. They hooked up tire to a quick release valve which would release all of the air from the tires in less than 1 second with the push of a button.

Burzhui

so it just goes in a straight line???

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IF A FAT GIRL FALLS IN THE WOODS
DO THE TREES LAUGH?

CynJon

I saw that show...On the last couple of runs the driver even took his hands off the steering wheel while braking to a stop--no drama whatsoever. It was only when he intentionally "panicked" that the rear of the vehicle started to fishtail.

I've had a total blowout at 70 MPH, front left tire, in a full size Chevy pickup. The only thing I noticed was the change in sound...smoothly braked to a stop on the side of the road. I don't have much doubt that the major contributor to the "Explorer/Firestone" accidents was driver error.

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johnnymk

Definitely not. The tires were not built correctly.
Where I was employed, a worker had a set of those tires on a Dodge pickup. The left front tire blew when he was going at normal highway speeds. He said that if it had been a woman or someone with little strength, he would have totally lost control of the truck.
He examined the tire and it looked like a retread, although it wasn't/. So it definitely was a batch of defective tires that Firestone put out.
BTW, a friend of mine just blew a tire on his SUV. He called a local road service who replaced his tire with the spare that came with it. He was getting weird noises in the driveline. He found out that the diameter of the spare was different than the diameter of the original tires. This was probably affecting the spider gears in his differential. These plus the clutches in the drive axles allow you to make a turn without the tire/wheel/axle screeching or binding.
This is especially true with limited slip axles.
I wonder if this problem was ever investigated with those tires. (As the tires instantaneously lose air, the same effect would occur)/ Just a thought.

Apex

No, but it was probably easily the largest contributor. Another thing to note, the other tires were checked on the vehicles that rolled over or spun. The vast majority of the tires were drastically underinflated. When you take tires that are underinflated by 10+ lbs, and run on them with a heavy vehicle at highway speeds for extended periods of time, quite a bit of heat builds up. If you remember, heat was determined to be the biggest factor in those tire explosions. Here's where Firestone screwed up. They were able to withstand heat created by normally inflated tires, and even underinflated to a point. However, they were unable to withstand it as high as many other manufacturer's tires. So user/owner incompetence was probably the 2nd largest contributor.

mcs328

I saw the same show. It was on motorweek I think here in ownings mills, md. They used a the quick valve release you buy in hobby shops for rockets or something. Yeah they concluded that most of the accidents were driver error from jerking the steering wheel. If they drove straight and hit the brake they would have been better off (not fine or great or but mostly uninjured). Still the tread popping off or tire defect is still a source of blame.

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rasetsu

Recipe for disaster:

1 set of faulty Firestone tires to begin with
a pinch of not properly maintained tire pressure from ignorant/careless SUV owner
1 arrogant/careless driver who honestly feels that their SUV is indestructible because they bought all that bs the dealership and their friends told them
add a dash of panick when there's a blow out to taste

Apex

mmmmmm, tasty.