This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I bought 4 douglas P215/65R16bw tires from wal-mart in piscataway, NJ in February, 2006. Those douglas tires were acknowledged to have been fabricated by Goodyear to wal-mart's specs. My vehicle is a Chrysler Town & Country ltd, which for me has been a wonderful, reliable vehicle. I have driven the car 20,000 miles since then. The tires show only modest wear and I thought were performing well, driven mostly in Florida, where I now reside. Six times since then I have taken the car to a wal-mart store because of a slow leak in the tires (I had purchased lifetime service), and each time some work was done which temporarily seemed to resolve the problem. This week I took the car in because the air leakage has become more severe. I was told that nothing could be done because the tires have "dry rot" caused by exposure to warm pavement and sunlight. They will not touch the tires because the bead is so delicate it could break at any moment. I am now afraid to drive the car lest a catastrophic failure injure me, my family, or others on the highway.
The tire rack (www.tirerack.com) is selling tires for minivans with a load index rating of 96T. They tell customers that load index is proper for minivans. That is incorrect according to Michelin and other tire manufactuers. The load index rating needs to be at least 98. I received 31000 miles on a set of Michelin X-1 tires that have an 80000 mile warranty. Michelin agreed to warranty the tires even though the tire rack sold me incorrect tires. The tire rack must be stopped from putting out false information about load rating index. Michelin has told me they have received a lot of complaints about tires and they are all related to treadwear and the proper load index rating.
Right front tire went flat. Inspection by local repair shop found that the wheel rim had sustained severe corrosion damage. Corrosion had eaten through the chrome plating on the aluminum, and caused pinhole leaks, leading to the loss of air pressure. Inspection of the other three wheels indicated moderate corrosion on one of the other rims. Consumer was aware of other complaints relating to corrosion and would like to see an investigation pending....
Tires were losing air pressure. Dealership examined vehicle for this problem, and replaced tire valve stem. Work performed by dealership did not remedy problem. Dealership then diagnosed that there was a possible chemical reaction with tire repair sealant, which consumer claimed was never used with this vehicle. An employee at a salvage yard informed consumer that problem of continued loss of air pressure in tires could be related to a chemical reaction with the chrome plating of wheel. Please provide any additional information / documentation.
All four wheels on my mini-van are corroding and tire failures are resulting from the pitting on the wheels wearing the seals on the tires. The Chrysler service department at our local dealership acknowledges that this is a failure which is presenting a safetly hazard, but states that Chrysler will offer no assistance with this issue as the van is beyond the warranty limit for mileage. A second 1999 Chrysler Town and country limited mini-van belonging to a neighbour is experiencing the same problem. (dot number: M30D tiresize: 215/65R16)
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Jacksonville, FL, USA