1996 FORD EXPLORER Complaints

WHILE DRIVING, CONSUMER FELT VIBRATION AND COULD HARDLY STEER VEHICLE, PULLED OFF TO THE SIDE OF ROAD, AFTER INSPECTION OF THE FIRESTONE ATX TIRE P235/75R15 DOT VDHL1PM TIRE IT WAS FOUND THAT THERE WAS A LARGE SEPARATION ON DRIVER'S FRONT TIRE, 10 DAYS LATER ANOTHER TIRE EXPERIENCED TREAD SEPARATION AND ON THIS TIRE THE STEEL BELTS COULD BE SEEN, THE SECOND BLOWOUT CAUSED DAMAGE TO THE FENDER, RUNNING BOARD, AND BUMPER, ALL TIRES WERE REPLACED AND ANOTHER FAULTY TIRE WAS FOUND, CONSUMER IS REQUESTING REIMBURSEMENT. *SLC

ONE SPOT ON ONE TIRE WORE THROUGH INTO THE STEEL BELT WHILE THE REST OF THE TIRE TREAD HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH QUITE A BIT OF TREAD LEFT ON THEM. IT WAS ONLY BY CHANCE THAT I NOTICED THE WORN SPOT AND FORTUNATELY IT WAS BEFORE GOING ON A LONG TRIP. NEW TIRES, SAME TYPE WERE PURCHASED. MORE RECENTLY, I ROTATED THE ORIGINAL SPARE ONTO THE CAR AND NOTICED A STEERING PULL TO ONE SIDE AND FOUND IT WAS NOT AN ALIGNMENT PROBLEM. IT TURNED OUT THE ORIGINAL SPARE ALSO HAD ONE WORN OUT SPOT DOWN TO THE STEEL BELT WHILE THE REST OF THE TIRE WAS FINE. AT THE STORE I ASKED WHY IT MIGHT HAPPEN IN PARTICULAR ON TWO TIRES. THEY MENTIONED THERE PROBABLY WAS A DEFECT IN THE TIRE AND THEY WERE TO SAVE THE TIRE SO I COULD CONTACT FIRESTONE. HOWEVER, THEY SAVED THE WRONG TIRE SO I DON'T HAVE IT. BUT HEARING OF THE DEFECTS ON THE ALL TERRAIN FIRESTONE TIRES PROMPTED ME TO RELAY THIS EXPERIENCE OF TWO ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT FIRESTONE TIRES THAT HAD SINGLE SPOTS WORN DOWN PAST THE STEEL BELTS ON OTHERWISE 1/2 WORN TIRES. *AK( DOT NUMBER: )

AFTER READING SOME INFO ON THE RECENT FIRESTONE TIRE PROBLEMS I HAD THE SAME FAILURE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. I DID NOT HAVE AN ACCIDENT JUST SOME MINOR DAMAGE FROM THE TIRE SLAPPING THE REAR BUMPER AND WHEEL WELL. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW ABOUT THE INCIDENT. JUST LAST MONTH I BOUGHT ANOTHER EXPLORER WITH THE SAME TIRES. I GUESS I HAVE TO GET THEM REPLACED. *AK( DOT NUMBER: )

TIRE CAME APART SUDDENLY, AND DESTROYED LR FENDER AND DAMAGED UNDERCARRIAGE. TOTAL REPAIR COST $2400. *AK( DOT NUMBER: UNKNOWN TIRE SIZE: P205/75R15 )

TREAD SEPARATION AT 75 MPH DRIVING FROM PHOENIX TO LA LAST THURSDAY. I SAVED THE DEFECTIVE TIRE DUE TO NEWS COVERAGE BUT HAD TO REPLACE THE REST TO MAKE THE RETURN TRIP WITH CONFIDENCE. *AK( DOT NUMBER: )

WHILE DRIVING SOUTH FROM ATLANTA ON I75 AT 70MPH THE RIGHT REAR TIRE EXPLODED WITH A ROAR.MY WIFE, WHO WAS DRIVING, MANAGED TO EASE THE CAR OFF THE ROAD. THE TIRE WAS TOTALLY DISINTEGRATED. WE CALLED AAA WHO REMOVED THE WHEEL AND INSTALLED THE SPARE. ON JUNE 28 WE TOOK THE CAR TO FIRESTONE TIRE CO AT 2211 APPALACHE PKWY, TALLAHASSEE, FL , 32301 TEL 850-877-0184. THEY COULD OFFER NO EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THE TIRE DISINTEGRATED SO TOTALLY. WE BOUGHT A NEW FIRESTONE RADL ATX I I TIRE WHICH THEY INSTALLED. *AK( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: 23575R15 )

TIRE TREAD PEELED OFF OF TIRE DURING HIGHWAY DRIVING. FIRST OCCURANCE IN APRIL WITH NO CRASH OR INJURY. SECOND OCCURANCE CAUSED VEHICLE TO ROLL CAUSING SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE. VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY AT BODY SHOP GETTING ESTIMATE. *AK( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: 235-15 )

AT APPROX. 5:00 PM ON MARCH 2000, WHILE RETURNING TO CHARLOTTE, NC FROM TRIP TO COLUMBIA, SC THAT MORNING (DRIVING TIME APPROX. 1 HR. 15 MINUTES EA. WAY), HANDLING BECAME ROUGH FOLLOWING NOISE OF SOMETHING HITTING UNDERCARRIAGE OF VEHICLE. UPON PULLING OFF HIGHWAY, WE EXAMINED LEFT REAR TIRE AND DISCOVERED THAT TREAD HAD COMPLETELY PEELED AWAY, LEAVING EXPOSED SMOOTH RUBBER SURFACE. CHANGED TIRE AND CONTINUED BALANCE OF TRIP WITHOUT INCIDENT. TIRE WAS PURCHASED IN OCTOBER 1999 FROM SEARS. IN LIGHT OF RECENT PUBLICITY, WE FELT WE SHOULD REPORT THIS. WOULD ALSO LIKE TO KNOW WHY IT TOOK THE REMOVAL ACTION BY SEARS TO SPOTLIGHT THIS PROBLEM AND WHY THE NTSA DID NOT MAKE THIS PROBLEM PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE BEFOREHAND. *AK( DOT NUMBER: )

TREAD CAME OFF OF TIRE AFTER CAR BEGAN TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY ON HIGHWAY. THE CAR WAS TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 60 MILES AN HOUR WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE TEMPERATURE WAS ABOUT 90 DEGREES AND WE HAD BEEN DRIVING FOR 3 1/2 HOURS. THE SHAKING OF THE CAR BEGAN SLOWLY WHEN THE CAR REACHED 65 MILES PER HOUR AND OVER A DISTANCE OF 60 MILES THE SHAKING INCREASED DRAMATICALLY UNTIL THE TIRE BLEW. THE TIRE WAS COMPLETELY SHREADED. BOTH BACK TIRES WERE REPLACED AND A FREE FIRESTONE INSPECTION HAS BEEN PERFORMED ON THE ORIGINAL FRONT TWO TIRES.( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: P235/75R15 )

MY WIFE AND I PURCHASED A NEW FORD EXPLORER IN 09/1996. SINCE THAT TIME WE HAVE HAD TO REPLACE EVERY ORIGINAL TIRE, INCLUDING THE SPARE, BECAUSE OF TREAD SEPERATION. THIS DID NOT OCCUR ALL AT ONCE, BUT OVER THE PERIOD OF TIME SINCE WE PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. SOME OF THE TIRES WERE REPLACED AT THE FORD DEALERSHIP AND SOME OF THE TIRES WERE REPLACED AT FIRESTONE DEALERSHIPS, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THE TIRES WERE INSPECTED, THE CAUSE GIVEN FOR THE BAD TIRES WAS CONSISTENTLY THE "BEGINNING OF TREAD SEPERATION". UNFORTUNATELY, WE WERE NOT AWARE OF THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM NATIONALLY, BECAUSE HAD WE KNOWN, WE WOULD NOT HAVE REPLACED THE ORIGINAL TIRES WITH THE SAME MODEL/MAKE OF TIRES. I DO NOT READILY HAVE AVAILABLE THE DATES, THE VEHICLE MILEAGE OF WHEN THE TIRES WERE REPLACED NOR WHICH TIRES WERE REPLACED (E.G. FRONT RIGHT OR REAR LEFT) AT THE TIME OF REPLACEMENT, BUT I WILL SEARCH FOR THOSE RECORDS. I ALWAYS CAREFULLY MONITOR ANY SUBTLE CHANGES IN THE PERFORMANCE OF MY VEHICLES, WHICH IS WHY I WAS ABLE TO DETECT EARLY, THE SEPERATION OF THE TREAD FROM THE TIRES. THE SYMPTOM I DETECTED WAS A NOTICABLY ROUGHER RIDE BEGINNING AT A SPEED OF 50 MPH. CONTACT ME, SHOULD YOU NEED ANY OTHER INFORMATION.( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: P235/75R15 )