| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 003236673 | Incident Date: Sep, 16 2003 |
| Consumer's City: MUSCODA | Consumer's State: WI |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: | Manufacturers Name: GENERAL TIRE & RUBBER CO. |
| Model Name: GRABBERS | Model Year: 9999 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Tires:sidewall |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No | Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: 1FTNX21F5YE | Date added to File: May, 25 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: Sep, 25 2003 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: No | Purchase Date: - |
| Was Original Owner: Yes | Anti-lock Brakes: Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 0 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: These tires (general grabber tr, size 235/85r16) came as original equipment on a 2000 ford f250 super duty. this truck is used mainly on paved roads; occasionally on gravel roads. the worst "off road" duty this truck ever sees is a rare trip onto dirt or grass. i am careful about keeping wheels balanced and tires properly inflated and rotated. in the spring of 2003, with about 20,000 miles on the tires, i discovered a grapefruit sized bulge in the inside sidewall of one of them. a field representative from general tire proclaimed that this bulge was due to a "road hazzard." [my first sidewall bulge in 37 years of driving, but i guess it can happen. however, don't let the low milage on the truck fool you. although i drive less now than i used to, with other vehicles i still average over 35,000 miles per year. i have owned a lot of tires.] i was now suspicious of these tires, so in august 2003 (at 22,000 miles) before a 2,000 mile tript which i had to make with the truck, i carefully inspected the tires and double checked the inflation. upon my return home i discovered a lemon sized bulge in the outside sidewall of another one of this set. i then immediatly replaced the tires on the truck with another brand. upon inspection of the removed tires, i discovered that a third tire had a walnut sized bulge in a sidewall. so, in 24,000 miles, three of the original four tires developed sidewall bulges. interestingly, all of the bulges were between the bead and the widest part of the sidewall, not between the widest part of the sidewall and the tread - where you would would expect a tire to be more likely to encounter a "road hazzard." in my opinion, the biggest "road hazzard" i've encountered in this truck are these tires. i am not interested in any "compensation" from this company. i just want to warn other consumers and nhtsa to watch these tires. judging from the other complaints about general grabbers, sidewall failures are a high percentage problem. |
