Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| TIRES | |||
| 07/23/2009 | 9800 | 1 | |
| My right front tire ruptured while traveling north, on i-15 about 5 to 10 miles south of payson, utah. the truck was a 2002 ford f350 superduty and these were the original tires. i was going about 65-70 mph when the tire burst and was lucky to keep control of the vehicle. the tire tore apart and caused about $2800 worth of body damage to the front end. it has now been repaired by greiner ford in casper, wyo. while the truck was a 2002, it had less than 10,000 miles on the truck and the tires. the tread depth was still excellent. the factory equipped tires are the firestone steeltex a/t size lt265, 75r16. if the truck had rolled over this accident could have been fatal. *tr | |||
| 08/10/2008 | 154000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford f350 super duty. the vehicle has firestone lt26575r16 tires. while driving approximately 70 mph, the front driver's side tire exploded and shattered into pieces without warning. the driver was injured and a police report was filed. the vin was unknown. the current and failure mileages were 154,000. | |||
| 06/12/2008 | 30000 | 1 | |
| On june 12, 2008 we were driving up route 301 north just after the rt. 50 split when there was a blow out on the left front tire on our truck. it was frightening and i was barely able to control the truck and get to the break down lane. i observed a portion of the tire flying off to my left. we called the md state highway patrol and an officer responded and examined the wheel and remainder of the tire. this was a classic case of tread separation and there was over $2000 of damage to the left front fender, bumper and running board of the truck. geico handled the insurance claim and the truck has been repaired. all of the tires on the truck at that time were general grabber tr, lt 235/85r16, dk-6559 32628 *tr | |||
| 03/07/2008 | 3 | ||
| I first bought pro comp tires a couple of years a go. within ten thousand miles i had a bulge on one tire and a vibration at 55 mph and over. i took the truck into 4wheel parts as that is where they were purchased. i had two bad tires according to them and they replaced them which cost me approximately $200. after a trip to arizona and less than 7000 miles i started having a vibration problem again. took back to 4wheel parts and they said one was coming apart and one was out of balance. it cost me $150 this time. i told them that the cost were inapropriate as pro comp is a company that they own. told me that i would have to take it up with pro comp. these tires are a danger to the public and most importantly the ones that buy them. my tires are e rated for my truck and have never had a problem with big o tires or bfgs. my tires are always in good shape as i tow a fifth wheel. look into this matter please. i will be replacing mine as soon as i have the money and just will eat the cost as safety is the most important for me and my family along with the public that i serve. i do not have the tires as 4wheel parts has kept them. *tr | |||
| 08/08/2007 | 27600 | 2 | 09/02/2002 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford f350 super duty. the vehicle has continental general ameri, size 235/85/r16 tires. while driving 65 mph, the vehicle began to shake. the contact pulled over and discovered that the rear passenger side tire blew out and damaged the rear fender. upon inspection of the tires, he noticed that the rear driver side tire was splitting at the top. the dealer stated that the tire blew due to impact. the vehicle was not involved in a crash. the contact has pictures. the tire and vehicle current and failure mileages were 27,600. updated 12/12/07 *tr | |||
| 04/01/2006 | 43000 | 2 | 02/01/2003 |
| Tl*- the contact owns a 2002 ford f350. while driving at 70 mph the general ameri-trac tire blew out on the front passenger's side. there were approximately 38,000 miles on the tire at the time of the blowout. the tire dealer was unable to provide an explanation for the blowout. approximately one year later the contact experienced another blowout on the rear passenger's side tire. there were approximately 43,000 miles on the tire. the contact did not take the vehicle to a tire dealer for inspection. the vehicle currently had 43000 miles. *ak | |||
| 07/30/2005 | 29096 | 1 | 02/01/2002 |
| Coming home from shawnee about 40 miles from home,and at about 20 miles from being home felt a bad vibration in steering wheel pulled over to check tires,felt all around them noticed that there where indentations in side walls,later found out that these are called lemmoning marks,got back in truck and continued on at a slower speed of about 60 mph,and about 3 to 4 miles down the road a severe vibration started and then the left front blew out bad causing to me be swept off road to left severely into the median,these tires only have 29096 miles on them i firmly believe that these tires are defective and after being stranded on road for about 4 hours waiting for fords roadside assistance because i am in a wheelchair i had too be towed home. where upon checking several web sights i found that many people have had the same problem at about the same mileages the rest of my tires seam to be having the same symptoms plus some signs of chalking this is also a sign of defective tires. also i have not driven on them since,i am trying to get some response out of general tires because my truck suffered severe damage to the whole left front quarter panel and all the abs wiring system is tore up and hanging loose,i could not get the spare tire off of its rack because ford did not put the spare tire key that you need to lower the tire down off of it's rack,was told by ford that it would need to be towed again to bring it in to have spare tire rack cut!! off to get to spare,i feel that there should have been some type of notice put out by ford about this spare tire problem because i found out also that the keys are no longer available,this is why i will have to have it towed in again to get my spare. cut off. i feel this is a major problem that needs to be addressed so that no lives are lost or people injured. thank you donnie. *nm | |||
| TIRES - SIDEWALL | |||
| 07/06/2007 | 1 | ||
| Sidewall blowout on general-grabbertr 235/85-r16---- good tread only 24203 miles on them-- came as standard equipment on 2002 ford f350---after close inspection of other 5 tires --there are sidewall separation defects (bumps) in all of them --thanks to the grace of god and my husbands physical strength and knowledge of what to do in case of a blowout we escaped unharmed-- by the way we were on i-40 in tennessee towing a living quarters horse trailer with a horse-- the blowout damaged the front fender and we had to be towed -- i would like to warn others drivers of the danger-- judging from the complaints i found in my research i think this is a problem that needs further investigation-- i do not believe this to be an isolated incident. *jb | |||
| 08/02/2004 | 27000 | 1 | |
| While driving the vehicle right front passenger side tire blew out.. there was also a split in the left front tire. the tire(s) sidewall was defective.*ak | |||
| 12/25/2003 | 47000 | 1 | |
| I had just pulled onto the the interstate after filling up with gas. i was driving my 2002 f-350 and pulling an 18 foot featherlite horse trailure. the trailure was empty. at the time i was traveling about 65 mph. all of a sudden i heard an extremely load roar. at the time i thought it was the engine so i let my foot off the gas and began to slow down. at between 40 to 45 mph i felt a violent jerk on my steerng wheel. i started to move off the freeway and could feel a violent vibration as if going over a wash board (it was not the ridges boundering the freeway). of course when i hit those the vibration was even worse. i slowly applied my breaks and got the vehile under control and came to a stop. when i got out i could smell rubber smoking. when i went around to inspect the rig the right rear tire was compltey shreaded. the outside side of the tire (white wall)was 100 percent shreading and completely severd from the wheel. the inside side (black wall) of the tire was 15 to 20 percent severed. the tire was the firestone steeltex at (lt265/75r16, made in canada, dot number vnw81xl 3601, 2ply, load range e). they were original equipment with 47.000 miles on them. personal note: i believe that the reason i did not have a more serious accident is becasue the roar i heard allowed me time to slow down. additionally, in this case, i believe the trailure breaking system assisted in keeping me going relatively straight until i was able to gain control and bring rig to a stop.*ak | |||
| 10/06/2003 | 42000 | 2 | 01/02/2002 |
| I now have bought 2 sets of parnelli jones dirt grip tires. i have had 2 inside sidewall blowouts with these tires in the last year. both times, i have had a large load on the tires, carrying a camper and driving at highway speeds. both times it has been a rear tire. the first time the manufacture told me it was tire pressure, or i hit something. the first time, i was sure i did not hit something and had proper pressure. the second time i am sure i did not hit anything and had correct tire pressure. this truck has never been used off road, these tires were purchased for the looks only. this is a very dangerous situation if anyone with large loads uses these tires. i do not think the load rating on these tires is correct. someone might get killed. *la | |||
| 02/12/2002 | 6101 | 10/16/2002 | |
| I was driving on the highway going about 75 mph when my rear tire blew out. ford said it's my problem. the truck has 6000miles on it, which means the tires have 6000 miles on them. i would like to know how you get a blow out with that little miles. after reading everyone else's complaints i think it's about time ford or firestone does something about this before we have too many deaths. | |||
| TIRES - TREAD/BELT | |||
| 11/16/2007 | 2 | 04/15/2002 | |
| In november 2007 my right front tire exploded without warning. two years ago the left front tire exploded. thank fully there was no traffic on the highway either time, which prevented an accident and damage to others. my truck damage totaled about $ 3500 to $ 4000 for each event. the fender and running board and other items on the truck were damaged by the exploding tire / tread that came apart. the tires were oem, general grabber tr, 235 85r16 load range e. the vehicle is a 2002 f 350 dually. both happened on the highway at 70 mph. i sent the last failed tire to general and they claim that the tire was damaged due to an impact, not a manufacturing defect. i disagree, the tire just unzipped itself. the truck has only been driven on highways and local streets. i have not hit any potholes. though we all go over speed bumps, a load range e tire should be able to go over a speed bump at slow speed. tires were properly inflated to 60 psig. tread life on the tires is excellent. for two failures for me, a similar failure for a co-worker and several complaints on diesel truck message boards, there appears to be a trend of exploding 10 ply general tires. i think this should be investigated. the company no longer manufacturers this specific tire. *tr | |||
| 07/17/2006 | 70680 | 1 | 11/15/2002 |
| Tread separation of firestone steeltex a/t tire 265/75r16 load range e tire causing damage to vehicle. *nm | |||
| 07/10/2005 | 18000 | 2 | 03/10/2004 |
| While driving my f-350 on i-95, there was a sudden explosion and caused the truck to swerve violently and as i slowed to veer into the emergency lane a loud hammering sound came from under truck. after stopping and checking i found the right inner dually wheel had come apart and over half the tread was missing from the tire. the tread separation ripped the plastic wheel well housing out and ripped two 6 and 8 tears in the bed of the truck. the fiberglass wheel well had large cracks and the supports were torn loose. some electrical wiring was also torn loose and in the bed of truck, behind the well, the metal was bent upward about 4 in a sq. ft. area. the tail pipe chrome end piece was knocked off and the tail pipe was smashed flat. i replaced the tire with the spare. two weeks later the same thing happened on the opposite side with slightly less damage. the truck has only 18,000 miles on odometer. | |||
| 06/22/2005 | 49000 | 1 | 10/15/2002 |
| Driving on i-10 west about 65 mph when the rubber pealed off the right rear tire causing $3400.00 damage to f-350 ford quarter panel,bed,tail light,end gate and bumper. | |||
| 06/04/2005 | 37000 | 1 | 04/01/2002 |
| Left for trip from phoenix to texas. stop to fuel for the trip. check tire air pressure and fueld up. drove to texas. left for phoenix and stopped for fuel and checked tire pressure. around 11pm just outside tucson i heard a loud thump and my front end started shaking violantly. i was travelling 75mph and released my foot off the gas and hung on the strearing wheel. i slowed to a stop and pulled of the interstate. got out and inspected the right front tire of my f350 dually and found the tread had sperated from the tire. due to saftey reasons, i deciede to limp to the nearest station about a mile away. the tire still had some pressure in it. i change the tire, inspected the damage, and decided to continue the 150 miles home at a much slower pace. | |||
| 03/20/2005 | 21700 | 1 | 01/26/2002 |
| I have a 2002 f350 dually truck with general grabber aw m + s lt235/85r16 tires with 21,700 miles on them. i had a tread seperation and blow out on highway. i am very unhappy with this tire. the tread on tires is good not sure why it seperated/blew out.*ak | |||
| 01/28/2004 | 35925 | 1 | 09/11/2001 |
| Firestone steeltex r4s lt265/r75-16 left rear tire blew out on rte 95 in s. carolina, 36500 miles on truck at time of blowout. the tread separated from the tire, with no warning. firestone dealer offered 25% discount on two new tires, i said no thanks i have a 2002 ford f-350 super crew i was carrying a camper approx weight 3500 lb and towing a vw cabrio on a tow dolly all tires had proper inflation according to ford, 50 front 80 rear truck with camper weight 11,500 tow dolly and car 3,500 i have since replaced all four tires. *jb | |||
| 01/04/2002 | 1 | ||
| Firestone steeltex at tread separation in january 2003 on ford f350 pickup right front | |||