Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TIRES | |||||
| 12835 | 06/01/1999 | 6092006 | Subject regarding tire balance hint. *tt | 11/17/2000 | |
| BC5195961001 | 10/01/1996 | 50472 | Firestone p235 tires may exhibit a high frequency vibration at 65-75 mph. *tt | 04/24/1997 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| TIRES | |||
| 09/19/2006 | 1 | ||
| 1997 econoline left rear tire blew out causing vehicle to rollover on its side. *ts *jb | |||
| 08/16/2002 | 3 | 03/01/2002 | |
| These tires has to be investigated! i've had 3 blowouts on separate occasions. tires had 15,000 miles on them. first blowout occurred on highway at 65mph on front passenger side, tire had multiple belt seperations. put on spare tire of same brand and size and barely got home before the belt started coming apart. went to firestone dealer, and they sold me another steeltex for replacement. 2 months later went on a roadtrip to california at about 75mph and the front driver side tire tread completely came off and blew out. the van nose dived off the highway out into the desert and almost rolled. 8 people almost were killed. every time the tire showed same symptoms before failure. vehicle would be on highway cruising when suddenly it would shake violently and then bam! i am an mechanic by trade and i keep my vehicle in top shape with correct air pressure and rotation, so this is not human or road error. severe damage was done to the van in the incident. i have since replaced the tires with another brand (bf goodrich) and have had no problems. the firestone steeltex has to be investigated as this is ridiculous aswell as dangerous! i feel i should be reimbursed for the replacement tires aswell as the damages! *ak | |||
| 07/08/2001 | 1 | 06/01/1998 | |
| Tire blew out instantly and without warning while driving on straight and level pavement in good repair with no road hazard or cross wind or any other apparent adverse condition except that the ambient outside air temperature was apprx. 110 degrees , and the road was also very hot.the tire that blew was the outside right rear tire and it's partner-the inside right rear held fine allowing a safe and controlled exit of the roadway.(dual rear wheels. *ak (dot number: vd1l1xd227 tiresize: lt225/75r1) | |||
| 04/25/2001 | 6 | 02/01/1999 | |
| Oil filter housing unit bolted to left side of triton v-10 engine fell off the engine after bolts which held the housing apparently vibrated loose. the failure resulted destruction of both the sending and return oil lines to the oil cooler and also heavy damage to oil cooler after it too also fell after being yanked by the falling oil filter mounting unit. at time of failure there was no indication that there was an oil pressure problem because the instrument gages were still reading full pressure. engine was saved from damage after driver shut engine off and steered motor home down a two lane road to where it could safely pull off. note there is an extream fire hazard issue with this large amounts of oil sprayed on the left side engine manifold. tires. six firestone steeltex tires and a non-firestone spare tire were replaced due to sever cracking and evidence that tires were showing immenant failure. tires were only load range d. vehicle should have load range e. replaced with non-firestones on all positions. (dot number: vd1l1xe127 tiresize: lt22575r16) | |||
| 06/29/2000 | 1 | 11/01/1997 | |
| The tire's tread peeled off at 55mph very suddenly and violently causing damage to the body of the truck and the mud flap. this truck had a dual wheel rear axle and i replaced all four tires because i was scared of them( dot number: ejakdxm tire size: lt225/75r1 ) | |||
| TIRES - SIDEWALL | |||
| 06/09/2002 | 1 | 10/01/1997 | |
| Michelin, ltxa/s, p22575/r16 after market 3000, ambulance, right front interior sidewall blewout while driving, causing damage to rim. manufacturer has been notified, three people were injured. *ak *tt | |||
| 09/15/1998 | 2 | 10/01/1997 | |
| 2 tires blew out with very little tred wear on them. both times the sidewalls ripped away at sidewall. *ak (tiresize: 16)( dot number: tire size: 16 ) | |||
| 06/30/2000 | 2 | 04/01/1997 | |
| This is the third set of firestone tires i've had, all on new vehicles, and the third failure of this type (tread separation). i replaced the previous sets at my own expense. i replaced all four rear tires after this recent failure. upon inspection, a second tire was found to have two bulges in the sidewall. i contacted a local servicing shop who said i could only get an adjustment against another firestone tire. unacceptable. *ak( dot number: unk tire size: 22570r16 ) | |||
| TIRES - TREAD/BELT | |||
| 11/01/2001 | |||
| While traveling on highway vehicle started trembling and vibrating. consumer was able to pull over, and noticed that both rear tire tread had separated.*ak | |||
| Rv pulles to the side, alignment did not fully correct, vehicle shook at highway speed, diagnosis as tread separation with danger of tire failure and loss of vehicle control | |||
| 08/31/2001 | 1 | ||
| While driving tread on left inner tire separated. original manufacturing equipment on a ford, truck e350, 1997. tire mileage 20,000. *ak firestone steeltex, p225/75r16, dot number vd1l1xa. *jb | |||
| 05/25/2001 | 3 | 06/01/1997 | |
| Three firestone steeltex r4s m/s tires, size: lt225/75r16, dot: unknown. motorhomes experienced a blowout within approximately 300 miles of each other while traveling at speeds ranging from 45 to 65 mph. these tires were original equipment on vehicles, and had approximately 27,000 miles on them. *ak all tire failures experienced tread separation, one of the separations caused damage to vehicle. *slc | |||
| 01/01/2000 | 4 | 01/01/1997 | |
| 3 of 4 tires threw tread, 1 is ready to throw tread. have 2 tires for inspection. *ak (tiresize: 245/75r16)( dot number: tire size: 245/75r16 ) | |||
| 09/17/2000 | 1 | ||
| At 65 mph tire tread separated on left rear outside tire. part of tread remained attached to tire carcass, and the rest of the tread ripped through the motorhome. i have pictures which can be easily sent electronically.*ak (dot number: vollixd257 tiresize: lt225/75r1) | |||
| 10/11/2000 | 2 | 03/01/1997 | |
| Two tires had tread separation at highway speeds, both were rear duals on the same side of the vehicle. another rear tire failed last july and was previously reported.*ak (dot number: vd1l1xa466 tiresize: lt22575r16) | |||
| 09/06/1999 | 4 | 04/01/1997 | |
| Had tread separations on 4 of the original 6 tires. at advise of dealer replaced oem tires with a larger size bridgestone tire which has not failed to this point. we were told by the tire dealer that the bridgestones had a greater load capacity than the firestones. the problem is the brigestones are larger, have a greater rolling diameter and affect the overall gearing to a point where the vehicle is sluggish (well, it was always sluggish, but now it's more so) and the transmission now hunts in and out of o/d. this is not the answer. we need the oem size tire back on the vehicle but it has to hold up. the failures started at 12,00 miles and occured at 14,000 and the last 2 @ 16,000. two times the tread separation destoyed the storage boxes adjacent to the rear wheel wells resulting in a damaged propane line, the wiring to a portion of the cabin was severed and structural damage to the basement storage boxes. when we saw the investigation into steeltex tires it only confirmed what firestone would not say; that is there is a problem with these tires. copies of receipts for the damaged parts and repairs can be furnished upon request. (dot number: vn1l1xa176 tiresize: lt22575r16) | |||
| 05/22/2000 | 205 | 01/01/1997 | |
| 1st tire experienced a bubble in the center of the tread, 2nd tire was a catastophic failure at speed w/ total tread separation. *ak (tiresize: lt225/7516)( dot number: tire size: lt225/7516 ) | |||
| 07/15/2000 | 1 | 03/01/1997 | |
| Tread separation/blowout at high temperatures, one of the right rear dual tires (tiresize: lt225/75rm)( dot number: tire size: lt225/75rm ) | |||
| 07/17/2000 | 1 | 05/28/1997 | |
| Consumer has a 1997, ford, e350 van. the original tires with 27,700 miles. tire size lt225/75r16 dot# unknown. rear passenger firestone steeltex tire tread separated going 65mph. vehicle turned 180 degrees & hit the guardrail front & rear, and was totalled. firestone will be contacted.*ak *slc | |||
| 08/30/2000 | 1 | 12/01/1997 | |
| The inside right rear duel lost it's tread while traveling down i-70 at 75 mph. this caused the inner fender wall to roll up over the tire's. unit is a ambulance and a patient was on-board. the driver was able to pull into a rest-area and no accident occured. in the last 10 days have been contacted by cooper county ambulance and carroll county ambulance , boonville and carrollton missouri reporting the same type incident involving firestone tires of the same size and make. i have the tire . i also tried to report this to firestone, was told that these tire's were not being re-called. they didn't take any information .*ak( dot number: vn1l1xb tire size: 225/75r16 ) | |||
| 07/29/2000 | 1 | 02/01/1997 | |
| Firestone steeltex radial tire p225/75r16 dot vd1l1xa406 experienced tread separation, causing front end to shake, tire remained inflated. *slc | |||
| 10/04/1999 | 1 | 01/06/1997 | |
| The rear right tire tread came off causing damage to the vehicle. yh | |||