YOKOHAMA TIRES Complaints

ON 9/24/08 I WENT TO TOWN FAIR TIRE AND HAD FOUR TIRES REPLACED AT A COST OR $539.12. I WAS TOLD YOKOHAMA TIRES WERE THE BEST AND HAD THE BEST MILEAGE UP TO 80,000 MILES. AT THAT TIME I HAD THE FOUR TIRES REPLACED WITH THE MILEAGE ON MY CAR AT 74,000 MILES. ON 6/3/09 I BROUGHT MY CAR WHICH NOW HAD 81,000 MLS. ON IT WITH A BUBBLE ON MY TIRE AND HAD TO REPLACE IT AT A CA COST OF $134.51. FIVE MONTHS LATER ON 11/02/09 I WENT BACK TO TOWN FAIR TIRE WITH 83,000 MILES ON MY CAR AND ANOTHER BUBBLE ON MY TIRE. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING FOR FORTY TWO YEARS AND NEVER HAD A BUBBLE ON A TIRE AND IN A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AND LESS THAN 10,000 MILES I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE TWO OF THESE TIRES BECAUSE OF BUBBLES. TOWN FAIR TIRE SAYS ITS MY DRIVING, I SAY THERE IS A DEFECT IN THE TIRES AND I DO NOT FEEL SAFE IN MY CAR. I CAN NOT AFFORD TO REPLACE THEM AGAIN. I AM ON DISABILITY AND DO NOT DRIVE TO OFTEN BUT I LIKE TO FEEL SAFE WHEN I DO. I WOULD LIKE THESE TIRES INVESTIGATED. $800.00 FOR TIRES A YEAR IS VERY EXPENSIVE AND I DON'T KNOW IF I WILL HAVE TO SPEND MORE.. THE TIRES ARE YOKOHAMA AVID TRZ ID CC208213308-4208-4408 I WOULD APPRECIATE AN ANSWER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION. *TR

WE PURCHASED A NEW RAV4, IN MAY 2009. YESTERDAY WHILE THE CAR WAS PARKED THE LEFT REAR TIRE EXPLOSIVELY BLEW OUT THE SIDEWALL, THE CAR HAS 2400 MILES ON IT. THE PERSON WHO WITNESSED THE FAILURE SAID IT SOUNDED LIKE A SHOTGUN BLAST. I ALSO FOUND THIS IN OUR TOYOTA VEHICLE OWNER SERVICE RECORDS: BY DEALER 05/05/09TOYOTA OF MCDONOUGH 5 0092548REPAIR FLAT TIREVIEW DETAILS BASICALLY THIS CAR HAS HAD TWO TIRE FAILURES IN LESS THAN 3000 MILES. A RELATIVE OF OURS, THE ONE WHO RECOMMENDED THE RAV 4 TO US, HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE WITH HIS NEW 2009 RAV4 WITH YOKOHAMA TIRES, BUT SINCE HE WAS ON THE INTERSTATE TRAVELING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED THE TIRE WAS SHREDDED TO BADLY TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF FAILURE. *TR

I HAVE A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE MITSUBISHI MOTORS I BOUGHT MY CAR TWO YEARS AGO IN 2007 AND THE CAR IS A 2008 MITSUBISHI LANCE AND RIGHT NOW THE CAR SAYING THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE TIRE PRESSURE SYSTEM. THE CAR CONSUMES ALOT OF GAS FOR EXAMPLE YESTERDAY I PUT TEN DOLLARS IN THE AFTERNOON AND IN THE NIGHT I DIDN'T HAVE ANY GAS. THE DEALER WAS VERY RUDE BECAUSE ITS NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS INCIDENT HAS HAPPENED. LAST YEAR THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING HAD A DEFECT AND THEY FIXED IT BECAUSE I CALLED MY BANK AND TOLD THEM DON'T SEND THE CAR PAYMENT THROUGH. AND THEY WILL GIVE A NUMBER TO CONTACT SOME PRINCIPAL MITSIBISHI WHERE THEY ARE VERY RUDE TO ME BECAUSE I HAVE A HEAVY ACCENT AND CAN'T SPEAK ENGLISH VERY WELL. IF I GET THE CARE FIXED IT WILL COST ME LIKE 350-400 TO FIX IT THANKS THANKS A LOT. *TR

I OWN A 2008 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY TOURING VAN WHICH WAS PURCHASED IN SEPT OF 2008. I HAVE 10,000 MILES ON THE VAN, AND HAD PUT ON 1300 MILES DURING THIS TRIP. WHILE TRAVELING THROUGH THE ROLLING HILLS OF WYOMING, I STOPPED AT A SCENIC OVERLOOK. THE 6 PASSENGERS GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE DEFLATED IN A MATTER OF SECONDS. AFTER INSPECTING THE TIRE, WE NOTICED THE CAP WAS NOT ON THE VALVE STEM. IN FACT THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE STEM WERE GONE. THE REPAIRMAN CONFIRMED OUR SUSPICION AND REPLACED THE VALVE STEM. WE ARE IN POSSESSION OF THE DEFECTIVE VALVE STEM. HAD WE BEEN MOVING AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT, THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A FATAL ACCIDENT. WE ARE CONCERNED THAT THE REMAINING VALVE STEMS MAY ALSO HAVE A DEFECT. *TR

YOKOHAMA AVID TRZ 205/65R15 TIRES FOR MY 2002 HONDA ACCORD: I PURCHASED A SET OF THESE TIRES 3 YEARS AGO AS THEY WERE 80,000 MILE TIRES (AS IN LONG-LASTING). AT 32,000 MILES, THEY WERE ALMOST COMPLETELY BALD. THE MECHANIC CALLED AND GOT A $30 DISCOUNT ON THE TIRES FOR REPLACEMENT, HOWEVER, CONSIDERING THE INITIAL COST THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. YOKOHAMA SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO LIST TIRES AS 80,000 MILES OF WEAR WHEN, IN FACT, THEY ARE BALD AT 32,000 MILES (AND I AM AN OLDER EXPERIENCED DRIVER, NOT A HOT-RODDER OR EXCESSIVE SPEEDER.) *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 TOYOTA RAV4. THE VEHICLE HAS YOKOHAMA GEOLANDAR G- 91A TIRES, SIZE 225/6.5/17 101H (NA). THESE TIRES WERE THE ORIGINAL TIRES AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE. WHILE DRIVING 65 MPH, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE BLEW OUT. THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD THUMPING NOISE AND MANEUVERED THE VEHICLE OFF THE HIGHWAY. THERE WAS SMOKE EMITTING FROM THE TIRE AND SHREDS OF RUBBER EVERYWHERE. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO ASSIST. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY WOULD NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FAILURE. THE DOT NUMBER WAS UNKNOWN. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE LESS THAN 7,370.

TIRE FAILURE AFTER 15,000 MILES. STRONG RADIAL PULL FROM RIGHT TO LEFT AT HIGHWAY SPEED. ON FURTHER INSPECTION ALL FOUR TIRES HAD COMPLETE TREAD SEPARATION ON OUTSIDE TREAD CHANNEL COVERING THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE TIRES. SOME TREAD SEPARATION HAS STARTED ON THE FAR INSIDE CHANNEL OF THE FOUR TIRES. UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF WARE HAS OCCURRED ON THE OUTSIDE SHOULDER OF ALL FOUR TIRES. CRACKING WAS NOTED ON TREAD LUGS. REPLACED ALL FOUR TIRES UNDER WARRANTY. *TR

ON 6/2/09, I REMOVED MY OLD WHEEL FROM MY 1998 MERCEDES BENZ C230 PRIOR TO TRADING IT FOR ANOTHER VEHICLE. I POSTED THE CUSTOM WHEELS AND TIRES (YOKOHAMA YK520) THAT I PURCHASED FROM DISCOUNT TIRES. I MET WITH A GENTLEMAN WHO WAS INTERESTED IN PURCHASING THE TIRES, BUT CAREFULLY INSPECTED THEM AND FOUND HAIRLINE CRACKS ON THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE WALL OF ALL 4 TIRES. THIS WAS ENOUGH FOR HIM TO CHANGE HIS MIND AND NOT MAKE THE PURCHASE. I THEN BECAME SUSPICIOUS AND AFRAID THAT MY FAMILY LIFE COULD HAVE BEEN AT RISK AND MANY OTHER FAMILIES OUT ON ROADS ACROSS THIS COUNTRY AND ELSEWHERE. ON 6/3/09, I CONTACTED DISCOUNT TIRES AND BROUGHT THE COMPLETE WHEEL AND TIRES FOR AN INSPECTION AND POSSIBLY REPLACEMENT. DISCOUNT TIRES STATED THAT THE TIRES ARE A SAFETY HAZARD, BUT WOULD ONLY PRORATE THE TIRES AND GIVE ME A PARTIAL CREDIT TOWARD THE PURCHASE OF TIRES. DISCOUNT THEN GAVE A NUMBER TO CONTACT YOKOHOMA TIRES CONSUMER AFFAIRS OFFICE DIRECTLY TO DISCUSS THIS SERIOUS MATTER. I LATER CONTACTED YOKOHOMA CONSUMER AFFAIRS OFFICE AND DISCUSSED THE MATTER IN DETAIL WHICH THEY LATER REFUSED TO REPLACE MY TIRES OF GIVE FULL CREDIT REFUND. I EXPLAINED TO THEM THAT THIS MATTER WILL IMMEDIATELY BE FORWARD TO MY ATTORNEY FOR REVIEW IF THIS MATTER CANNOT BE RESOLVED AT THIS LEVEL. I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT THIS PARTICULAR YOKOHOMA TIRE (YK520) 225/40R/18 HAS A MANUFACTURER MATERIAL OR DESIGN DEFECT THAT CAN BE CATASTROPHIC TO MILLIONS OF FAMILIES OUT ON THE ROADS AS I WRITE THIS TODAY. I AM ALSO CONCERNED THAT THE MILLIONS OF TIRE SHOPS SUCH AS DISCOUNT TIRES IN MY CASE FAIL TO COMPLETE A FULL THOROUGH INSPECTION OF TIRES AND WHEELS UPON REPAIR OR SAFETY CHECKS. SINCE THE PURCHASE OF THESE TIRES, I WENT BACK TO DISCOUNT TIRES FOR REGULAR ROTATIONS AND BALANCES AND THEY DIDN'T NOTICE THIS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HAZARD. NOW THIS ISSUE COMES DOWN TO WHO IS AT FAULT, THE TIRE MANUFACTURER OR THE TIRE RETAILER. THE LEGAL COURSE MAY HAVE TO DETERMINE THIS CASE. *TR

I BOUGHT 4 YOKOHAMA TIRES AVID P235/65/R16. WITHIN 1 MONTH, AS I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, ONE OF THE TIRES BLEW OUT CAUSING MY VEHICLE TO VEER INTO A CURB. I PUT IN A CLAIM WITH YOKOHAMA AND THEY DENIED MY CLAIM - EVEN THOUGH I HAD A WITNESS AND THE REPAIR STATION SAID IT WAS DEFINITELY A BLOW OUT AND PUT IT ON THE REPAIR INVOICE. ANOTHER ONE OF THE TIRES HAD A VERY LARGE BUBBLE IN IT. OBVIOUSLY THE TIRES WERE DEFECTIVE AND NEITHER MR. TIRE NOR YOKOHAMA WILL RESOLVE THIS ISSUE. *TR

BOUGHT BRAND NEW YOKOHAMA TIRES FOR MY SATURN VUE - HAD THEM APPROXIMATELY 2 WEEKS WHEN ONE OF THEM BLEW OUT FORCING MY VEHICLE INTO A CURB WHILE I WAS DRIVING. THIS DID MAJOR DAMAGE TO THE FRONT END - THE FRONT DRIVERS TIRE BLEW OUT AND THE REAR TIRE ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE HAD A HUGE BUBBLE IN IT. *TR