Tire Sidewall problems of the 2003 Ford F-250

The contact owns a 2003 Ford F-250 sd. The vehicle has firestone lt23585r16 tires. While pulling out of a meineke dealer, the contact heard a noise coming from his tires. The tires deflated and then flattened. He did not drive over a pothole or any other road hazard. He removed the tires from the vehicle to get them patched; however, there was an inch long crack on the bottom of the tread on the sidewalls. Therefore, the tires could not be repaired and could no longer be used. On October 26, 2007, he purchased three new tires for his vehicle. The failure mileage was 88,154.

I purchased a brand new uniroyal laredo tire near austin, texas at an ntb store. The ntb store put the tire on the right front of my 2003 Ford F-250. Within 10 minutes of leaving the ntb store, the tire catastrophically failed and I was barely able to bring my truck (pulling a large gooseneck trailer) under control on I-35. The failure could have been disastrous not only for me, but for many of the other people driving on I-35, as vehicles had to quickly move out of my way as my truck was dragged across at least one lane of travel, the shoulder and into the grass on the side of the highway. Afterwards, the entire sidewall of the tire was found to have been ripped off the tire and my wheel was severely damaged. Clearly, this tire was defective in its manufacturer.

In June 2003, I purchased a new 2003 Ford f250. It had firestone steeltex r4s lt 265/75 r16 tires on it. On March 16, 2004, the rear driver's side tire went completely flat as I was sitting at a red light. I pulled over to the side of the road and found that the tire had a rip across the side wall approximately 5 inches long. The tires (and truck) have less than 12,000 miles on them. I called Ford, and they referred me to a local firestone dealer. At the firestone dealer, one of the mechanics looked at the tire and said there was no apparent reason for the tire to split, but a manager would have to look at it before it could be replaced. The manager looked at it and said I must have hit a large rock or something. I explained that I was sitting at a signal light when it happened and that the truck had never been off the pavement. He said maybe somebody came by and cut it or stuck an ice pick in it (as if I wouldn't have noticed that in my rear view mirror). Then he told me it was Ford's fault because they were using the wrong kind of tire for such a big vehicle, but he would sell me a new one at a discount. The firestone website has specs for this tire, and specifically states they are for Ford f250/f350. I refused his offer, and called Ford again. This time they referred me to firestone customer care. I called and they told me that there was no recall on these tires, but that they would note my complaint in their system. They also told me several times to make sure I safely buckle my children when they are in the vehicle. I've found a number of similar complaints about these tires on the internet. At this point, for the safety of my family, I'm having all four tires replaced with something other than firestone/bridgestone tires. I'm keeping the tire that blew out and the receipt from the new tires to submit to firestone in the future if a recall is put in place.

Tires are bubbling on the sidewall. Dealer notified. Please provide additional information.