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 | |||
| 10/09/2009 | 40000 | 1 | |
| The third time a valve stem cracked and leaked while driving on my 2007 ford expedition. *tr | |||
| 09/04/2009 | 20817 | 2 | 03/01/2007 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2007 ford expedition with pirelli str scorpion, p255/70/r18 tires. while driving 20 mph the driver side rear and front tires blew-out. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the pirelli str scorpion tires were replaced at an expense of $529.00. ten days after the repair the passenger side rear tire blew-out. the tire was replaced at an expense of $238.00. the manufacturer was notified, but no assistance was provided. the failure mileage was 20,817. the current mileage was 21,400. updated 11/09/09.*jb | |||
| 07/03/2009 | 22000 | 1 | |
| In july we had a tire get punctured with a rock, we had that plugged. the same tire 3 weeks later got punctured with another rock and we had to replace the tire. in sept. we had a rock puncture another tire. we had to replace the tire. we have two other cars and have never had this problem. we do not feel this is bad luck with tires. we think the tires that were on the suv when we bought it are faulty, yes we have our tires rotated like we are suppose to and the truck only has 23,000 miles on it. *tr | |||
| 07/27/2009 | 24363 | 1 | |
| My 2007 ford expedition experienced an immediate loss of tire pressure on one tire while on the freeway on 27-july 2009 that resulted in the tire becoming immediately deflated and ruined. elder ford (troy, michigan) informed me of a faulty tire valve issue that ford motor company is aware of, but has not issued a recall. the dealer found all valves on my 2007 expedition were cracked and replaced all valves but the spare tire, which they stated they were not allowed to check or replace. a conversation with their customer service department on 31-july leads me to believe ford motor company has a very large and costly safety problem they do not want to deal with due to the economic times. remember the firestone/explorer fiasco? *tr | |||
| 04/11/2009 | 12000 | 1 | |
| Nhtsa said that there is not a safty concern that the valve stems on certin ford cars are splitting. they have closed the investigation april 9, 2009. that's great, except that on april 11, 2009 one of our valve stems blow out while we were driving on a mountain highway. there was no warning and the tire shredded. 2 18 wheelers had to do all kinds of moves to avoid hitting us. the one nearly did. the tire was completely shredded and we could hardly get far enough off the highway to put on the spare. with three small kids in the car, it was very scary. the on april 25th, 2009, it happened to the other front tire while we were on a trip. when inspecting the two back valves, they were barley holding on. we were in the middle of nowhere and nothing was opened for help. *tr | |||
| 06/21/2009 | 21000 | 1 | |
| My tire valve failed on my 2007 ford expedition. two days after the dealer did the visual inspection on the faulty valve stems that have been know to have problems but have not yet been recalled by ford. this is the second tire that has failed on this vehicle! both happened at freeway speeds nearly causing an accident due to tires running flat. ford needs to do more than just inspecting these faulty valve stems. their visual inspection will not prevent potentially fatal accidents. *tr | |||
| 04/29/2009 | 22000 | 1 | |
| The rubber valve stems on the tires cracked resulting in loss of tire pressure. *tr | |||
| 04/09/2009 | 18855 | 1 | |
| I have experience 3 valve stem failures on continental contitrac tr tires; model p265/70r17 113s on a 2007 ford expedition . the valve stems apparently are the chinese model tr-414 stems that have been discussed in several automotive newspaper columns. today (6/9/09) i received a letter from ford motor company notifying vehicle owners about this problem. the ford representative said since this is not a recall, there is no provision for monetary reimbursement to vehicle owners who have had the valve stems replaced. i believe this is a safety issue and nhtsa should consider a mandated recall for all tires using these poorly mgf. valve stems. my stem leakage problems have occurred on april 9, april 23 and june 9, 2009. i have rotated my tires every 3000 miles and they have approx. 21620 miles wear. fortunately i have a tire pressure monitoring system that alerted me to the problems before the tires went completely flat or before i was stranded on the highway. *tr | |||
| 03/19/2009 | 18680 | 1 | |
| My tire failed on my 2007 ford expedition el mileage 18000, tires are the original/factory installed pirelli scorpion p255/70r18. the tire went flat at freeway speed and the sidewall is now damaged beyond repair. under further investigation i find that the tire does not have any puncture and it is a cracked valve stem that is causing the leak. even with the sidewall damage the tire takes air and the only leak is coming from the leaking valve steam. the ford dealer will be replacing the tire at my cost. i feel this is a manufacturer issue and know there is a recall on these and ford should be replacing the tire for free and checking all other valves on the vehicle. i spoke with clay at tech international and he explained that ford has not recalled these tires but tech international has recalled after market tire replacements. ford needs to take immediate action on this to prevent any future failures that could lead to serious accidents. luckily my failure did not cause an accident because it was a rear tire and i was able to pull over the vehicle, preventing an accident but i did begin to loose control. *tr | |||
| 12/17/2008 | 30000 | 1 | |
| Tires in my 2007 ford expedition regularly lose air. local tire shop didn't locate leak in tire. tires wearing unevenly over time and now must replace all four after 30k miles. upon removing tire and tire shop inspecting, they noticed cracks in valve stems. bought four new tires. *tr | |||
| 12/13/2008 | 1 | ||
| Air valve stems are breaking on all 4 tires, i keep losing air pressure and ford says they wont compensate---i only have 7,000 mi. *tr | |||
| 11/24/2008 | 27711 | 1 | |
| Heard a hissing noise when i got in my car this morning. noticed a valve stem was cracked on back tire (drivers side). went directly to tire company.. had to stop numerous times on the way to put air in the tire because the crack was getting bigger. when i arrived at the tire company, the valve snapped and the tire went flat in a matter of seconds. the tire company examined my vehicle and stated that 2 other valves were cracked. i had to replace 3 valve stems today. *tr | |||
| 11/05/2008 | 23000 | 1 | |
| Was driving my 2007 ford expedition on highway when low tire pressure light came on. exited hgwy @ next exit & checked all tires & added air to left front tire which was low & proceeded on to airport approx. 10-15 mins away. after driving approx. 10 mins after stopping i was fighting truck pulling left on interstate. when i arrived curbside at the airport, i exited the vehicle to find that the left front tire was almost completely flat & was separating ready to have a blow out. the tire was changed out for the spare & upon arriving back home, my husband & i inspected the tire for any foreign object in tread only to find none & then told my husband of the news story about faulty valve stems but no recall issued. so with the bad tire full of air laying in driveway he touched the valve & the air started rushing out. we have the issue with the valve stem that you are investigating. we do not know if any of the remaining tires are ok or not as the truck is to be taken to ford tomorrow. we do not feel we should have to buy any tires as i did what i was suppose to do & the stem failed causing me to ruin a good tire and will have to have not 1 but 2 new tires. please help us consumers fight for all the money we spend trying to buy american & support our country with hard earned money. someone could die as a result of their pig headedness. *tr | |||
| 09/11/2008 | 9900 | 1 | |
| Have a 2007 ford expedition and had to replace one tire because of flat on the highway that ruined the tire. i've had two more flats that resulted in tire damage and have to replace them when i get the money. we could not find the problem of the first tire, until a friend of mine told me about ford having problems with valve stems. called ford and dealerships where i bought vehicle and they do not want to help me at all . tires have less than 10,000 miles on them. im going to be out over 600.00 dollars for there mistake. im going ahead and replacing the other tire and stem for me and my family safety. please help with this problem. *tr | |||
| 10/06/2008 | 10952 | 1 | |
| On 7-21-08 my front pass. tire went flat and had to be replaced. the valve stem was leaking. ford replaced the tire under my warranty. on 10-02-08 my rear drivers side tire went flat due to the valve stem leaking, only the valve stem had to replaced, but ford would not fix it under my warranty, the repair cost was $21.00. on 10-06-08 my rear pass. tire was low and the cause was again a leaking valve stem. since ford stated that this was not under my warranty i went to allen tire and had all four valve stems replaced at a cost of $101.65. *tr | |||
| 09/08/2008 | 1 | ||
| My ford 07 expedition has a ongoing problem w/ a tire losing air. ford has looked at it 3 times and the 3rd time say they fixed it with a patch on a small hole. the tire still leaks air and the air sensor goes off every 4-5 days. *tr | |||
| 08/02/2008 | 20000 | 1 | |
| On august 2, 2008 we had rapid air loss in our left rear tire. i got it to a tire place and the valve was broken. they said they never seen a valve break on a new vehicle. a 2007 ford expedition. i was lucky for the air pressure warning system. i was on the freeway. after seeing all the talk about valve problems i am now worried about my other tires. *tr | |||
| 10/17/2008 | 18000 | 1 | |
| 2007 ford expedition valve stem on car had a leak. tire is ruined as while she was driving the air leaked out of the tire causing it to go low and the sidewall being damaged. *tr | |||
| 08/10/2008 | 1 | ||
| 2007 ford expedition, from august 2008 to october 2008, on four different occasions each a different tire, low tire pressure indicator came on. spare tire was put on, flat tire taken to ford dealer, valve stem replaced. *tr | |||
| 08/27/2008 | 34000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2007 ford expedition that has had four (4) valve stems go bad. one caused the air to deflate so quickly the tire was ruined. when talking to ford dealers, one that replaced the tire and one that sold the expedition, both said it was bad luck and nothing could be done. had it not been for the tire sensor system, i would have ruined the rim as well as the tire. the car did not vibrate or pull to the side or any other problems, it kept running as if nothing was wrong until the sensor kicked in and by then it was too late, the rim cut into the sidewall of the tire. the repair center confirmed it was a bad valve. sadly, when they replaced the tire, they used the same type of stem and it leaked as well. i had to go to third parties to replace the other valve stems that were defective. calling my local dealer again about it, they still maintain nothing can be done about this. *tr | |||
| 10/16/2008 | 18396 | 1 | |
| On september 4, 2008, i experienced a low tire pressure sensor warning on my 2007 ford expedition (vehicle was purchased new;all tires on the vehicle were the original factory installed tires.) i checked all tires and did not see an immediate loss of tire pressure and since i was in a rural area at the time i felt that it was in my best interest to get to a more populated area where i could have the tires checked. the tire quickly lost all air pressure and went flat causing me to take an evasive move to get off the road. the tire was changed and i took the failed tire into future ford of roseville where i purchased my vehicle. the tire had to be replaced. there was no evidence of a puncture or reason for the tire to fail. no compensation from the dealer was offered. on october 16, 2008, the low tire sensor light again activated. after checking all tires i found that one of the tire values was split and leaking (hissing). i was able to take the vehicle to a local tire company to have it repaired. upon inspection of the other tire values we found that all the values (except for the new tire that had been installed) were all split and would eventually start to leak. i had all the values replaced on all the tires. at the time the tire company, les schwab, informed me that there have been some reported issues with leaking tire valves on some ford vehicles. i did some research and found that consumer reports is recommending that all 2007 ford vehicle tire valves be inspected and replaced if found to be cracked. on 10/17/08, i reported this to future ford of roseville and they were unaware of any type of tire valve failures. seems that car dealers should be checking for this problem on dill valves. les schwab was able to recover 2 of the cracked valves from my expedition. all are tr414 valves which appear to be under investigation for failure and possible safety issues. my cost for this problem is now $250.00. *tr | |||
| 02/19/2008 | 21000 | 1 | |
| Tires are defective with cupping causing vibrations tires look swollen and uneven threading. we took the car to check suspension system and they say everything is fine. i know that it is the tires. which makes the car unsafe. i have children and because of the tires being unsafe i don't want to put my family in danger. *tr | |||
| TIRES - PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS | |||
| 08/05/2010 | 49000 | ||
| Clamp holding the pressure sensor broke in pieces ranging from 3 to 8 inches. this metal along with the pressure sensor rattled around loose in the tire causing excessive vibration at speeds over 40 mph. this happened on both front tires. car had approx 49,000 miles when problem was found. pieces were removed (which i still have) and new tires installed with out pressure sensor. i get error message on control panel every time i start the car. | |||
| 08/26/2008 | 16146 | 1 | |
| Tire pressure light on. dealer found cracks in tire stems on al four and replaced. *tr | |||
| 06/19/2008 | 183000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2007 ford expedition. the contact stated that the vehicle's alarm sounded, which indicated that the tire pressure was low. he placed air in the tires, but the tire pressure did not increase. he took the vehicle to the dealer and they discovered that the tire valve stems (tr414) were also defective. the valve stems were replaced. the manufacturer stated that they would reimburse the contact for the replacement costs. the current and failure mileages were 183,000. | |||
| TIRES - TREAD/BELT | |||
| 07/15/2007 | 6000 | 3 | 02/08/2007 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2007 ford expedition. the vehicle has pirelli scorpion, size 255/70r18 tires (na). while driving 30 mph, the driver side front tire blew out at 6,000 miles. the dealer stated that there was an impact fracture and nothing could be done. while pulling out of the driveway at 5 mph, the rear driver side tire blew out at 11,000 miles. the dealer stated that the failure was once again due to an impact fracture. currently, the front passenger side tire makes a loud noise and vibrates. the failure was diagnosed as an impact fracture for the third time. the contact had to replace each of the tires at her own expense. the first two tires are available for review. the dot number was unknown. the current mileage was 15,000 and failure mileage was 6,000. | |||
| TIRES - VALVE | |||
| 06/30/2008 | 16400 | 1 | |
| Driving my wife noticed the tire pressure light come on. once she was able to get over she noticed that air was leaking from the tire valve. upon further inspection, we noticed that all the valves were cracked and defective. *tr | |||
| 06/19/2008 | 183000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2007 ford expedition. the contact stated that the vehicle's alarm sounded, which indicated that the tire pressure was low. he placed air in the tires, but the tire pressure did not increase. he took the vehicle to the dealer and they discovered that the tire valve stems (tr414) were also defective. the valve stems were replaced. the manufacturer stated that they would reimburse the contact for the replacement costs. the current and failure mileages were 183,000. | |||