Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TIRES - VALVE | ||||||
| PE08060 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 10/14/2008 | 04/09/2009 | TIRE VALVE CRACKING | ||
| On october 14, 2008, odi opened pe08-060 to investigate allegations of cracked and leaking snap-in tire valves in model year (my) 2007 vehicles manufactured by ford motor company.the valves were supplied to ford by topseal auto-parts, a subsidiary of the shanghai baolong automotive corporation in china.valves made by topseal for aftermarket sale were the subject of two recent safety recalls by tech international (08t-018) and dill air controls (08t-028), the latter of which was investigated by odi in pe08-036 and ea08-022.the defect conditions addressed by the aftermarket tire valve recalls both involved inadequate resistance to ozone cracking due to issues with the supply of anti-ozonant chemicals to topseal for a period from july to mid-november 2006.the aftermarket valves were compounded with a blend of epdm and natural rubber, using a relatively low percentage of epdm (epdm provides inherent resistance to ozone cracking).hence, the need for anti-ozonant chemicals and the problems with cracking when those chemicals were missing or out of specification in some lots of valves.both recall campaigns involved inspection programs to identify and replace valves with visible surface cracking.although the topseal valves supplied to ford also appear to have been affected by the anti-ozonant supply issues in mid to late-2006, ford indicated that its valves were made at a different topseal production line and were compounded with a higher percentage of epdm rubber to meet more stringent specifications from ford.odi's analysis of complaint and warranty data provided by ford showed that problems with cracked tire valves were significantly higher for my 2007 vehicles produced from december 2006 through march 2007.ford responded by implementing changes in its material specifications for snap-in rubber tire valves and also increasing the quality and acceptance standards for valves imported for use in its vehicles.while the complaint and warranty claim rates are elevated for subject vehicles produced from december 2006 through march 2007, the rates of leaking valves are well below one percent of production for each of the peak months for all of the affected models.a substantial majority of the subject vehicles are equipped with tire pressure monitoring systems (tpms) which warn the driver when any tire pressures drops below 25 percent of recommended inflation pressure. as outlined in a letter to odi dated april 6, 2009, ford has agreed to send letters to owners of certain my 2007 and 2008 ford, lincoln and mercury vehicles to provide information about the cracking concern. letters will be sent to owners of vehicles built from november 2006 through may 2007.owners can opt for a free dealer inspection.valves exhibiting surface cracks or air leakage related to ozone attack will be replaced by ford under its normal warranty terms.ford expects to send the letter by approximately mid-may 2009. based on the use of tpms in the majority of subject vehicles and the relatively low rates of repairs associated with leaking valves and resultant tire damage, odi believes that the actions ford has agreed to take will provide effective and expeditious resolution for vehicles that were built during the period when valves with inadequate resistance to ozone cracking were most likely to have been used in vehicle production.further investigation of this matter would not be an efficient allocation of agency resources.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will continue to monitor complaints and other information relating to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles and take further action in the future if warranted. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| TIRES | |||
| 06/08/2011 | 30000 | ||
| 2008 ford escape xlt 4wd, excessive tire noise on continental contitrac tires, size 235/70/r16. rotated at proper mileage throughout the lifetime of the car, now has 35000k on it. this should be a tire recall do to the amount of people that seem to have this same issue. | |||
| 12/22/2010 | 43000 | ||
| Own a ford escape 2008 with 43,000 miles and original continental tires. at my last oil change i requested a tire rotation an found out that one tire was defective (failure of one steel band) and was causing significant noise and vibration at 60 mph and above. tire thread gage indicated 10/32. it seems the tire has failed to perform when significant life was still available. | |||
| 10/01/2009 | 33000 | ||
| 2008 ford escape xlt v6 33,000 miles continental conitrac tires wearing very uneven causing excessive road noise. company will not stand behind their product even though there is still tread left on tire and they have been rotated 4 times. have contacted twice, and they have offered no assistance. | |||
| 09/06/2010 | 29950 | ||
| I own a 2008 ford escape xlt with 29,950 miles on the original continental contitrac suv tires. in the past 6 weeks, i have had 2 of the tires blow out while i was driving on the interstate. the tires appear to be in excellent condition. the 1st incident occured on 7/26/10, when the right front tire blew. the tire technician who examined and replaced the tire (with a comparable continental tire) said that the tire failed due to belt/tread separation. the 2nd incident occurred on 9/6/10, when the left front tire blew out. we haven't replaced it yet, but the tire tech said it looked identical to the 1st tire, and had failed due to belt/ tread separation. i've contacted both ford motor comp. and continental tires. i want them to replace all 4 tires with a different brand. considering that i was driving at 75mph when both tires blew, it's a miracle that i didn't wreck. | |||
| 08/20/2010 | 29598 | ||
| Tire stem failure on continental contitrac p235/70r16 104t caused tire to loose pressure and made a roadside assistance call necessary and side trip to repair tire. second tire to have this failure this month | |||
| 10/28/2008 | 20000 | 1 | |
| June 2008 i purchased a used 2008 ford escape. the tires are the same continental tires that were on there when i bought it. the insides of all 4 tires are wearing faster than the rest of the tread. sounds like i have mud tires/aggressive tread. when the noise first started nov.2008 i thought it sounded like a wheel bearing, but those checked out fine. it wasn't until july 2009 that i figured out it was the tires making noise. i am guessing it is a problem with the tires as no mechanical problem can be found. *tr | |||
| 08/15/2009 | 20000 | 1 | |
| On 1/1/09, 5/24/09, 5/29/09, 7/27/09, 8/15/090, inside panel lit up with low tire pressure message and tire was dangerously low within 15 minutes. these various events occurred on major highways with children in the vehicle and in heavy traffic, no safe place to pull over. cracked tire stem valve each time.this presents a serious hazard to drivers who are alone, on dark highways, etc. *tr | |||
| 04/28/2009 | 43000 | 1 | |
| The stock tires provided with the 2008 ford escape models have defective valve stems. the cracked rubber can either cause a blow out or slow leak. on my escape, 3 out of 4 valve stems were defective and showing multiple cracks. this is on a courtesy recall?. the dealership i had my vehicle serviced at recommended replacement. since the nhtsa has not proactively recalled these tires, knowing full well there were millions of defective valve stems sent from china, the only way i was informed there was a serious safety issue with my vehicle was by having another mechanical problem. please officially recall these before people start dying to blowouts. *tr | |||
| 04/04/2008 | 22100 | 1 | |
| 2008 ford escape xlt. tire valve was cracked and caused a flat that triggered tpms air , at inspection tire shop found all tire valves were cracked the vehicle has 22k miles and was first dolt to me on may 2007. *tr | |||
| 10/27/2008 | 1 | ||
| The tire (front driver side) on my 2008 ford escape hybrid (which i purchased in june 2007) keeps losing air pressure and i get a warning light on my dash about every two to three weeks. i recently read about the valve stem recall but i never received a recall notice from ford. i am getting very concerned about this particular issue as well as the bigger issue of using sub-standard parts in american cars. i contacted my ford dealer today and they asked me to give them my vin number. after i gave them my vin they told me that my vehicle was not on the recall list. i believe i am being snubbed here and that ford should replace all four valve stems as a precautionary measure. *tr | |||
| 09/04/2008 | 1 | ||
| Special ordered a 2008 ford escape limited. kept hearing slight noise sounded like wheel bearings to me. rotated tires at 7500 miles as per my owners manual .took to dealership at 10,839 miles. they said they had not rotated my tires so no service. noise so loud now cannot hear radio. cupping on inside of all tires. took back to dealership. they said i cannot rotate my own tires and keep my warranty. so my warranty claim is denied. *tr | |||
| 08/08/2008 | 26819 | 1 | |
| Replaced all valve stems on tires. *tr | |||
| 05/02/2008 | 19000 | 1 | |
| First of all, i cannot say with any certainty weather the issue is with the automobile or the factory original tires. i can only suspect it is with the automobile based on 30 years of experience of owning and operating automobiles. 1. excessively loud noise from the factory original tires. 2. after 19,000 miles all 4 factory original tires are wearing down on the inside of the tread only. 3. i was offered a new set of tires from the dealer service center at a reduced cost. *tr | |||
| TIRES - PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS | |||
| 05/06/2010 | 53274 | 1 | |
| Vin [xxx] 2008 ford escape right rear valve stem came out without air pressure monitor warning mileage 53,247 has never needed air and we 34 psi in front and rear out of warranty on miles dealer said wont repair without charging information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr | |||
| 08/15/2009 | 20000 | 1 | |
| On 1/1/09, 5/24/09, 5/29/09, 7/27/09, 8/15/090, inside panel lit up with low tire pressure message and tire was dangerously low within 15 minutes. these various events occurred on major highways with children in the vehicle and in heavy traffic, no safe place to pull over. cracked tire stem valve each time.this presents a serious hazard to drivers who are alone, on dark highways, etc. *tr | |||
| 04/04/2008 | 22100 | 1 | |
| 2008 ford escape xlt. tire valve was cracked and caused a flat that triggered tpms air , at inspection tire shop found all tire valves were cracked the vehicle has 22k miles and was first dolt to me on may 2007. *tr | |||
| 10/10/2008 | 16000 | 1 | |
| Front drivers side tire lost pressure, from 44lbs to 23lbs, i do not know the time duration. warning light on dashboard alerted me. corrected tire pressure and it is 6 pounds low again 7 days later. ford dealer said they will not replace all stems only the one that is leaking. *tr | |||
| 05/01/2007 | 23 | 4 | 03/15/2007 |
| Why driving the tire pressure indicator light will come on in the dash and the computer will state ?tire pressure sensor fault.? i have had it into the dealer four times and they have replaced the sensors and still having the same issue. the dealership has told me it has to do with a cell phone charger plugged into the cigarette lighter and setting off the tire pressure indicator on the dash, as well as sending a false signal to the computer. they state there is a ford bulletin out on it but i can find anything on it. *jb updated 01-15-08. *kb updated *jb | |||
| TIRES - TREAD/BELT | |||
| 02/25/2008 | 21474 | 1 | 02/14/2008 |
| Problems with excessive tire wear. 1.) (21,088 miles) purchase a pre owned certified vehicle 02/14/08 front tires look fairly new and rear tires looked like some wear on inside but not bad enough to bring to dealers attention. 2.) (21474 miles) brought back to dealer 02/25/08 for excessive wear on driver and passenger rear tires. driver side rear was almost completely bald in inside of tire. passenger side was not as bad but was worn to a point where you can notice. dealer gave me a hard time and said that there was no way those tires wore that quickly. they said i bought the car that way. put two new tires on the front (i paid for one $110.00) and took the fairly new front tires and put them on the back and had a 4 wheel alignment done. 3.) (21505 miles) 02/27/08 brought vehicle to my local ford dealer and had the 4 wheel alignment check because i had no trust in purchasing dealer service department because of the hard time they gave me over the problem. alignment checked out to be within specifications. 4.) (21,972 miles) 03/26/08 notice excessive wear on rear tires again and brought it back to local dealer. they agreed that the tires front and rear where wearing excessively and performed another alignment check. again the alignment was within ford specification. they also check underneath the vehicle for any part being bent and also check the frame to see if that may be bent. everything checked out ok. dealer brought the vehicle to a private tire / alignment shop and had the alignment checked out by an expert and he made some adjustments to bring it in a tighter to the specifications. dealer advised me to bring back the vehicle back after 1,000 miles to rotate the tires and check them as well. *tr | |||
| TIRES - VALVE | |||
| 10/11/2009 | 43000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. upon examining his vehicle he noticed that the front passenger side tire was flat. upon further inspection he concluded that the valve stems on every tire were cracked; thus causing a loss of tire pressure. the vehicle has not been inspected or repaired by the dealer. the failure and current mileages were 43000. | |||
| 10/12/2009 | 43000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2008 ford escape. the contact stated his valve stem has failed on his four tires. contact stated he had his vehicle serviced at the dealer and they should have checked the tires but they never did. he noticed his tire pressure was low checked the tires he noticed all four of his valved stem were cracked. contact went back to the dealer and was told there was a tsb but not a recall on the valve stem. contact does not know who is the valve stem manufacture or model number. he had to replace all four tires including valve stem to the cost of $588. contact stated he will contact the ford manufacture in regards to the problem. the failure mileage 43,000. | |||