general problems of the 1998 Mercury Mountaineer

1998 Mercury Mountaineer. Attorney representing consumer requests list of vehicle tire tread problems.

Moved my truck to let another car out of the drive way. Pulled back in turned the truck off came in the house and heard a loud boom. Looked out the window and fire was shooting up by the wheel.

The contact owns a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer equipped with turbo tech radial a/sr tires, line size p235/75r15, dot number ut1tt2e4305. The contact was driving approximately 55 mph when a loud pop sounded from the exterior of the vehicle. The contact suddenly lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle flipped over twice and landed onto the center lane of the highway. The contact sustained a mild concussion and injuries to the knee, back and neck. A police report was available. The failure was caused by the rear driver side tire exploding. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a salvage yard. The failure mileage was approximately 149,000.

1998 Mountaineer's tires were apart of a recall and consumer is requesting reimbursement. The vehicle was originally equipped with wilderness at tires which were recalled. The consumer replaced these tire in 2004 after the consumer was almost involved in an accident as result of the faulty tires.

Mountaineer's front floor board and seat mounting brakets, especially the passenger side, get hot enough to blister the skin. When the floor board is hot the abs light comes on and it is hard to steer. The Mountaineer also has excessive tire wear on the front which had lead to two sets of tires needing to be replaced. In 3000 miles the tires are worn enough that the Mercury makes a whomping sound much like a flat is hard to turn and is difficult to stop until I have the tires rotated. The whole process then has to be done again in another 3000 miles which according to Ford "should be done every other oil change and this is normal for an SUV. ".

Firestone wilderness at tires on Mercury, Mountaineer 1998 are experiencing problems. Three of tires on the vehicle are cracking.

This tire was not a recall with the vd code. It suddenly failed at highway speed by losing part of its tread. The tread separated from the ply for a distance of approx 18" on one side of the tire. Photos are available. (dot number: w2hlipy2hl tiresize: p235/75r15).

No summary( dot number: w2hl tire size: p235/75r15 ).

Apparent tread seperation caused tire failure. I narrowly avoided an accident because of this on i294. Defect appears evident. ( dot number: w2hl tire size: p23575r-15 ).

Because of the news reports of tire problems I decided to rotate the tires on my Mountaineer. On the inside of the right rear tire I found cracks where the steel showed through. I put all the tires back on the car and drove to a firestone dealer. They were willing to give me an adjustment on that tire only. I refused the offer and went to another tire company where I purchased four new tires. I kept the wilderness at tires in case they are needed in the future because of the on going investigation by your organization. ( dot number: w2hl1py897 tire size: p235/75r15 ).

Original tires p235/75r15, dot vnhl348, 1998, Mercury, Mountaineer. Consumer took car to be serviced, and mechanic said that 2 of the tires were cracking like the recall tires. Then, dealer noticed a third tire had a crack.

Steel belt showing through tires, consumer took tires to firestone dealer but was told they were not covered under recall because they didn't have the proper dot code (firestone wilderness at p235/75r15 dot w2hl). Nlm.

Both the front firestone tires experienced severe cracks, consumer replaced tires with goodyear ones.

Steel belt was showing on firestone tire.

My family was on vacation and traveling on interstate 85 south. About 1/2 hour before stopping the vehicle started to sway. I thought it was a cross wind or air pocket created as we passed or was passed by traitor trailers on the road. The family decided to stop for lunch and exited off i85 south at 12b. We proceeded to golden corral - 807 e. Atlantic street - south hill, virginia. Upon exiting the vehicle I noticed the left rear tire going flat. I inspected it and notice two slashes about two inches in length on both sides if tire about two feet apart. The cut was on the side of tire where the tread began and was separating. At this time a customer leaving the golden corral approached me and inspected the tire and told me this is the same tire that was reported on the 6pm news one day earlier as being defective. I contacted aaa to change my flat tire. Later that afternoon we stopped in raleigh, nc and purchased one new firestone wilderness at tire. One used tire became the spare and two new tires were on the rear(the original spare and the new tire just purchased). We continued safely on our trip to eufala, al. On August 23, 2000 I contacted my dealership in reference to the tires beging exchanged. The person answering the phone indicated they had nothing to do with the replacement but a firestone dealer in emerson, NJ was involved. Late in the morning of 8/23/00 I went to the emerson, NJ firestone dealership and the tires were inspected and was told one tire was ok(I supposed the one purchased on 8/3/00). However, I was placed on a waiting list and told the backlog was about one month. I proceeded to my dealership and explained to them what had happened during vacation and I wanted my tires replaced. Dean griffen was helpful but did not have any tires nor did two other locations that were called. I on my own purchased 5 tires from goodyear in bergenfield, NJ. ( dot number: tire size: p23575r15s ).

I've been to a firestone dealer and the place I bought the vehicle, both tell me that my tires aren't on recall, but can sell me new ones. My tires are cracking around the treads just like the recalled ones I've seen on television, but they both are telling me there is nothing they can do about it! I just can't go out and afford new ones, and these are clearly defective. Who can I get to actually look at these tires and take responsibility? the firestone representative told me that he has seen several of my type of splitting, but there is nothing he can do (he was quite rude also) about it except sell me new ones. Now if these firestones aren't recalled and are bad, why would I purchase other non-recalled firestones. I have retained an air pressure of approx. 34psi since I've owned it. These tires are cracking and anyone who wishes to view these can just contact me and I will make them available at any time. Please contact me, I'm about at the end of my rope and these tires should also be recalled, unless of course mine are deffective alone, and then they (firestone or Ford) should correct this problem to. . Thank you for your time. . V/r, j. Matt duffin (dot number: w2 tiresize: p235/75r15) (dot number: w2 tiresize: p235/75r15).

While driving on route 34, near tidewater, oregon, rear tire disintegrated and we were able to guide the vehicle to the side of the road. Luckily no-one was coming in the opposite direction at the time. We were able to secure assistance from a nearby resident who called tow truck from waldport, oregon. Tire was in shreds, and smoking when we stopped. ( dot number: tire size: p235/75r15 ).

Complete tread separation of 1 rear tire at freeway speeds. ( dot number: tire size: 23575r15 ).

Driving eastbound on I-12 louisiana en route to MD when vehicle shook violently and we lost control of vehicle and did a 360 and slammed into trees . Vehicle was total loss and 2 animals perished , spouse and I were taken via ambulance to slidell mem. Hospital( dot number: tire size: p23575r15 ).

Wife of owner was driving vehicle on level asphalt pavement under normal conditions at speed limit. Tire "exploded" and came apart so violently that chrome steel rim was bent on impact with pavement. Driver was able to maintain control of vehicle and pull off onto shoulder. Vehicle was towed for service. All tires and one rim were replaced. Infant child was a passenger at time of incident. ( dot number: tire size: p235/75r15 ).

Preiviously contacted ntsha ref # 866987 (info on forme sent me is incorrect) correct info follows: while driving to FL, in georga noticed a viberations in from end. Contacted Ford, they said try to have tires balanced. Firestone store said can't balance tire because the steel belts have seperated internally. There is an aporx. Hight differance betreen treads of 1/2": I didn't want to pay $120 for a new tire so I had the store mount that tire as my spare. I still have this tire. Firestone has since said that they will replace that tire, but since it is not in the recall, I was wondering if you wanted to look at this tire since it did not totally fail?( dot number: w2hl1py467 tire size: 23575r15 ).

The tires are an "all terrain" design, however they perform very very poorly in snow/slush/very wet conditionswhen combined with the vehicles that have all wheel drive. I've talked to three experts who have all concluded that the problem is with the rubber band on the outer edge of the tread on both sides (this band has no lugs in it, resulting in poor traction in turns. ) essentially, the all wheel drive tries to pull the car forward and is supposed to adjust power away from the wheels with poor traction. When it does so, the car has a major tendency to lose control at all wheels. Since I have owned the car I have seen or heard of two other identical vehicles getting into similar accidents with the same options/tires as my vehicle, so I asume it is a re-occuring problem. This incidence of traction loss has resulted in three major incidents of spinout, two of those caused major accidents, one only involving my car, and one involving mine and another. My driving record has been impeccable before these accidents, also note that other front wheel drive cars and four 4wd trucks were on the roads doing fine in the conditions, and in both cases I was going considerably under the speed limit (30 in a 50mph & 15 in a 25mph). Also, in both cases, brakes were not applied, so that rules out a cause for the skid. ( dot number: tire size: 235/75 r15 ).

I has had 3 of the original 5 tires fail. One failed at 7000 miles; the other two at 30,000 miles. I was told that the damage was internal. The tires began to buldge on the exterior wall. One of the tires flattened at 75 mph on the freeway beyond repair; in fact, this tire is in my garage. The local dealer made the problem my fault--improper inflation. However, the dot number on my tires did not match those from the recall. I was prompted to write because I do have evidence that these particular tires as well have manufacturer defects. My problem was identified to me as belt slippage. However, the dealer also stated that these were the "best" tires firestone makes. Fortunately, I have decided not to replace my firestone tires with another set of "defective" tires. Nevertheless, others are putting these same type tires on the vechicles as replacements for the defects. I am stating for the record that these will also warrant investigation. Isn't it odd that I have replaced three of five tires with less than 30,000 miles for belt slippage. What are the statistical odds of that happening? knowing a bit about statistics, this number is significant, not a random occurrence. ( dot number: tire size: 16 ).

Firestone wilderness at tires (p235 75 r15) caused vehicle to vibrate, consumer replaced tires with a different brand and has no more problems with vibration in the vehicle.

Firestone wilderness at tires p235 75 r15 experienced leaking.

Firestone wilderness at tires(p235 75 r15) don't hold air pressure, consumer had tires serviced every 3-5 weeks because of this.

Right front firestone wilderness ht tire (p225 70 r15) experienced blow out.

September 20, 2000 I own a 1998 Mountaineer. It came with firestone p235/75r15 wilderness at tires. The four mounted tires are all dot w2hl 1py 397. I recently had these tires inspected by my Ford dealer's mechanic because I was going on an out of state. (dot number: w2hl1py357 tiresize: p235/75r15).

The firestone wilderness at tires on the vehicle all have experienced stress cracks, however the tires are not included in the recent recall.

Vehicle has the firestone wilderness/at p23575r15, but it was manufactrued in north carolina. Front driver's side tire is starting to separate. Tread has worn completely, and is now developing cracks. Firestone has been contacted. Both front tires stated wearing quickly and the tread began separating. They are unsafe and should be recalled.

Took tires to firestone dealer, he found severe cracks in 2 tires, front, but they were not part of recall. Bought goodyear tires to replace them. Car spent 2 winters in bradenton, florida. Trip down last year was in over 90 degree heat. Return trip the same. Psi (30) at all times. ( dot number: w2hl tire size: 15 ).

This Mercury Mountaineer has three firestone wilderness/at tires p23575r15 manufactured in canada that are developing cracks around outside and inside walls. Firestone has been contacted. Dot vnhl.

Been told my tires have stress cracks inside and out. Not safe but not yet on recall. Taken to Ford, smith tire barn, hunting tire, and firestone tire in jackson TN. ( dot number: tire size: p235-75-r1 ).

My tires have dot starting with vh, they have a crack on the inside and outside of the tire all the way around just below the tread line. No tire shop will replace these because they are not on the recall list. They appear to be unsafe and I do not want my family injured due to manufacturing neligence. I am unable to confirm where these tires were made. I am told the crack is caused by driving on dirt and paved roads but these are all-terrain tires and should hold up to different road types. Please help me get these tires off my car before the tread comes off. There is still plenty of miles left on these tires but I am afraid to drive with these tires cracked!( dot number: vh tire size: p235/75r15 ).