Ford Escort tire blowout problems

Filed Mar 4, 2014 · Tires · 180,000 miles · CA

I purchased all four michelins about a year ago. Since then I had two blowouts on the rear drive-side tire and one on the front driver-side tire. All three blew out on the sidewalls, two of which were on the inner side sidewall and one on the outer side sidewall. There were no nails, glass, or other debris responsible for these blowouts. The first one not only left a gapping hole on the inner side sidewall, but it got so hot it also blew out the tire stem and was smoking for a good hour afterwards. They replaced that tire with a brand new michelin of the same type. Then the second blew out happened on that new tire several months later also leaving a gapping hole on the inner side sidewall and it was so hot the guys couldn't even touch it to fix it until they doused it with water. They replaced it with a brand new michelin as well. Then several months later (today) the front driver side tire blew similarly. I did not crash and there was no fire, however there was a lot of smoke and these instances could have easily been a lot worse since I was on the freeway each time, but I'm lucky they were not. I definitely feel we are dealing with some defective tires here.

Filed Dec 20, 2010 · Tires · 150,000 miles · ME

Tl*the contact owns a 1998 ford escort. The tire brand was bridge stone insignia sl, tire size was p175/65r14. The dot was unknown. While driving approximately 67 MPH, the contact stated that the front right passenger tire blew out without warning. The tires were on the vehicle when it was purchased. The dealer nor the manufacturer were notified. There were no recalls or warranties on the tires. The current and failure mileages were approximately 150,000. Updated 02/08/11*lj update 02/14/11

Filed Aug 9, 2010 · Tires · 151,600 miles · MI

My wife & I have a 1996 ford escort wagon that we purchased used in 2008. At the time of purchase it had a set of 4 bridgestone insignia sl tires that still had reasonable tread depth remaining, so we decided to continue to use the tires until the tread had worn down more and needed replacing. On friday, july 30, 2010, my wife was driving down the freeway at approximately 70 MPH when part of the rear passenger-side tire tread separated from the tire and shot against the sheet metal on the inside of the wheel well. It ripped a large hole in the vehicle's sheet metal, shot many small pieces of tire through the hole into the interior cargo area in the rear of the vehicle, and caused the vehicle to stall at the same time. Thankfully my wife was able to handle the car during this catastrophic event and successfully maneuver it onto the shoulder of the freeway. We had the car towed home since it would no longer start, and when it arrived I noticed the large hole that had been made inside the wheel well by the tread separation. The tire still had pressure, but at that time I saw that about half of the tread was completely missing. Since the ford escort has its fuel cutout switch installed against the passenger-side wheel well, I checked to see if that had tripped and it had. Once it was reset the car was able to start and the engine ran normally. As a result of this catastrophic tire failure my wife was placed in an incredibly dangerous situation, stranded on the road, and significant damage was done to our vehicle. It is my understanding as a former automotive engineer that tire failures of this kind are not acceptable and any tire that is susceptible to this failure must not be used. I have replaced all 4 tires with new tires of a different brand and am working on having the car repaired. Approximately 2 weeks prior to this event I had checked the pressure in all 4 tires and had inflated them just under the maximum listed on the side of the tire (44 psi).

Filed Feb 29, 2008 · Tires · 27,585 miles · CA

Purchased (4) cooper tires(185/65r14 trender setter; d.o.t. Ut75c2h1602 on 8-12-2002. A sidewall defect(2x1" bubble) was noticed and manufacturer was notified on 1/2006. Tire(same type) was replaced at owner's cost. Another tire sidewall defect(2x1" bubble) was noticed on 1/2008 in the same location as the first. This tire was returned to the manufacturer for evaluation. The manufacturer claimed it was not defective, but caused by customer. This caused customer to loose confidence in the quality of the manufacurer's tires for fear of a sidewall blow out. All tires were replaced with a different brand at owner's cost.

Filed Aug 22, 2007 · Tires · 97,000 miles · WV

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford escort. The contact purchased two bridgestone potenza g009 (na) summer tires (size 205/40/r17) on may 12, 2007. One of the tires exploded as the contact's wife was driving 25 MPH. The tread separated from the tire and the sidewalls separated from the beads. Bridgestone stated that she must have struck something in the road to cause the blow out. She informed them that she did not drive over any potholes. The contact stated that the tread on the tires still looks brand new and there is less than 10,000 miles left on them. The dot number may not be accurate. The tire failure mileage was 9,500 and the vehicle current and failure mileages were 97,000.

Filed Jan 11, 2007 · Tires · FL

Tire separation with chunks of tire gone leaving radial belt expose. This is the second tire, same company and same tire that has separated. Both leaving large areas of radial belt exposed. Have pictures. No accident no injuries, driving in heavy traffic when both evidently separated based on noise and shaking.

Filed Sep 21, 2006 · Tires · OH · crash · 1 injury

1999 escort left front tire blew out. *ts when the tire blew out, the consumer lost control of the vehicle and struck two guardrails. The consumer had minor injuries, but refused treatment.

Filed Dec 3, 2005 · Acceleration, Tires · 40 miles · MI · crash

Daughter was driving car, had a tire blow out, and car suddenly accelerated out of control. She tried shifting gears, using brakes, and pulling parking brake to no avail. She crashed into parked cars after traveling about 200 yards uphill. Witnesses say she was going about 30 to 40 MPH. After the blowout, which happened as she was leaving a stop. Car will not be repaired, will be junked. It is too dangerous for anyone to drive.

Filed Nov 21, 2003 · 60,000 miles · OH

Air conditioner began blowing hot air june 2002 took in for repair and ricart ford claimed it was the module. The part was not covered on the extended warranty plan and it was over $500 to repair. Declined repairs. The following spring air conditioner began working on its own april 2003. July 2003 the air conditioner began blowing hot air and would blow out cold air if in the shade or temperature outside was cool. At this time the air conditioner is not functioning.

Filed Apr 16, 2003 · Tires · 19,000 miles · FL

All four of the tires were replaced, due to the tread separating. *jb all four of the tires on vehicle were replaced, due to the tread separating.