I recently returned from a long road trip, with a new set of tires.
(Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo)

I was driving from the Jersey shore to my friend's house, when my front passenger tire lost it's tread. I was doing about 75 mph, and the wheel started to wobble strongly. I took my foot off the gas, and then the tread separated from the radial and slammed my running board, rocker panel, fender, and front bumper.

The tires had about 3/32" of tread, and Bridgestone recommends changing at 2/32". I have contacted their product liability department and they sent me some paperwork to fill out.

Has anyone out there had a similar experience?

I am just worried that they will find some excuse to not pay for the repair. The tire had been plugged once, but it should not have separated like it did.

Besides all of this, I have to pay to ship them the tire. If they decide it wasn't defective I will be out another $50 on top of the $3000 in damage to my truck.

I am just hoping that someone has some advice.

On the bright side, I guess it's time for a Bull Bar and some Sliders. Maybe even fiberglass fenders...

 

Pics man, pics!

Sorry that happened to you. Keep pursuing it with them. Sounds fishy that it was plugged before...

 

Sorry to hear about your tires failing, looks like you reacted correctly and avoid a potential serious accident.

I recently was a jurror for a civil case which had to do with a tread seperation which resulted in a roleover accident. Needless to say I learned way more than I wanted about tires.

Can you guess what brand of tire failed? I'll give you a hint, it started w/ an "F".

The Firestone experts, were trying to say that the tire was operated in an "over deflected state" meaning it was driven with the incorrect amount of tire pressure. So my advice is to be aware of any questions concerning you habits for checking tire pressure on a regular bases and inflating to the recommended psi.

Hope this helps...

 

Hey....i have bridgestone dueler ATs on mine too.....in my opinion they are really great tires....probably have saved my life a couple of times.....but last october my passenger rear blew and the tread ALMOST was completely ripped off the sidewall, except for like 2 inches on inside of the tire....but of course firestone "carefully" pointed out to me that something puntured the tire.....which i still think is BS......well anyways....sorry about your damage to your 4runner....that sucks.......you have any pics??

shoorty

 

Sucks doesn't even describe that one!!! I'd lose it!!! I personally have never like Bridgestone. Bridgestone and Firestone are the same company which makes me wonder on that one. I personally like BFG's. I had a set of A/T's one time and ran over a screwdriver. It dug into the tread, hit the belts and never punctured it. It actually speared about 5 inches of tread and was stuck in it. I drove it back to my house which was about 10 miles with a screwdriver wedged in the tire (I forgot when I was cleaning out my truck to put the tire iron back in ) When I got back home I ripped the screwdriver back out and put on my spare. The tire still held air and ended up putting it back on with no vibration indicating a broken belt. I ran the tire for another 20 thousand miles!!! No problems. Ever since that I've been sold on BFG's.

 

Take pics for yourself before you send the tire, why can't you just go back to where you got the tires and have them send it back, how many miles are on them.

I more than feel your pain, I rolled a 96 EddieBauer Explorer

 

I do have some pics, will try to post them later.

Also, I checked the tire pressure Thursday, and it was 35psi. I check the pressure about every 1000 miles. (thanks for the info Ranski)

I do count myself lucky that I didn't lose control. I would like to think that it is solely because I am a good driver, but I know that part of it is that the 4Runner is not as rollover prone as other SUV's.

The tires have about 45,000 miles on them, the problem is that they were on the truck when I bought it. I know they were made in the 39th week of 1998 by the DOT code, so they will be warranteed if Bridgestone/Firestone decides they were defective.

Thank you all for the responses.

 

You mean an exploder right?

 

Isn't that all they are good for? That and picking up sorority chicks.

 

It sure as hell exploded after the 5th roll in all I think it was like 17 roles

 

Yup chicks loved it, but Im finding out chicks love the 4Runner even more.

 

You are more than likely going to be out of luck because the tire has been repaired. Especially if it was plugged using a gas station plug. The only approved way of repairing a tire is to use a flat patch on the inside and fill the hole with special filler. No tire shop does this. At most they use a patch/plug design. Your repair will give them an easy way out, and is almost certainly what caused the problem.

You should not have to pay to ship the tire to them. You should be able to take it to an authorized Bridgestone dealer. They will have the necessary forms and should handle the adjustment. You will most likely have to take legal action for any hope of getting them to pay the damages.


Good Luck!

 

35 PSI is too high isn't it, especially for a long trip? Don't let Firestone/Bridgestone find out...

 

No. I put all mine right at 35 psi. In fact on the side of the tire will be a specification for Max. pressure. So as long as it doesn't say like 30 pounds you'll be OK. My BFG's say max pressure 50 psi

 

I run at 35 too. Pirelli's here...

 

I have mine at 35-37psi

 

Hmmm...Maybe you guys probably run bigger tires than I do...265/75 15.
In the book my rec pressure is 26, plus I like to keep it under 30 to compensate for the Tacoma's suspension.
If you're going to be driving for long distances, would it be a good idea to bring you cold pressure down below the max pressure some to compensate for how much it will expand at the high speed for long periods of time? (<- I'm not tryin' to make excuses for Firestone here, just spekalatin.)

 

Yea Im at 40-45, that too much?

 

Even at 35 psi, the most variance you'll have running is about 3 psi difference. So if you have a 50 psi max, your still way below.

Del- that may be too much pressure. At a higher pressure like that, you'll wear the inside of the tread most and your sides of the tire will show little wear. Are you tires wearing funny??

 

Find a lawyer and take some pics!!!!