Heard on the news this morning Ford is recalling Excursions with Firestone Steeltex tires as they are responsible for more crashes. This is nothing new ever since they started making radial tires they have had delamination problems. I personally have had no less than 8 of their tires different models come apart with at least 30% of tread left. When I go to a dealer to look at vehicles if it has Firestones it's a pass! I think it's time for National Highway Safety to become involved, to find out if Firestone is just turning out dangerous crap, or there needs to be special license testing for SUV's. When I had these blow-out I didn't crash or roll my vehicle, but a soccer mom who's got 4 or 5 screaming kids in the car, talking on the cell phone will panic and hit the breaks and I don't need this when I'm on the road as well. How do others feel about this?

 

I think most of these problems are caused by idiots who never check their tire pressure.

 

I'll never put Firestone or Bridgestone on my truck,
or let anyone I care about put them on their cars as well.

The first debacle with Firestone and Ford was enough, let alone the latest.

I still put 75% of the blame on Ford though.
Telling their customers to run the tires well below their safe pressure.


phox

 

I check my pressures on regular basis why did my tires come apart?

 

Beats me. If they weren't underinflated, overloaded, and overspeeded, then Firestone sold you a crappy set of tires. I was just commenting based on my observation that at least 25% of the cars I see on the road have at least one tire that appears low. You asked me how I felt.

 

I agree that a lot of people don't seem to pay attention to tire pressure, which is something that is usually less of problem on a sedan than on a heavy, top heavy vehicle like a large SUV. I'll guess that most truck owners at least know that they're supposed to pay attention to tire pressure, and I'll guess that a lot of people treat large SUVs just like large cars, which is drive until something breaks before getting it fixed. I'll guess that another factor is that in order to entice people into large SUVs the OEMs want the vehicles to be as quiet and soft riding as possible, so they'll be more likely to mount and suggest softer riding tires with lower pressure than they would on a truck.

On a related isssue a brother in Alaska bumps into some people in the state patrol on a regular basis, and he commented that one has been surveying accidents. The patrolman noted that heavy, lower, slower sedans like a Volvo seem to do ok in a lot of accidents as they just go off of the road, a lot of pickups end up bass ackwards, while a lot of SUVs end up upside down.

 

News story today these are mostly used on the Excursions and indicated one of them was pulling a 30' trailer, and another was carrying 1600 lbs of water and was traveling at 80mph when the tire let go.

 

"while a lot of SUVs end up upside down."

That's what I'm saying perhaps they should require a special training and license for these vehicles like a lot of states do for motorcycles. Obviously these people can't control these types of vehicles in an emergency situation.

The other day it was raining ( a rare occurence in Calif.) I was checking the CHP page for traffic and there were 3 Explorers involved in different accidents 1-spun out, 1- hit big rig and rolled several times and one went off the side of freeway. These are people we have to share the road with every day!

 

A lot of people are just used to in city driving and get those cheap tires, and then decide to go to Grandma's or someplace, driving suddenly at 80 mph, those cheap tires let go !!!
I actually saw one on the freeway the other day, had 4 of those dinky tires you put on in case of a flat, the ones that say don't use over 25 miles or go over 20 mph in speed. He was doing about 70 !!! Of course, no seatbelt !!!

 

They did a special on TV after the first go-round w/ Firestone...they basically toured the facility posing as a vendor or something and video taped all kinds of stuff. QC in that place was lacking. They were turning out tires that were obviously unsafe, but you couldn't tell by looking at the final product. But if you were there while the tire was made you'd probably never buy another one of their products again!

And I agree w/ a law where if you're driving a vehicle over a certain weight you need to pass a special driver's training course. But then again, maybe there's something to be said about ANY SUV being unsafe because they're so top-heavy and have a short wheelbase and relatively narrow axles.

 

Look at it this way. All you have to have to have to buy a huge motorhome is a heartbeat and alot of cash. In order for me to drive a vehicle 26,001 lbs or more I have to have a CDL which requires a physical every two years. I have seen people get out of their motorhomes barely able to walk, and they were driving!You are not going to get any one to have special training for a SUV if they can't require training for Ma and Pa Kettle for their motorhome.

As for the tires I find it difficult to believe that these two companies are having the same problems again and chalk it up to coincidence. I wouldn't have a Bridgestone/Firestone on my vehicles let alone a Ford.

 

why make restrictions on certain vehicle unless its a big truck, more than 6 wheels or 20' in length. just teach people to drive. people think they have 4 wheel drive and can go/do anything well it may accelerate in the snow but it doesnt stop any better. how about that ABS "almost braking system" do you relize when the ABS is engaged it increases your stopping distance, oh and it doesnt work when you are hydroplaning or sliding on the ice. People actually think that these things are the cure all for there poor driving ability. averyone who drive should be held to and equally high standard. if you drive for a living you have more responsibility to be a better driver.

 

We had problems at Ford with Firestone tires in the early '90s on Explorers. Belts breaking. Could never run one of those tires down to the wearbars. I also believe people should be trained for the vehicle they drive. I also hate to see some guy who has driven a desk all his life take his retirement pay and buy a motorhome or a dually with a 35' trailer and hop on the ol' interstate. I really hate a person with a vanload of kids screaming and she is yacking on the phone. Stupid stupid stupid. I think that if you wreck and you don't have a seatbelt on you don't get any insurance (no matter what the cause). I also hate lawyers (live ones anyway) Check your tire pressure every 2 weeks. Do a walk around your vehicle every time you get into it. Don't plug tires, patch only. BTW I have owned Bridgestone tires and have never had problems with them. The explorer I owned I changed the Firestone Radial ATX tires for BFG the second day I had it. This was in '91. Thanks I feel better..

 

Good post Spots and everyone else. It's only common sense if you don't keep your tires properly inflated you will have problems no matter what brand they are. I just feel that Firestone has inordinant number of failures in my own experience and I read about more every day. I just don't understand how they stay in bussiness, is the American public as a whole clueless?

 

YUP!