general problems of the 2002 Suzuki Grand Vitara

The contact owns a 2002 Suzuki Grand Vitara xl-7. The vehicle has bridgestone dueler h/t 687 (na) tires, size p235/60r17. The contact purchased the set of tires two years ago. Currently, the two front tires are deteriorating from the inside. The remaining tread depth was 1/8 and 1/16. The tire failure mileage was 25,000 and the vehicle current and failure mileages were 77,130.

I was traveling on I-10 eastbound near tallahassee, FL going approximately 70 mph when my car briefly shook/vibrated. I let off the gas perplexed when I heard what sounded like an explosion. My car careened to the left and with a death grip on the steering wheel, I tried to control the vehicle. I moved back and forth across the 2 lanes of interstate at least twice before gaining control. Parts of tire and plastic were flying behind me. I pulled over to the side of the road at mile marker 193. It took a few minutes for me to get my composure. I was crying, shaking and very scared. When I felt calm and safe enough to get out of the vehicle, I saw that my tire had completely separated but was not even flat. The force was so great, it ripped out all my tire guard, it tore my fender, my bumper was touching the ground and I could see pieces of debris on the interstate.

While driving at any speed and hitting a bump in the road lost steering wheel control. Also, front tires were not aligned, and the inner part of the tires wore out prematurely.

Bridgestone dueler 687 p235/60r16 tires premature wear, unsafe to drive, Suzuki has 21,000 miles, steering shakes, tire dealer states it may be car alignment will not replace. Tires have been rotated at stated intervals, however, maintenance has failed to help the premature wear. I have searched the web and cannot find any recall on these tires. I have been driving many cars for over 30 years, and I have never experienced a wear problem this bad. I would like the manufacturer to not only replace the tires but look into this matter before any loss of life occurs. Are they hiding something?.

We purchased 2 new Suzuki's xl7 2002 with bridgestone dueler ht687 p235/60/r16. Started vibrating almost from the start. Terrible pulsing when using the brake. Had tires forced road balanced 3 times. No change. 4 were replaced on one car and one on the other. Problem still existed. We were told by firestone dealer that it was not the tires. He said there was something wrong with the car, such as brakes or something wrong with the front end. We had an independent dealer check all the above and could only find a problem with the tires. After feeling lost, I wrote firestone with the complaint and finally was contacted by them. Firestone/bridgestone finally agreed to replace all 10 tires a year later with what ever tire we choose. They agreed to pay $80. 00 plus mounting and balancing toward the 10 tires we wanted after some arguing. The dueler 687 emitted a loud bumping when driving and vibration when brakes were applied. When tires the were removed, we noticed cupping on some. Also noticed tires were not alike, some were steel plus polyester others were steel plus polyester plus nylon. I do not recommend these tires at all. We were told by the car dealer, that these tires were designed for this SUV.

Consumer states at 12,000 miles vehicle was taken in for an alignment. 5000 miles later, all 4 tires had cupped on the inside. At 15000 miles tires were replaced again. Consumer felt frame was defective and wearing the tires.