2000 Subaru Outback

DT: THE CALLER USED SPARE TIRE AND THE SIDEWALL BLEW OUT. TIRE HAD 110 MILES ON IT AT THE TIME. THE CALLER WAS GOING BETWEEN 60 AND 65 MPH. THE TIRE WAS FULL OF BLACK POWDER AND THE RUBBER WAS CRUMBLING. THE CALLER HEARD A RUMBLE, AND WHEN HE WAS TRYING TO PULL OVER TO SEE WHAT IT WAS ,THE TIRE BLEW OUT. TIRE WAS ONLY ON VEHICLE FOR A WEEK. MANUFACTURER TOLD THE CALLER TO GO TO DEALER AND THEY WOULD TAKE CARE OF THE TIRE. DEALER WOULD OFFER NO HELP. HOWEVER, MANUFACTURER DID PAY FOR TIRE. *AK *NM

WHILE DRIVING 20-25 MPH, THE RIGHT REAR FIRESTONE HT P225/60R16 (DOT UNKNOWN) TIRE EXPLODED. DRIVER WAS ABLE TO CONTROL AND STOP THE VEHICLE AFTER DRIVING THROUGH A FIELD. TEN MONTHS LATER, THE RIGHT FRONT FIRESTONE HT (DOT UNKNOWN) TIRE BLEW OUT. ON BOTH OCCASIONS, TIRE MERCHANT WOULD NOT REPLACE TIRE AND COULD NOT FIND CAUSE OF BLOWOUT. THE FIRST TIRE HAD LESS THAN 12,000 MILES AND THE SECOND TIRE HAD LESS THAN 21,O00 MILES. *TT

MY SUBARU CAME STOCK WITH FIRESTONE WILDERNESS TIRES. WHEN THE FORD/FIRESTONE INCIDENT WAS HAPPENING, THE SUBARU WEBSITE POSTED A MESSAGE THAT THE TIRES USED ON THE SUBARU'S WERE NOT IN THE RECALL. THIS MORNING, I HAD A BLOW OUT THAT CAUSED ME TO SWERVE VIOLENTLY INTO THE #3 LANE CAUSING THE TRAFFIC TO SWERVE. WHEN I PULLED OVER AND INSPECTED THE TIRE, I NOTICED THAT THE SIDEWALL OF THE TIRE HAS DELAMINATED FROM THE REST OF THE TIRE. NO OTHER FOREIGN OBJECTS OR OTHER VISIBLE SIGNS CAN BE SEEN TO HAVE CAUSED THE BLOW OUT. IT'S PLAIN TO SEE THAT IT'S DEFINITELY A MANUFACTURERS DEFECT. I CONTACTED SUBARU AND THEY INSIST THAT THE TIRES THAT CAME ON THE VEHICLE ARE NOT A PART OF THE RECALL FROM FORD. AND THAT I SHOULD GO TO A SUBARU DEALER TO HAVE THEM INSPECT THE TIRE.*AK (TIRESIZE: 225 60/16)

THIS CAR COMES WITH FIRESTONE WILDERNESS TIRES MADE ESPECIALLY FOR THE OUTBACK. AT ONLY 24000 MILES, I HAD A BLOWOUT IN WHICH THE COMPLETE LEFT SIDE OF THE TIRE DISINTEGRATED. A FEW MONTHS AFTER I BOUGHT THE CAR AND HEARD OF THE TROUBLE WITH FIRESTONE TIRES, I CALLED THE DEALER WHO ASSURED ME THAT THESE TIRES WERE SAFE AND NOT ON THE RECALL LIST. WHEN THIS DANGEROUS INCIDENT HAPPENED TWO DAYS AGO, I WENT TO A LOCAL FIRESTONE DEALER WHO TOLD ME HE COULD NOT GET THESE WILDERNESS TIRES, AND DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THEM IN HIS COMPUTER. HE WANTED TO BLAME SUBARU FOR THE FAILURE. I CALLED BOTH MY SUBARU DEALER AND THE HEAD OFFICE IN GEORGIA (SPOKE WITH MANAGER KEVIN TRIPLETT), AND HE WANTED TO BLAME FIRESTONE. THESE TIRES ARE OBVIOUSLY DEFECTIVE, AS IT SIMPLY DISINTEGRATED UNDER NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS. I WILL BE HAPPY TO EMAIL YOU PICTURES OR TO SHOW YOU THE TIRE IN PERSON. AFTER WARNING BOTH FIRESTONE & SUBARU OF THIS DEFECTIVE PRODUCT, THEY WOULD ONLY AGREE TO PUT THE SAME PROBLEM TIRE ON MY CAR, AND I REFUSE TO PUT MY FAMILY'S LIFE IN JEOPARDY WITH A DEFECTIVE TIRE. *AK (TIRESIZE: 16)

TIRE SEAM BLEW OUT, IN A PERFECT CIRCUMFERENCE, ACCOMPANIED BY PROFUSE SMOKE. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION SINCE I COULD NOT SEE WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO MY CAR DUE TO THE SMOKE. I THOUGHT I BLEW A GASKET. BROUGHT TIRE TO FIRESTONE DEALER, WHERE THEY DID A SOAP TEST. NO PUNCTURES WERE THERE EXCEPT THE COMPLETE BREAKDOWN OF THE SEAM ON THE OUTSIDE OF TIRE. THEY REPLACED IT, HOWEVER, THEY REPLACED IT WITH ANOTHERK WILDERNESS TIRE. IN THYE 28 YEARS OF DRIVING I HAVE HAD, I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED A BLOW OUT LIKE THIS, OR EVEN SEEN ONE. THE DEGREE OF SMOKE, AND PERFECT FAILURE OF THE SEAM POINT TO A PROBLEM WORTHY OF YOUR INVESTIGATION., PLEASE NOTIFY ME, IN KIND, OF THE PROCEDURE YOU WILL UNDER TAKE TO INSURE THAT THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE DRIVING THE NEW 2000 OUTBACK EQUIPED WITH THE WILDERNESS TIRES WILL BE SAFE FROM HARM. I BELIEVE WITH ALL MY HEART THAT THERE IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM HERE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT IN THIS MATTER. (DOT NUMBER: W 2XOW66 TIRESIZE: P225/60R16)