This weekend my family and I were driving back from an OH horseshow. At 65 mph while passing a semi on a four lane highway, our left front tire blew out. The explosion lifted the front of the truck off the ground, we jack knifed twice, slid a long way and finally came to rest in the median unharmed. Only the fact that we were pulling a long heavy trailer with good brakes, kept us straight enough to keep from rolling when we were sliding sideways. My wife, daughter, two dogs and one horse were quite shaken but uninjured. It was quite a ride.

Our truck tires were Firestone Steeltex Radial AT tires 265 75 16 e range. They were inflated to 80 psi and this was checked aprox 3 hrs before the accident. The air temp at the time was aprox 75 degrees in the evening. The road way was recently repaved and was in very good repair.

I found out that through the NHTSA website that these tires were recalled when installed on Ford Excursions vehicles, but NOT on oem equipped Ford pickups.

In many conversations with various telephone representatives of Firestone, they are denying any responsibility for the accident. Yesterday our local Firestone dealer tried his best to convince his powers to be that they had a liability issue and all five tires should be changed at 29k miles. He determined the thread had separated, and the blowout was not caused by striking any object.

Firestone has denied any and all solutions and any further involvement. My follow up conversation with their consumer affairs person this morning met with the same results. I then told her that this would become a legal matter, when I would initiate litigation for not only the cost of the tires, but the destroyed wheel well, the bumper and suspension damage, tow truck fees and my cost for legal representation. Her reply was in effect, "do what you have to do"

If any other member of this forum have vehicles equipped with these tires, I would seriously consider your safety in a continued use of them. If any of you have had any problems with this brand, I would appreciate hearing from you.

My truck as of yesterday now has BF Goodrich tires with road hazzard warranties and a lifetime service contract.

Best of luck

This is one reason why I won't run Firestone tires again.  I've run Bridgestone Heavy Duty/Commercial tires with no problem (aren't they the same!?!?) and prefer Coopers when I can get them (for the 3/4 ton truck and passenger car; haven't looked to see what Cooper has for commercial grade tires.)

My '06 Dodge has Generals... Never would have put them on a truck, but they seem to be holding up fine at 17,000 miles.

Sorry to hear of your accident.  GOOD LUCK with your case--Firestone needs to come clean about problems with their tires, if you can indeed prove they still have trouble (sounds like you can...)

Mike

You may want to post over here...

http://www0.epinions.com/Firestone_Steeltex_Radial_R4S_Truck_SUV_Tire/display_~reviews

You were correct on the recall...

Bridgestone announced an additional Steeltex tire recall. Data generated by 6 accidents, 5 fatalities, and 20 injuries triggered the new NHTSA early warning system. The system, which was established by recent federal reporting requirements, linked 2000-2003 Ford Excursion SUVs with Firestone Steeltex Radial A/T tires. There are about 80,000 Excursion’s involved with a cost of $30 million to conduct the recall. These tire failures involved several factors:  under inflation, overloading, hot operating conditions, and high speed driving. Bridgestone estimates there are almost 300,000 tires involved that could suffer from blowouts or sidewall failures. Free tire inspection and/or replacements are available at any Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, or Firestone tire dealers. Just for the record, the fatality count associated with the earlier recall of Firestone tires and Ford Explorer rollovers has reached 271 deaths so far. 5

http://www.motorwatch.com/safety/images/2004-03+04.pdf

What has the attorney had to say?

It seems that this should be a contingency fee type of case...i.e. you don't have to pay up front but the attorney gets the lion's share of the winnings, if you win...

As a follow up to my earlier posting, Friday I spoke with my attorney about the Firestone issue. He welcomed the opportunity to address my problem as he already was representing other people who have had problems with Firestone tires. Most cases like this are handled on a contingincy basis, whether individually or in a class action.

My truck is a Ford super duty 4x4 with PSD. The dealer recommends because of the heavily loaded front end that the tires be run at the max tire inflation of 80 psi when pulling a heavy trailer. I have a single wheel rear axle.

BTW the tires on the Explorer were the "P" series and not the "LT" tires used on heavier pick ups. These are common to suvs, and not to trucks.

Thank you for all of your responses. This sounds as if it might become an interesting process as the lawsuit progresses.

 The dealer recommends because of the heavily loaded front end that the tires be run at the max tire inflation of 80 psi when pulling a heavy trailer. I have a single wheel rear axle.

You want to get that in writing!!!

I get the feeling this might be another pissing contest between Ford and Firestone, with each trying to push the liability on to the other...

All of the big three diesels are a heavy loaded front end but I've never seen a door jam thats said 80psi in FRONTS max load.80psi is one rough ride in fronts as well as hard on front end parts.

To Houndog

I appreciate your input and respect your knowledge. I have also driven many miles over many years using max inflation tire pressures. I know what a hard ride is, and know the damage an under inflated tire can do. Until this episode, I have never had a tire failure, only flats caused by foreign objects.

The front end wear you allude to will not increase with higher tire pressures of 5-10 psi. It will change with higher weight loadings and will be significantly affected by damage due to underinflation. I have worked as a mechanic for over 35 years in the avaition field, 10 in the automotive field and seen many failed tires and attached structures.

For various reasons I only run trucks with SRWs and need a high load capacity to haul heavy weights. I am meticulous about maintenance and tire pressures for the safety of my family and my livestock.

Each truck owner has his own requirements and needs. To satisify these, each one of us purchases what he feels is the best combination for his situation. The result is a wide variety of products, all doing the same basic thing; carrying a load down the road.

To compare the load rating of a dually to a single rear wheel tire truck, one manufacturer to another, one size of truck to another is an apple orange issue.The issue at hand is "what load is the tire capable of carrying?"

Best of luck