general problems of the 2004 Toyota Matrix

A 205/55/r16 tire exploded when I was driving on the freeway at 9:15 am. I had driven less than 3 miles. The tire that exploded had less than 16,000 miles. I didn't run over an object or I would have also punctured my front tire too. At the time of the explosion I didn't know what happened, but heard a loud noise that I thought was from a car next to me. Once both cars moved ahead of me, I realized the loud noise was coming from under my car. I then was able to pull to the side of the freeway. Once I pulled over I saw the tire had exploded. I took photos of the tire and took both parts to the tire shop where my tires are under warranty. I had inspected my tires the prior Monday, two days prior and didn't see an issue with any of the tires. I've never had a tire blowout before. The tire shop threw the tire away even though I asked for a report of the incident to appropriate entities. The tire shop told me the tire was under inflated or that I hit a road hazard but couldn't prove that's what caused the explosion. Also the tire shop did not show me where a road hazard penetrated the tire. In the past if a tire had run over an object this tire shop would show me the object. I have 3 of the same tires on my car which I don't trust because my tire exploded without warning.

One of 4 (four) hankook tires on my vehicle, which were purchased new about 1 1/2 years ago, seems to have a defect on it that prevents water and shush from channeling properly from the inner groove to the side of the tire. Only one of the tires seem to have this defect, and seems to be a manufacturing defect, as it seems to have been molded without a channel or a very shallow channel compared to the other 3. The alignment of the wheel does not seem to play a major role in this alleged defect. The lack of the proper channeling on this tire may have caused an accident during wet or slushy weather, as channeling of the fluid is an important function of good handling characteristics during inclement weather. It defect seems to have been due to a large quality problem, as this tire made it's way through hancook's distribution system and onto a personal vehicle. The tire in question is a hancook ventus v4 ES . I will be demanding that this tire be replaced by the manufacture as soon as possible as it seems to be a significant safety concern in my opinion, myself being a degreed mechanical engineer.

: the contact stated while driving at various speeds, under normal driving conditions the vehicle veered from left to right and this condition became worse while stopping. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection. Upon inspection it was determined the tires were the cause of the steering problems. The dealer determined the tires that were purchased with the vehicle were the wrong type of tires, which caused the front end to become out of alignment. The vehicle has been regularly maintained with tire rotation every 3,000 miles. There has been no replacement of the tires. The tire line is continental p20555r16. Updated 3/20/2006 - the consumer was unable to avoid hitting a deer because of the faulty tire. The hood of the vehicle was damaged. On 2/11/2006 the consumer replaced all four tires which resolved the problem with the front end .

I'm very happy with my Matrix except for one thing. The hub caps are so lose. I'm constantly pushing them back on tighter. I haven't had the car more than a few months and 3 hubcaps have already fallen off, withins days of me making sure they were tight enough. When they fly off my car, all the pieces that hold them onto the rim are broken off and they are useless. I have lost 3 hubcaps in the last 3 weeks!.

One year and one month after buying the car new, all four tires were dangerously bald. Had to stop at the nearest tire store where I was told if I had run over a dime I probably would have had a blow out. These defective tires were the original tires on the car. I don't have a record of the tires and was given no warranty from the dealership at the time of the purchase. This experience cost me $ 434. Mileage on that day was 15,297 miles.