Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TIRES | ||||||
| EA02018 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 08/19/2002 | 08/22/2003 | RAPID TIRE DEFLATION | ||
| This investigation was opened on certain ford pickup trucks and vans to evaluate the effects of a valve stem ejection (with rapid air loss) and a slow leaking valve stem on vehicle handing.during the investigation, odi evaluated over 1,100 complaints and warranty claims, conducted vehicle dynamic testing on a subject vehicle with the failure mode replicated, interviewed owners, and examined complaint vehicles in the field.the results of the test program indicates the effect of a valve stem ejection on these vehicles is easily controlled. further, with a population of almost 900,000 vehicles, having two to four years of exposure, odi is aware of only 3 minor crashes and is unaware of any injuries.the small number of crashes relative to the large population of vehicles is consistent with the testing which was performed. therefore, this investigation is closed.see the attached report for full technical details. | ||||||
| TIRES - VALVE | ||||||
| EA02018 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 08/19/2002 | 08/22/2003 | RAPID TIRE DEFLATION | ||
| This investigation was opened on certain ford pickup trucks and vans to evaluate the effects of a valve stem ejection (with rapid air loss) and a slow leaking valve stem on vehicle handing.during the investigation, odi evaluated over 1,100 complaints and warranty claims, conducted vehicle dynamic testing on a subject vehicle with the failure mode replicated, interviewed owners, and examined complaint vehicles in the field.the results of the test program indicates the effect of a valve stem ejection on these vehicles is easily controlled. further, with a population of almost 900,000 vehicles, having two to four years of exposure, odi is aware of only 3 minor crashes and is unaware of any injuries.the small number of crashes relative to the large population of vehicles is consistent with the testing which was performed. therefore, this investigation is closed.see the attached report for full technical details. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| TIRES | |||
| 10/16/2008 | 166500 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford e450. the vehicle has nexen tires (na), size lt24574r16 (na). while driving 65 mph on the interstate, both the rear passenger and front driver side tires blew out. the contact changed one of the tires and drove to the tire shop. the contact was informed that the front passenger tire was full of bubbles and would also blow out. the remaining tire appeared to be fine; however, all of the tires were replaced. the manufacturer sent him a letter stating that they would check for any manufacturer defects. the contact believes that the tires should be recalled. the failure mileage was 166,500 and current mileage was 168,000. | |||
| 09/02/2008 | 5500 | 1 | |
| I have a 2000 chateau motor home built on a ford e450 chasis which came with oem tires - firestone steeltex 256/75 r16 tires. as of the date of this complaint, the vehicle and ties have approximately 5,500 miles on them. in approximately 2004, i took the vehicle to the firestone complete auto care store located at 655 courthouse road, gulfport, ms 39507 (228.897.1423) to get the state safety inspection and to look at unusually cracking in the side walls of the equipment tires. i was given the state safety inspection and told that the cracking in the side walls was normal and there was nothing to worry about. after not driving the vehicle much as we lived in it immediately after hurricane katrina for over a year while we awaited our house to be repaired, i departed in it for an approximately 200 mile trip in response to evacuation for hurricane gustav. upon the return from our evacuation on sept 2nd, 2008, after driving approximately 150 miles at highway speeds, the outer rear passenger side dully experienced a tread separation where the tread outer tread simply separated from the tire. as i was traveling at a very low speed, the tread did not come completely off the tire but just rather separated from the tire and thus caused it to go flat. this did however cause additional damage to the tire hub-cap. i email firestone/bridgestone the next day via their on line contact form and was contacted the next day. i was asked to take the tire to the local firestone complete auto care (referenced above) to have it inspected. i took the tire their the next day and the store manager stated that he had never seen anything like the failure of this tire at it looked as it was a re-tread. i reminded him that all tires were experiencing similar cracking on the side walls where the tread attaches to the tire. the store manager then said he would replace all 7 tires but after taking the vehicle back to his shop, he has now declined to do so based on advice from firestone. *tr | |||
| 11/21/2007 | 1 | ||
| Four goodyear wrangler ht lt235 65r 16e tires replaced original rv firestone tires at good year dealership, 5375 progress blvd, bethel park pa 15102 [412-831-1810] on 11/21/2007 at recommendation of goodyear dealership at cost of $744.44. returned to home and found rear driver outer tire to have blowout in inner sidewall. brought tire to nearest goodyear dealership on 12/21/2007 at 800 fort duquesne blvd, pittsburgh, pa and warranty coverage denied. replacement cost $180.71. tire had been barely driven on and no likelihood or apparent road hazard present. appears to be flaw in new tire design or installation. no markings on tire or other evidence of injury to rim apparent. *tr | |||
| 08/07/2003 | 1 | ||
| Firesstone steeltex r4s. *ak | |||
| 07/11/2001 | 14000 | ||
| While driving at 50 mph the right rear outer duel tire had tread separation. | |||
| 07/31/2002 | 2 | 11/01/2099 | |
| No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak | |||
| 07/18/2002 | 4 | 12/01/2000 | |
| During a period of between 13000 and 16000 miles on these tires i lost 4 out of 7 of the original tires delivered on this vehicle. the blow outs were massive tread seperations. one blow out caused approximately $1200 in damage to my motorhome.*ak | |||
| 12/26/2001 | 1 | 11/01/2099 | |
| First two blowouts blew out the side, tread stayed with tire. third blowout was catastrophic, nothing left of the tire. all blowouts were on rear inside tires. fourth failure was on left front and id'd prior to blowout. defect was identified by visible shift in tread on about a 20 degree sector of tire. | |||
| 05/23/2002 | 3 | 05/31/2000 | |
| While driving at state speed limit and without warning, the left rear tire blewout, resulting in minor damage to vehicle. dealer was notified. however, was unable to solve problem. also, within 3 weeks two other tires blewout. *ak*scc | |||
| 04/11/2002 | 1 | 10/01/2001 | |
| Motorhome tires were regularly maintained and had been checked just 50 miles before blowout occurred and were at correct operating pressure. a slight vibration started just seconds before total tire failure, i started to slow and pull over but not before the tire sidewall came apart and the wheel well walls were severly battered causing a lot of damage to sheilding, wires, and nearly rupturing the gas filler pipe. i'm very fortunate it was a rear dual tire, not a front one.*ak | |||
| 11/20/2001 | 1 | ||
| First time traveling 55-65mph for approximately 100 miles on interstate, motorhome (ford e450 dual rear axel) started to shake and within a few seconds we heard a loud bang. pulled over and saw that the right outside rear tire had all of the tread come off. the second time (approximately 10 days later) after driving 60-65mph about 100 to 150 miles of interstate the vehicle started shaking and we immediately pulled over. we found this time that the left inside rear tire had approximately 1/4 of the tread off the tire. we had both tires inspected seperately by tire repair persons and both times each had indicated that the failure was not due to the tire hitting or scraping anything.. *ak (dot number: vd tiresize: lt22575r16) | |||
| 07/06/2001 | 2 | 07/05/2000 | |
| 2 tires had tread separation, first being at 11,023 miles second at 11300 miles, which caused a tire blowout. he had them taken off.*ak firestone steeltex radial r4 lt2251/74r16.*jb | |||
| 05/09/2001 | 1 | 06/01/2000 | |
| Vehicle suffered a valve stem defect. after it came loose it made vehicle have a tire blowout. contacted dealer. *ak consumer was advised by dealer there have been no other reports of this type of failure, after valve stem blew out consumer took the wheels off and tried another valve stem by pulling it with his hand and the stem came out easily, consumer had all stems replaced with steel stems and has had no further problems. *jb | |||
| 08/11/2000 | 1 | 03/01/2000 | |
| No summary( dot number: vd1l tire size: lt225/7516 ) | |||
| TIRES - SIDEWALL | |||
| 12/31/2002 | 5 | ||
| We have had at least 5 sidewall blowouts on the rear of our ambulances in the last 9 months. the latest being yesterday. we are using michelen xps radials. dot fwjhahwx1702. there is 10/32 tread left on the tire. others have had more some less. this only occurs on the rear of the vehicle. i have e-mailed michelin with this problem but have got no response. please advise me of remedy. this may be of a safety concern. thank you. | |||
| 06/09/2001 | 1 | 06/01/2001 | |
| Tire sidewall exploded and separated- i still have both parts and the other 5 tires on the vehicle i have replaced!*ak (dot number: vd111xd349 tiresize: 225-75-16) | |||
| 09/17/2000 | 1 | 05/01/2000 | |
| Tire has a three inch split in the side wall 1/2 inch from rim. (dot number: vd1l1x1 tiresize: lt22575r16) | |||
| TIRES - TREAD/BELT | |||
| 10/23/2006 | 2 | ||
| Tread / tire failure of front right hand and right rear inboard tire on ford e450 / rv class c motorhome. tires are less than 4 years old and are discoverer lt22575r16 - dot upil cnk 2804 load rating 115/112n rh front tire tread departed followed by tire fail - pulled over safely - replaced with spare. - purchased two new discovered tires for the front kept one of the above tires for the spare. rh rear tire failed 2 weeks later tread departed tire - no fail due to support of vehicle by the outboard tire. replaced failed tire with the spare above. i have now have four discoverer lt22575r16 - dot upil cnk 2804 load rating 115/112n tires on the rear of my rv. i purchased a new discover tire for the spare - i am concerned how long it will be before these four rear tires fail. *nm | |||
| 06/17/2005 | 1 | ||
| While on vacation june 17,2005 in oregon we had about an 18 in. piece of the tread separate from the tire resulting in a blowout on the right inside duel.we were driving our 2000 23 j chateau motorhome towing a jeep liberty.followed by our friends in another rig we were traveling north on highway 97 about a mile north of gilcrist oregon. the temp.was about 54 degrees and overcast.we were able to safely get off the two lane highway on to the shoulder.after un-hooking our tow vehicle with the help of an highway patrolman who stopped traffic we turned around and limped back to a gilchrist sevice station and had our spare installed. after returning home in vancouver wa. i took the damaged tire to a local firestone tire and sevice center.the person i delt with told me i would have to leave the tire so someone else could look at the tire to determin what would be done. after 4 days of waiting i was told that nothing would be done because they felt that it was caused by the tire being under inflated and it got hot.(b s) i then took the tire to an another (not firestone) tire dealer and he told me that that was possible but he didn't think that was the case. these tires have only 13,000 miles on them . the tires are the firestone steeltex lt 225/75r-16 m/t load range e . i will now have to buy all 7 new tires at a cost of about $ 1,150.00 because i wouldn't feel safe driving on these tires as they are starting to crack on the side walls. | |||
| 06/18/2005 | 19304 | 1 | |
| Tread seperated from tire, causing damage to the fender , step, and mirror of vehicle. was travling at 58 to 59 mph when seperation occures. called for service and tire was removed and replaced by spare. the speed limit at the location where incident occured is 70 mph. happy i wasn't travling that fast | |||
| 08/19/2003 | 30435 | 1 | 01/21/2000 |
| While driving at an undetermined speed rear dual tire tread separated. cause of the failure undetermined. *ak consumer replaced all 6 tires. *ts ambulance was transporting a patient when the failure occurred. *ph | |||
| 06/02/2003 | 18118 | 1 | 02/03/2000 |
| 40 inch strip of tire tread separated from casing causing tire to explode. extensive damage was caused to wheel well and side of motorhome. *nlm | |||
| 08/07/2002 | 3 | ||
| Three tires failed due to complete tread separation[no road hazzard at all. *ak | |||
| 04/17/2002 | 1 | 06/05/2000 | |
| While driving 60 mph, the tread separated from the right rear inside dualer. the tread peeled, all you could see is the steel around wheel. contacted firestone. tire size lt255/75r16 original equipment for 2000 ford econoline e 450. nlm dot.vd1l1xd.299 *jg | |||
| 10/14/2001 | 1 | 01/08/2001 | |
| Tread seperation causing loss of control and damage to the motor home. | |||
| 11/25/2001 | 1 | 10/01/2000 | |
| Tread separation occurred on back wheel during travel. temparature was cool and tire air pressure was normal. i understand taht teh steeltex was not part of the original recall but i wanted to file a complaint in case there are others who may have incurred similar problems. *ak (dot number: vdil1xd269 tiresize: lt225-75r1) | |||
| 07/06/2001 | 2 | 07/05/2000 | |
| 2 tires had tread separation, first being at 11,023 miles second at 11300 miles, which caused a tire blowout. he had them taken off.*ak firestone steeltex radial r4 lt2251/74r16.*jb | |||
| 02/07/2001 | 45 | 11/01/2000 | |
| Firestone tire lt p225/75r16, left front tire experienced tread separation while vehicle was traveling at approximately 45 mph. *ak consumer states the dot number can not be read due to sidewall damage. *slc | |||
| TIRES - VALVE | |||
| 05/09/2001 | 1 | 06/01/2000 | |
| Vehicle suffered a valve stem defect. after it came loose it made vehicle have a tire blowout. contacted dealer. *ak consumer was advised by dealer there have been no other reports of this type of failure, after valve stem blew out consumer took the wheels off and tried another valve stem by pulling it with his hand and the stem came out easily, consumer had all stems replaced with steel stems and has had no further problems. *jb | |||
| 01/01/2000 | |||
| Tire valve stem not accessible on outer rear tires on dualies: when the vehicle is delivered to the customer, the outer tire valve stem is not accessible for consumers to check for proper inflation. you have to have valve stem extenders put on the inner as an additional parts. many people who buy a new rv don't think about the fact that the current access to the inner tire valve stem is inadequate. the outer tire valve stem faces back towards the inner tire and is behind the rim. fleetwood (motor home manufacturer) and ford (chassis manufacturer) and other vehicle manufacturers should be required to have the tire valve stems accessible for obvious reasons of driving safety and tire care. this problem/oversight should not be left to consumers to add on additonal features to make monitoring the correct tire pressure easier.*ak | |||