1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse

ON 9/6/2010 I GOT IN MY CAR AND PULLED OUT OF MY PARKING SPACE. MY CAR HAD BEEN SITTING ALL THAT DAY AND THE PREVIOUS DAY. AS I PULLED OUT, HEARD A FLOP, FLOP NOISE, STOPPED MY CAR, GOT OUT AND LOOKED AROUND. THE FRONT RIGHT TIRE, A UNIROYAL LONG TOURING A/S, HAD COMPLETELY BLOWN OUT (NOT JUST GONE FLAT). I REPLACED THE TIRE WITH MY SPARE. I LOOKED OVER THE BLOWN TIRE AND FOUND A TEAR APPROX. 1-2 INCHES LONG ON THE INSIDE OF THE TIRE, JUST BELOW THE TREAD. MY FATHER CONTACTED THE TIRE MANUFACTURER, BECAUSE MY SISTER HAD THE SAME MODEL TIRE AND HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WEEKS EARLIER. MY FATHER WAS TOLD WE COULD GET REIMBURSED FOR NEW TIRES IF THEY WERE INSPECTED BY THE DEALER AND FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE. TODAY, 9/8/2010, I TOOK MY CAR TO A TIRE DEALERSHIP AND GOT THE ONE TIRE REPLACED. THE BLOWN TIRE WAS FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE. AN INDIVIDUAL FROM THAT DEALERSHIP CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER & WAS TOLD TO FILL OUT A CLAIM FORM SO I COULD BE REIMBURSED 60% OF THE NEW TIRE COST. THE DEALER KEPT MY BLOWN TIRE. I CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER ABOUT GETTING ALL NEW TIRES, BECAUSE THE OTHERS WERE FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE WITH CRACKS BEGINNING. THEY SAID THE TIRE I JUST PAID FOR COULD NOT BE COVERED BECAUSE IT WAS NOT AN ACCEPTED BRAND, BUT FOUR NEW TIRES THAT WERE OF AN ACCEPTED BRAND COULD BE COVERED UP TO 60%. THE TIRES HAVE ALL BEEN SAID TO BE DEFECTIVE BY THE DEALERSHIP, HOWEVER THE MANUFACTURER REFUSES TO COVER THE FULL COST OF REPLACEMENT TIRES. *TR

FRONT TIRES SUDDENLY LOSE INFLATION. FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED WAS LESS THAN A DAY AFTER I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW. THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE BLEWOUT WHILE I WAS DRIVING AT FREEWAY SPEED, CAUSING CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE. THE SECOND TIME WAS FIVE MONTHS LATER WHEN THE LEFT FRONT TIRE "FELL OFF THE RIM" WHILE I WAS DRIVING ON A CITY STREET. THE THIRD TIME WAS LAST NIGHT, 11 MONTHS LATER, WHEN THAT SAME TIRE AGAIN FELL OFF THE RIM. PROPER INFLATION WAS MAINTAINED AT ALL TIMES. IN FACT, INFLATION OF ALL TIRES HAD BEEN CHECKED ONLY FOUR DAYS (SIX MILES) EARLIER. DESPITE THERE BEING COMPLAINTS OF A SIMILAR NATURE IN YOUR DATABASE, MITSUBISHI AND GOODYEAR BOTH DENY EVER HEARING OF SUCH PROBLEMS, THOUGH MITSUBISHI DID SETTLE A DAMAGE CLAIM AFTER THE FIRST INCIDENT AND HAS PROVIDED FREE ROAD SERVICE AFTER THE OTHER TWO. THE IN-TOWN FLATS ARE ANNOYING. MY BIGGEST FEAR IS THAT THIS MAY HAPPEN AGAIN SOMEDAY WHEN I AM TRAVELING AT FREEWAY SPEED. I COUNT MYSELF EXTREMELY LUCKY THAT I WAS NOT SERIOUSLY INJURED IN THAT INCIDENT. I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DEALER TO LOOK AT THE CAR DEC. 28. I ALSO LEFT SOME OF THIS INFORMATION ON YOUR TELEPHONE VOICE MAIL. *AK (DOT NUMBER: M6PCLNR317 TIRESIZE: P215 50R17)