2004 Pontiac GTO tire blow out we purchased our 2004 Pontiac GTO new, and have had issues with rubbing sounds and vibrations since it was new. The car currently has 45,000 miles and we had a blow out. Apparently the tires on 2004 GTO's rub the spring pocket of the strut causing the inner side wall of the tires to fail prematurely. It is impossible to see the wear unless the tire is removed from the vehicle. Pontiac has replaced the tires once under warranty due to this issue, but when I returned to GM to announce that the previous "fix" did not work - they dismissed me stating the vehicle was out of warranty. This is our third set of tires within 45,000 miles and my wife feels that the car is unsafe to drive because of her blowout experience. I need GM to come up with a solution to this problem. I have researched and spoken to many GTO owners only to find that they all have the same issue, and some dealers have retrofitted GTO's with the appropriate 18" wheel and tire combination, but carl black in roswell ga and the district manager "rod" will do nothing to help us. Please - can you help?

- Cumming, GA, USA

Near miss - at least thus far... 2004 Pontiac GTO found both front tires to be worn through on inside of tire such that cord was showing through. Lucky I found the wear as it was on the far inside of a very wide tire with low clearances all around. Fortunately I parked the car the other day with the tires turned all the way one direction, which is why it was spotted before a blow out on the interstate. I had the tires replaced at 20K miles with similar wear and was told it was an alignment issue. So I bought the new tires and had all the wheels aligned. After approximately 20K more mile the tires are in a worse condition than the previous ones. Looks like the struts may be wearing the tires. This is a clear case of a design flaw if there ever was one, which is why I feel I must report it. I will probably try to have shorter tires (either width or height) installed to correct it. Shame I am having to pay for this problem again, but I am thankful that I found the problem before someone got hurt.

- Derwood, MD, USA

In reference to recall campaign PE07010. "strut rub" wear marks have been observed on the strut towers of my 2004 Pontiac GTO. The front two tires are rubbing against the strut towers while the vehicle is in motion. At approximately 20,000 miles I heard a "popping" sound coming from the front suspension on several different occasions. Nothing was done at that time because the symptom was not able to be reproduced and no actual problem had been observed. At 25,000 miles the original tires had to be replaced due to unexplained irregular wear. At 45,000 miles while upon brakes service clear wear marks were observed on the strut towers. On an irregular basis at speed the vehicle exhibits aberrant steering behavior. E.g pulling to the left or right for now clear reason. The front tires of the vehicle are abnormally worn on the inner treads from hitting the strut towers. The proposed repair at this time is: 1) replacement of the gas struts. 2) replacement of the stock wheels with narrower wheels sized 235/18. 3) replacement of the possibly failed strut bushings.

- Bakersfield, CA, USA

After I had put 20,000 miles on my car I could hear a rubbing noise from the front wheel. Upon closer inspection I noticed the inside of the tire was rubbing against the struts on both front wheels. Since I had the tires rotated on a regular basis all four wheels had the wear on the inside. Since the tires were bubbling out on the inside wall of the front tires I purchased new tires. The new tires were still rubbing the struts. I took it to the first dealership and they suggested grinding down the struts. The next dealership I took it to changed the camber in my alignment. It now has 1/8 inch clearance and when I hit bumps or when I turn the wheel sharply it still rubs. I have taken it back to the dealership and they claim it is within specifications for the car. The dealership will not address the problem as if it doesn't exist.

- Henderson, NV, USA