Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TIRES | |||||
| TB-21399 | 07/01/2010 | 10034585 | Ford: premature front/rear tire wear and/or vehicle drift on wet or snow covered roads. if performing an alignment, record all align-ment angles prior to any adjustments, and enter in warranty claim if applicable. *pe | 12/08/2010 | |
| SI-20014 | 10/01/2007 | 10032235 | Ford: some vehicles may experience a slight tire shake or vibration caused by temporary tire flat spotting. if tire shake/vibration is evident at pre delivery or very low mileage drive the vehicle for 10-15 miles prior to attempting any r | 02/24/2010 | |
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 | |||
| 10/27/2012 | 15191 | 1 | |
| Factory pirelli tires tread depth after only 15191 miles on new 2008 ford focus ses---2 tires @ 2/32 and 2 tires @ 3/32. dealer and pirelli won't accept responsibility. (car driven in local small town). not happy! *tr | |||
| 10/12/2011 | 60000 | 1 | |
| At 60,000 miles the car started chewing up tires and still is. the first set it did this to were worn to the wire under the rubber before it was noticed. it has chewed up two more sets since then all in under 10,000 miles and the tires are rated for approx. 50,000 miles. *tr | |||
| 03/03/2011 | 30000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2008 ford focus equipped with hankook 395 tires, size p195/60/r15, dot bjcfpdfh3207. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer since he noticed excessive wear on the tires. the dealer informed the contact that the inside of the tires were wearing excessively but they were unable to diagnose the failure. the dealer advised the contact to purchase a tire that should last up to 80,000 miles; however, informed him that the tires would only last 40,000 miles and need to be replaced. the manufacturer was aware of the failure. no repairs were performed. the current and failure mileage was 32,000. rvk | |||
| 03/03/2011 | 30000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2008 ford focus equipped with hankook 395, size p195/60/r15, dot bjcfpdfh3207. the contact took the vehicle to the dealer for service since he noticed excessive wear of the tires. the dealer informed the contact that the inside of the tires were wearing excessively but were unable to determine a diagnosis. the dealer advised the contact to purchase a tire that should last up to 80,000 miles; however, informed him that the tires would only last 40,000 miles and at that time they would need to be replaced again. the manufacturer was aware of the failure. no repairs were performed. the current and failure mileages was 32,000. bw | |||
| 06/01/2010 | 28000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2008 ford focus equipped with the original pirelli tires, line size 205/50/r16. the contact stated that all four tires were wearing prematurely and would only last for 25,000 of the 50,000 mile lifespan of the tires. the tires were replaced with kumho tires and the dealer was contacted who advised the contact to bring the vehicle in for inspection. the manufacturer offered no assistance. the dot number was unavailable. the failure mileage was 28,000. | |||
| 06/01/2010 | 28000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2008 ford focus. the vehicle was equipped with the original pirello tires and the size was 205/50/r16 (na). the dot was unknown. the contact noticed that any tire equipped with this vehicle had irregular tire wear on all four tires and would only last 25,000 miles which is half the lifetime. at 28,000 miles, the contact placed a new set of tires which was kumho and the tire size was 205/50/r16. the dealer advised the contact to bring the vehicle in for inspection and that there were no known issues with the tires. the manufacturer offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 28,000. bw | |||
| 05/28/2009 | 10000 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2008 ford focus. the driver stated that his vehicle began to make excessive noises in the rear of the vehicle at approximately 10,000 miles. he took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that the tires on his vehicle where defective and needed to be replaced. the driver replaced the tires with goodyear tires and around 13,000 miles the vehicle started to have the identical failure. the driver took the vehicle back to the dealer. the dealer told him that there were no recalls on his vehicle and there was nothing they could do to assist him. the driver has now replaced the tires three times. the noise occurred while driving more than 60 mph. the failure mileage was 10,000. the current mileage was 24,100. | |||
| 08/20/2009 | 30000 | 1 | |
| My wife took our 2008 ford focus in for a routine oil change and tire rotation. the dealer stated they could not rotate the tires because the rear tires were bad. the cords in the rear tires had broken inside the tire and now they are out of round. they said they are not under warranty because the dealer did not have record of rotating the wheels (because i had done it at home for free). i have been on many internet tire web sites and the pirelli tires are known for this happening on smaller vehicles. *tr | |||
| 04/09/2009 | 35302 | 1 | |
| On 4/9/09 i was driving to work and i noticed slight vibration coming from the left rear pirelli p6 tire on my 2008 ford focus. i checked the tire and did not notice any visible sign of damage. on the way home the vibration got more severe. on arriving home i checked the tire and found one spot that was completely bald. from when i checked the tire at work to when i arrived at home i had driven a total of less than 90 miles for the tire to go completely bald in that spot. both pirelli and 2 ford dealers claim there were no problems with the tire, that the damage was due to a improper use of the emergency brake, improper alignment of the rear end of the vehicle, the tire not being balanced or failure to rotate the tires. i had the tires replaced by a local mechanic. *tr | |||
| 03/02/2009 | 12400 | 1 | |
| Tire pressure monitoring system failed to warn of low pressure in right rear tire causing the tire to fail, resulting in inability to control the vehicle. the auto has no spare, only an inflation system, which did not function properly. *tr | |||
| TIRES - PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS | |||
| 03/06/2010 | 30485 | ||
| I went and got new tires and alignment in sep.2009 and within 10000 miles on 03-06-10 my tires were chopped on the inside the dealer were i had got my car from had told me that it was cuased by the alignment so i went back were i got the tires done they had told me it was my strutus they went ahead an put new tires on and i went to ford garage in creston not were i got the car they had check my strutus they said they were ok i had them redone the alignment two days after the new tires were put on and so i paid for two alignmet and after 5000 miles my tires were chopped on the inside the dealer in creston got a hold of ford motors to see what the deal was and inspect everything and had to set my alignment at dinfrent setting and then my car srarted making squeking noises they ending up changing my back strutus and then my tires got worse and my car is still making the noises and i told them that they sould have to replace my tires and they wont and now they wont evening look at my car and didnt evening fix the car and had it all day for at least six hours and told me to take it were i got the car form which i live 100 miles and from their. through out this hole time they had told me that its as be a problem on most 2008 and 2009 models the chopped they are telling me its the brand that i went with | |||
| 03/02/2009 | 12400 | 1 | |
| Tire pressure monitoring system failed to warn of low pressure in right rear tire causing the tire to fail, resulting in inability to control the vehicle. the auto has no spare, only an inflation system, which did not function properly. *tr | |||
| TIRES - TEMPORARY/EMERGENCY SPARE TIRE | |||
| 06/03/2008 | 104 | 1 | 06/02/2008 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2008 ford focus. the vehicle was not equipped with a spare tire, jack, and/or lug wrench at the time of purchase. the dealer stated that the vehicles do not come with spare tires, jacks or lug wrenches. the dealer attempted to locate a jack, spare tire, and wrench, but the manufacturer did not design a spare tire or jack for the two door ford focus. there had been no failure to date. the current mileage was 104. updated 07/07/08. *lj updated | |||