1996 Ford Explorer

WHILE DRIVING SOUTH FROM ATLANTA ON I75 AT 70MPH THE RIGHT REAR TIRE EXPLODED WITH A ROAR.MY WIFE, WHO WAS DRIVING, MANAGED TO EASE THE CAR OFF THE ROAD. THE TIRE WAS TOTALLY DISINTEGRATED. WE CALLED AAA WHO REMOVED THE WHEEL AND INSTALLED THE SPARE. ON JUNE 28 WE TOOK THE CAR TO FIRESTONE TIRE CO AT 2211 APPALACHE PKWY, TALLAHASSEE, FL , 32301 TEL 850-877-0184. THEY COULD OFFER NO EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THE TIRE DISINTEGRATED SO TOTALLY. WE BOUGHT A NEW FIRESTONE RADL ATX I I TIRE WHICH THEY INSTALLED. *AK( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: 23575R15 )

AT APPROX. 5:00 PM ON MARCH 2000, WHILE RETURNING TO CHARLOTTE, NC FROM TRIP TO COLUMBIA, SC THAT MORNING (DRIVING TIME APPROX. 1 HR. 15 MINUTES EA. WAY), HANDLING BECAME ROUGH FOLLOWING NOISE OF SOMETHING HITTING UNDERCARRIAGE OF VEHICLE. UPON PULLING OFF HIGHWAY, WE EXAMINED LEFT REAR TIRE AND DISCOVERED THAT TREAD HAD COMPLETELY PEELED AWAY, LEAVING EXPOSED SMOOTH RUBBER SURFACE. CHANGED TIRE AND CONTINUED BALANCE OF TRIP WITHOUT INCIDENT. TIRE WAS PURCHASED IN OCTOBER 1999 FROM SEARS. IN LIGHT OF RECENT PUBLICITY, WE FELT WE SHOULD REPORT THIS. WOULD ALSO LIKE TO KNOW WHY IT TOOK THE REMOVAL ACTION BY SEARS TO SPOTLIGHT THIS PROBLEM AND WHY THE NTSA DID NOT MAKE THIS PROBLEM PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE BEFOREHAND. *AK( DOT NUMBER: )

TREAD CAME OFF OF TIRE AFTER CAR BEGAN TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY ON HIGHWAY. THE CAR WAS TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 60 MILES AN HOUR WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE TEMPERATURE WAS ABOUT 90 DEGREES AND WE HAD BEEN DRIVING FOR 3 1/2 HOURS. THE SHAKING OF THE CAR BEGAN SLOWLY WHEN THE CAR REACHED 65 MILES PER HOUR AND OVER A DISTANCE OF 60 MILES THE SHAKING INCREASED DRAMATICALLY UNTIL THE TIRE BLEW. THE TIRE WAS COMPLETELY SHREADED. BOTH BACK TIRES WERE REPLACED AND A FREE FIRESTONE INSPECTION HAS BEEN PERFORMED ON THE ORIGINAL FRONT TWO TIRES.( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: P235/75R15 )

MY WIFE AND I PURCHASED A NEW FORD EXPLORER IN 09/1996. SINCE THAT TIME WE HAVE HAD TO REPLACE EVERY ORIGINAL TIRE, INCLUDING THE SPARE, BECAUSE OF TREAD SEPERATION. THIS DID NOT OCCUR ALL AT ONCE, BUT OVER THE PERIOD OF TIME SINCE WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. SOME OF THE TIRES WERE REPLACED AT THE FORD DEALERSHIP AND SOME OF THE TIRES WERE REPLACED AT FIRESTONE DEALERSHIPS, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THE TIRES WERE INSPECTED, THE CAUSE GIVEN FOR THE BAD TIRES WAS CONSISTENTLY THE "BEGINNING OF TREAD SEPERATION". UNFORTUNATELY, WE WERE NOT AWARE OF THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM NATIONALLY, BECAUSE HAD WE KNOWN, WE WOULD NOT HAVE REPLACED THE ORIGINAL TIRES WITH THE SAME MODEL/MAKE OF TIRES. I DO NOT READILY HAVE AVAILABLE THE DATES, THE VEHICLE MILEAGE OF WHEN THE TIRES WERE REPLACED NOR WHICH TIRES WERE REPLACED (E.G. FRONT RIGHT OR REAR LEFT) AT THE TIME OF REPLACEMENT, BUT I WILL SEARCH FOR THOSE RECORDS. I ALWAYS CAREFULLY MONITOR ANY SUBTLE CHANGES IN THE PERFORMANCE OF MY VEHICLES, WHICH IS WHY I WAS ABLE TO DETECT EARLY, THE SEPERATION OF THE TREAD FROM THE TIRES. THE SYMPTOM I DETECTED WAS A NOTICABLY ROUGHER RIDE BEGINNING AT A SPEED OF 50 MPH. CONTACT ME, SHOULD YOU NEED ANY OTHER INFORMATION.( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: P235/75R15 )

THE FIRESTONE WILDERNESS AT TIRES WERE PURCHASED IN MARCH OF 2000. WHILE ON A TRIP THE BACK DRIVERS SIDE TIRE BLEW. IT WAS IN SHREDS WHEN WE WERE FINALLY ABLE TO STOP. NO ONE WAS INJURED AND THE FIRESTONE IN SPRINGFIELD, MO REPLACED THE TIRE AFTER CHARGING US $24 FOR MOUNTING. THAT EVENING WE SAW ON THE NEWS THAT THIS WAS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT AND FEEL LIKE THE DOT SHOULD HEAR ABOUT EVERY OCCURRENCE. WE WERE LUCKY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR FOLLOW UP ON MY ORIGINAL E-MAIL. *AK( DOT NUMBER: 109S M/S TIRE SIZE: P255/70R16 )

ALL 4 OF OUR FIRESTONE TIRES WERE QUITE NEW, AND THE TREAD WAS EXCELLENT. FOR NO REASON, THE RIGHT REAR TIRE EXPLODED WHILE WE WERE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY. ALL THAT REMAINED OF THE TIRE WERE RUDIMENTS OF THE TREAD. THE ENTIRE SIDEWALL HAD BLOWN OFF. THE FIRESTONE DEALER INITIALLY CLAIMED THAT WE MUST HAVE RUN OVER SOMETHING, BUT THEN CHANGED HIS MIND AND REPLACED THE TIRE. NOW THAT WE ARE READING ABOUT THE PROBLEMS WITH THIS TIRE, WE BELIEVE THAT THERE IS A REAL NEED TO PULL ALL OF THEM OFF THE MARKET BEFORE MORE ACCIDENTS OCCUR. IT IS NOT ENOUGH FOR FIRESTONE TO VOLUNTARILY INSPECT THE TIRES BECAUSE THE TIRES LOOK FINE. IT IS A STRUCTURAL PROBLEM THAT IS NOT APPARENT TO THE NAKED EYE, AND THAT MAKES IT ALL THE MORE DANGEROUS. FORD MOTOR COMPANY RECOMMENDS THESE TIRES, AND FIRESTONE STANDS BEHIND THEM. THE TIRES POSE A KNOWN RISK, AND IT IS TIME FOR THESE TWO COMPANIES TO REPLACE THEM. THANKS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION OF THIS MATTER. KEN LLOYD. *AK( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: P235/75R15 )