1997 Ford Expedition tires problems

Filed Aug 11, 2015 · Tires · MT

General ameri-trac 255/70/r16 had a complete tread separation from main tire. It began when I noticed sudden and violent vibration coming from the front driver side tire while driving at 60mph on highway 82 in montana. I immediately slowed down, pulled over and inspected the tire to find chunks of rubber falling out and tread bulging & warped. This tire (proper mounted & balanced) has appx 75% tread. I slowly drove home and parked the vehicle. The following day I was going to replace it with the spare. When I went out the next morning the tire had completely gone flat. A closer look revealed over night the tire had exploded with the tread completely separating from the tire around 1/5 of its circumference. The steel belts still attached to the lifted part of the tread. I was lucky this didn't explode while driving on the highway.. As going 60mph on a two lane highway (one lane each way) that is heavily used by logging trucks going 70+MPH could have lead to a devastating and tragic accident. An incident of this nature on icy roads in winter would have only increased the likely-hood of a fatality. I'm not sure if this tire is an isolated defective item or if all the 255/70 r16 ameri-trac tires are bad, but I certainly want this defective tire replaced by general as no tire of this poor of quality should legally be on the road. It would be like allowing brake manufacturers to sell brakes systems that are known to fail or allowing steering wheel manufacturers to sell steering wheels that are known to fall off while driving. If heavy penalties and fines were given to these companies (that have weak inspection procedures) for each defective incident, maybe they would not allow hundreds of thousands of these tires to be sold... Just because they wish to cut costs on quality control issues and help their bottom line profits. The american public and especially families with small children deserve better, safer and higher standards in this industry.

Filed Mar 17, 2014 · Tires · CA · crash

While traveling s/b at approx 70 MPH on i5 in orange county ca, rr tire of 97 ford expedition suffered 360 degree tread separation. Loss of control, roll. Front passenger died. Driver lost three fingers. Definity dakota h/t, dot upcu pa7 1508 (cooper, findley plant). Doa 9/5/13.

Filed May 5, 2011 · Body, Tires · 130,000 miles · WA

While driving down the highway a normal speed the spare tire on my expedition fell off when the cable holding the tire up seemed to have broke. My vehicle ran over the tire and I could see the spare bouncing wildly down the road. Fortunately, no other cars hit the tire but it was extremely close since a car just passed from the other direction and there would have been no way they could have missed the bouncing tire in the oncoming lane. Ford does not know how close they came to killing innocent people. The road was smooth without bumps, the tire just fell off. To my knowledge, we have never used the spare tire on this vehicle.

Filed Sep 22, 2010 · Tires · AL

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 ford expedition with four dayton timberline ht 265/75/16 tires. The contact stated that on all four tires the sidewall is separating from the rest of the tire. The manufacturer has not been contacted. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Jun 4, 2010 · Suspension, Tires · 223,500 miles · MS

June 4, 2010 [xxx] wmc tv 5 memphis, tn 38104 dear mr. Wise and consumer investigators: walmart is selling recalled tires outlawed by the federal safety agency and department of transportation. This series was once sold by firestone. This tire is responsible for over 26,000 deaths and $1m in damages etc. Goodyear bought the trademarked series mentioned in the subject line and is selling them only at walmart. This is the same product but different company. The tires specifics are p25570r16. I am preparing to take this step further to get this series removed from the shelves. It is the tires tread, depth, size, height, etc. That did not conform to the federal government's regulations an specificities. Contact me to further discuss this issue via email at [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr updated ivoq 10/22/10

Filed Apr 21, 2010 · Tires · 78,215 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 ford expedition. While coming to a stop sign at 3 MPH, the contact suddenly heard a noise. Upon stopping, the contact noticed that the spare tire had fallen off because of a broken cable. The contact called an authorized dealership and the dealer stated that they would not be able to inspect or repair the vehicle. The current mileage was 78,525. The failure mileage was 78,215.

Filed Mar 12, 2010 · Body, Tires · 136,000 miles · UT

Our spare tire that was mounted underneath the car, -fell off- while driving through a residential neighborhood. The cable "broke" that was holding it in place underneath the car. Thank goodness we were not on the freeway. It will cost $100. To repair.

Filed Aug 1, 2005 · Brakes, Tires · 165,000 miles · NY

Dt: on june 27, 2005 while driving about 65 MPH the consumer heard a noise. And upon stopping, the consumer noticed the spare tire fell off. No damage to the vehicle was reported. The cable broke completely off, and the tire was gone. Owner called ford, and they were not concerned.*ak the brake line ruptured.

Filed Feb 26, 2005 · Tires · 102,300 miles · AZ

The spare tire of my 1997 ford expedition (truck) is normally threaded with a wire rope and winched up into place beneath the back of the expedition. It works well and is easier to use than the traditional bolt/plate. However, in january 2005,my wife was driving on grant road a major street in tucson arizona and the wire rope broke and the tire flew off from beneath our expedition and bounced wildly down the road. Fortunately nothing and no one hit the tire; but there was potential for a very serious accident if it had been hit by one or more cars. Traffic stopped and my wife went back and retrieved the errant tire from the middle of three lanes. I do not know if the cable was corroded; but living in a dry climate of the arizona desert I do not believe this was the case. There was no rust of any kind I could see. I believe ford motor company should notify truck owners to inspect the cable for defects. We were very lucky that a lot of damage wasn't done to other vehicles or humans.

Filed Jul 26, 2004 · Tires · 170 miles · TX

The spare tire retention cable failed, causing the spare tire to fall out of the bottom of my 1997 ford expedition. This happened under normal highway driving conditions on a busy section of road. There fortunately were no vehicles following at the time or there most assuredly would have been an accident.