BRIDGESTONE POTENZA RE92 TIRES Complaints

CONSUMER INSPECTED THE TIRES AND THE BELTS WORE INTO THE STEEL. TIRES WERE REPLACED ON THE FRONT FOUR TIMES. VEHICLE WAS ALIGNED SEVERAL TIMES BUT THE TIRES CONTINUED TO WEAR. THEY WERE REPLACED WITH THE SAME MAKE/MODEL TIRE.*AK

WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH REAR PASSENGER'S SIDE TIRE TREAD SEPARATED. AS A RESULT THE REAR QUARTER PANEL AND BUMPER WERE SEVERELY DAMAGED. NO IMPACT REPORTED. *AK *NM

REF: MY EARLIER ODI #10047147 AND ODI #10080438. 2003 CAMRY (CURRENTLY 7700 MILES). GRADUAL RIGHT DRIFT SINCE PURCHASE JANUARY 2003. A TOTAL OF 10 NEW BRIDGESTONE 15" POTENZA RE92 TIRES (INCLUDING THE 4 ORIGINAL TIRES THAT CAME ON THE NEW VEHICLE) WERE MOUNTED ON THE CAR OVER A 4 MONTH PERIOD. RIGHT DRIFT WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE SERVICE MANAGER OF THE TOYOTA DEALER WHERE CAR WAS ORIGINALLY PURCHASED REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND/OR CORRECT PROBLEM. THE SERVICE MANAGER OF SECOND TOYOTA DEALER PROMPTLY ACKNOWLEDGED THE PROBLEM, DIAGNOSED TIRES AS THE CAUSE, AND CORRECTED IT. ONCE TIRES WERE MOUNTED ON THE VEHICLE THAT WERE OTHER THAN BRIDGESTONE, THE RIGHT DRIFT WAS CORRECTED. THE VEHICLE NOW IS A SAFE AND ENJOYABLE VEHICLE TO DRIVE. *AK

ON THE EVENING OF 21 JUN 04 I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK. AS I MADE A RIGHT HAND TURN IN TO MY DRIVEWAY. I FELT AND THEN HEARD WHAT SEEMED TO TO A FLAT TIRE ON THE RIGHT (PASSENAGER) SIDE OF THE CAR. I HAD FILLED UP WITH GAS ON EITHER THE PREVIOUS FRIDAY OR SATURDAY. WHEN I FILL UP WITH GAS I CHECK MY OIL AND TIRE PRESSURE. ALL WAS OK. WHEN I GOT INTO MY GARAGE, I WENT AROUND TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE CAR AND CLEARLY SAW A FLAT RIGHT REAR TIRE. I CALLED AAA TO PUT ON A SPARE. THE AAA REPAIR MAN THOUGHT THE TIRE LOOKED DEFECTIVE. THE NEXT MORNING I WENT TO NTW AND REPLACED THE FLAT TIRE AND A SECOND TIRE WITH NEW MICHELIN TIRES. THE MANAGER AT THE NTW IN ROCKVILLE INDICATED THAT THIS WAS THE SECOND TIRE HE HAD SEEN THAT WEEK WITH THE SAME DEFECT. BECAUSE I ONLY HAD 19,600 MILES ON THE TIRES, HE GAVE ME A DISCOUNT ON EACH TIRE. HE ALSO AGREED THAT THE FLAT TIRE LOOKED DEFECTIVE. THEY CHECKED MY REMAINING TWO TIRES FOR ANY WEAKNESS. *AK

2004 TOYOTA CAMARY WITH FIRESTONE BRIDGESTONE TIRES ARE VERY UNSAFE. I EXPERIENCED A BLOW OUT ON THE I-10, THE TIRE UNRAVELED FROM THE SIDE WALLS SPLITING THE TIRE INTO 2 PIECES. *JB

PURCHASED 2002 TOYOTA CAMRY XLE ON 4/16/02. THE CAR WAS EQUIPPED WITH BRIDGESTONE POTENZA P215/60R16 94V RE92 TIRES. EXPERIENCED VERY POOR PERFORMANCE THIS PAST WINTER. TRACTION VERY BAD IN WINTER CONDITIONS AND ALSO WET ROADS W/O SNOW. BROUGHT CAR TO THE DEALER FOR SERVICE ON 4/14/04 WITH 19.020 MILES ON IT AND WAS TOLD I HAD TO REPLACE THE TIRES DUE TO EXCESSIVE TREAD WEAR. I REFUSED TO PAY FOR FOUR NEW TIRES AND REPLACE THE FRONT TWO FOR MY OWN SAFETY. I HAVE SENT A LETTER TO BRIDGESTONE & I AM AWAITING A REPLY. OTHER NUMBERS ON THE TIRES WERE 34350 EXBM 25816-2 E 92 MZ TREAD WEAR 160. *JB

BRIDGESTONE POTENZA RE-92 P215-60R16 M&S. THIS TIRE HAS BEEN MISTAKENLY CLASSIFIED AS A MUD & SNOW TIRE. IN MY 35 YEARS OF DRIVING, I HAVE NEVER DRIVEN ON SUCH A DANGEROUS TIRE THAT WAS CLASSIFIED M&S. ANY SNOW WHATSOEVER MAKES THE VEHICLE(2004 TOYOTA SOLARA SE) EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO CONTROL SAFELY. I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THE TIRE BEING USED SOLELY AS A NON-WINTER TIRE, BUT FOR NHTSA TO ALLOW THE M&S DESIGNATION ON THIS TIRE IS TANTAMOUNT TO GROSS NEGLIGENCE. IF YOU THINK THAT I AM ALONE IN MY OBSERVATION ON THIS TIRE, THEN PLEASE SEE WEBSITE 1010TIRES.COM AND READ THE NUMEROUS CUSTOMER REVIEWS ABOUT HOW DANGEROUS THESE TIRES ARE IN SNOW. I RESPECTFULLY ASK YOU TO PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS TIRE CLASSIFICATION.*AK

TWO ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT BRIDGESTONE POTENZA TIRES ON OUR SUBARU 2003 OUTBACK FAILED AT 9,800 AND 11,700 MILES OF USE, WITHIN THREE MONTHS OF EACH OTHER. BOTH STARTED AS SLOW LEAKS FOR ABOUT A WEEK,WHICH WE MONITORED AND FILLED. THEN SUDDENLY A BIG WHITE CIRCULAR SPLIT APPEARED IN THE SIDEWALL ABOUT AN INCH AWAY FROM THE TREAD, AND TIRES WERE DEAD FLAT AND RUINED. FIRST TIRE WAS DRIVER-SIDE REAR; SECOND WAS PASSENGER-SIDE FRONT. WHEN BROUGHT TO FIRESTONE DEALER FOR WARRANTY FULFILLMENT FOR FIRST TIRE, WE WERE TOLD IT WAS OUR FAULT (?!) AND WE HAD TO PAY FOR REPLACEMENT. CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR EXPLANATION FOR SECOND INCIDENT...BUT NOT SURE I WANT ANOTHER OF THESE ON MY CAR. LOCAL SUBARU DEALER SAYS THIS IS FIRST HE'S HEARD ABOUT THESE TIRES, BUT I SEE THREE OTHER COMPLAINTS ON NHTSA WEBSITE SPECIFIC TO SUBARUS AMONG THE 92 "GENERAL" AND 37 "SIDEWALL" POTENZA COMPLAINTS. TIRE IS P225/60 R1697H. NEVER SAW ANYTHING LIKE THIS IN MY 30 YEARS OF DRIVING.*AK

FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE TIRE HAD TO BE REPLACED 3 TIMES BECAUSE OF CRACKS IN THE SIDEWALL. CONSUMER FELT THAT THE TIRE DEALERSHIP DIDN'T WANT TO CLAIM LIABILITY, SO THEY WERE BLAMING THE CRACKS ON ROAD HAZARDS. *AK

VEHICLE IS A SUBARU IMPREZA 2002 EQUIPT WITH BRIDGESTONE POTENZA RE92 16"TIRES. HIS WEEK AT APPROXIMATELY 10,500 MILES 2 OF THESE TIRES DEVELOPED A PINHOLE LEAK IN THE CENTER OF THE SIDEWALL APPROXIMATELY A WEEK APART. THE LEAK WAS SO TINY THAT IT WAS HARD TO FIND. A CALL TO A MAJOR BRIDGESTONE DISTRIBUTOR ABOUT THIS PROBLEM WAS NOT PRODUCTIVE. THEY SAID THEY HAVE NO RECORD OF SUCH A PROBLEM. I HAVE NEVER SEEN THIS IN ANY PREVIOUS TIRES THAT I HAVE USED. CAN YOU SHED ANY LIGHT ON THIS SUBJECT?? THOUGHT IT STRANGE THAT 2 DIFFERENT TIRES OF THE SAME BRAND WOULD HAVE THE SAME DEFECT ABOUT A WEEK APART. THANK YOU.*AK