CONTINENTAL CONTITRAC TIRES Complaints

THE THIRD TIME A VALVE STEM CRACKED AND LEAKED WHILE DRIVING ON MY 2007 FORD EXPEDITION. *TR

TREAD SEPARATES FROM TIRE - CONTINENTAL CONTITRAC 245/65/R17 DOT A38T BMR & A38T BM5 I HAD 4 OF THESE TIRES DO THIS. NOT ONLY HAVE I/WILL I HAVE TO REPLACE THE TIRES, BUT I ALSO HAVE VEHICLE DAMAGE. CONTINENTAL HAS THUSFAR ONLY PROVIDED A $50 CREDIT TOWARD THE FIRST REPLACEMENT TIRE. I HAVE ONE MORE OF THESE TIRES ON MY TRUCK RIGHT NOW. WE PAID $500 FOR TWO NEW TIRES IN UTAH IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, IN THE MIDDLE OF NOTHING ELSE. I'M SO FRUSTRATED AND HAD NO RELIEF! WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR THIS?? *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS CONTINENTAL CONTITRAC LOW PROFILE TIRES, SIZE P245/40/R18 ON A 2008 JAGUAR S-TYPE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT DURING A ROUTINE INSPECTION THE TECHNICIAN CONCLUDED THAT THE TIRES HAD BLISTERS ON THE SIDEWALL; THEREFORE, IT FAILED THE STATE INSPECTION. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE DOT AND THE VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER WERE UNAVAILABLE. THE TIRES HAVE NOT BEEN REPLACED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 17,000.

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

BRAND NEW 2009 FORD RANGER SUPERCAB, CONTINENTAL CONTITRAC TIRES, 225/70/R15. 350 MILES, RIGHT REAR TIRE BLEW OUT WHILE ON HIGHWAY, LUCKILY NO DAMAGE, DRIVER SAID LOOKED LIKE THE SIDEWALL JUST COMPLETELY BLEW OUT. TAKING TO LOCAL DEALER/TIRE SUPPLY STORE FOR INVESTIGATION/REPLACEMENT. WILL UPDATE WITH FURTHER INFO WHEN HAVE FINDINGS. *TR

I HAVE A 2005 FORD ESCAPE WITH TWO OEM TIRES ON THE REAR AND TWO NEWER TIRES OF FROM THE SAME COMPANY (CONTINENTAL) ON THE FRONT END. FOR MONTHS NOW, WHEN TRAVELING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS ON THE HIGHWAY, I HAVE HEARD A LOUD AND VIOLENT FLAPPING SOUND. THE NOISE SOUNDED AS IF THERE WAS A WINDOW OPEN... AFTER CHECKING MY TIRES, SEAL ON ALL OPENINGS, ETC., I COULD NOT FIND THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM. YESTERDAY EVENING, WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY BETWEEN 50 AND 70MPH, I HAD A BLOWOUT OF MY REAR OEM DRIVER'S SIDE TIRE. FORTUNATELY, IT WAS NOT RAINING AND IT OCCURRED WHILE DRIVING ALONG A STRETCH OF I-10 THAT HAD NO GUARDRAILS, CONSTRUCTION, ETC. WHEN I GOT OUT TO INSPECT THE DAMAGE, I NOTED THAT THE TREAD ITSELF WAS PRACTICALLY WITHOUT PROBLEM; THE PROBLEM WAS IN THE SIDEWALL. MY HAD A RIP IN THE SHAPE OF A CRESCENT MOON WITH SPLITTING GOING BOTH TOWARD THE EXTERIOR OF THE TIRE AND TOWARD THE INTERIOR OR WHEEL/HUB ASSEMBLY. A LOCAL POLICE OFFICER ARRIVED AND ASSISTED WITH THE REPAIR, WHICH TOOK MOMENTS, BUT I AM QUITE CONCERNED ABOUT THE INTEGRITY OF BOTH THE REMAINING OEM TIRE I CURRENTLY STILL HAVE ON THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE TWO NEWER CONTINENTAL SPORT LX TIRES I CURRENTLY HAVE ON THE FRONT END. MY CAR HAS LOW MILEAGE FOR IT'S AGE AND THE TREAD ON ALL OF MY TIRES IS NOT WORN; THERE APPEARS TO BE NO EXPLANATION OTHER THAN A DESIGN FLAW OR DEFECT. I AM QUITE CONCERNED FOR MY SAFETY AND AM UNSURE WHETHER I SHOULD REPLACE ALL FOUR TIRES WITH A DIFFERENT BRAND OR IF THIS ALLEGED DEFECT ONLY AFFECTS THE OEM LINE OF CONTINENTAL TIRES WHICH CAME WITH MY VEHICLE (CONTINENTAL CONTITRAC I THINK). I HAVE READ ABOUT SIMILAR INSTANCES ONLINE, BUT ALL INSTANCES DO NOT DESCRIBE A RESOLUTION PROCESS OTHER CUSTOMERS PURCHASING NEW TIRES AND/OR RECEIVING A $20 VOUCHER FROM THE TIRE MANUFACTURER, GENERAL. I THINK THIS BRAND/MODEL SHOULD BE RECALLED AND REPLACEMENT TIRES OF BETTER QUALITY SHOULD BE PROVIDED AT NO COST. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 FORD EXPEDITION. THE VEHICLE HAS CONTINENTAL CONTITRAC SUV TIRES, SIZE P265/70R17. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHIMMY AND SHAKE, FOLLOWED BY A CLICKING NOISE. THE DRIVER INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND NOTICED THAT THE REAR DRIVER'S SIDE TIRE EXHIBITED TREAD SEPARATION. THE TIRE IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING REPLACED. THE DOT NUMBER WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 68,000.

TRUCK BEGAN SHUDDERING WHEN BRAKING @ LOW/HIGH SPEEDS. WAS TOLD ROTORS WARPED @ APPROXIMATELY 6,000MI. DEALERSHIP HAD THE ROTORS MACHINED AND THEN ADJUSTED CALIPERS. AFTER DRIVING TRUCK OFF NOTICED BRAKE PEDAL WAS SLIGHTLY SOFTER BUT NO LONGER FELT VIBRATION/SHUDDERING. AT APPROXIMATELY 9,000MI ONCE GAIN FELT SLIGHT SHUDDER/VIBRATION WHEN BRAKING. TOOK TRUCK TO DEALERSHIP WITH APPROXIMATELY 13,000MI AND WAS TOLD ROTORS WERE ONCE AGAIN WARPED. I HAD CERAMIC BRAKES INSTALLED @ APPROXIMATELY 24,000MI AND NEW ROTORS INSTALLED @ APPROXIMATELY 30800MI. WITH THE ROTORS INSTALLED SIGNIFICANT VIBRATION STILL OCCURS WHEN BRAKING AT ANY SPEED. SAFETY CONCERNS FOR SOME TIME NOW. APPARENTLY SHUDDERING NOT DUE TO WARPED ROTORS AS DEALERSHIP SUGGESTED. *TR

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

DRIVING DOWN INTERSTATE GOING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH WHEN WE FELT A STRONG VIBRATION COMING FROM THE REAR OF THE AUTOMOBILE, AS MY HUSBAND LET OFF THE GAS THE BACK PASSENGER TIRE LOST ALL PRESSURE AND THE SUV BEGAN TO SWERVE, MY HUSBAND BEING VERY EXPERIENCED ALLOWED THE CAR TO SLOW TO ABOUT 40 MPH BEFORE HITTING THE BRAKES KEEPING CONTROL OF THE CAR. VEHICLE WAS 08 EXPEDITION WITH APPROX. 1000 MILES ON IT, WE HAD OWNED IT FOR LESS THAN A MONTH. WE CHANGED THE TIRE, WHICH HAD A HOLE ALL THE WAY THROUGH WHICH CAUSED IMMEDIATE DISPERSION OF AIR FROM TIRE. THE HOLE WAS A PERFECT CIRCLE, ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE TIRE AS IF IT HAD BEEN PLUGGED. WE TOOK THE TIRE BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP, THEY ACCUSED US OF HITTING SOMETHING. THERE WAS NO OBJECT INSIDE THE TIRE THAT HAD BEEN FULLY PENETRATED, AND AS I STATED BEFORE THE HOLE WAS A PERFECT CIRCLE. *TR