My Tire got Shot at! (Included Rant)

[4Running Daily]

Or at least that's what I thought.

At about 10 this morning I was mountain biking, probably 15 miles away from my house. Then my ride was interrupted by my Mom calling my phone. She said "The weirdest thing just happened, I heard a gun shot, so I went outside, and I heard a whistle. It was coming from your 4runner tire, now there's a big hole in the side of your tire." So naturally I thought my 4runner was just shot, in my own driveway. I went racing home. I examined the tire only to find a giant hole, but it was in a perfectly straight line, like a seem. I went to firestone because that is where I bought them only 2,000 miles ago. Of course they said "Looks like you hit something to me, and you didn't buy the warranty. Let me see if I have one in stock." So now I'm out 200 bucks for a defect in my tire.

Pictures to come

 

[4Running Daily]

Pictures as promised.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Dude I won't be the only one to tell you this: don't buy FireStone tires. I have never heard of that happening with a Michelin or BFG tire.

 

[4Running Daily]

I'll be buying tundra rims and 285s in the summer.

 

[LittleCaesar]

The tires could not stand your redneck ingenuity for the bumper fix, and decided to up you one on your game.

In all fairness, I have seen a BFG blow a side out and the tire right off the rim.

It was most likely a manufacture defect, but good luck on getting them to fess up to it.

 

[JohnsD90]

My firestones dont do that to me, you must be special.

 

[Stick Figure]

Even if you did hit something, a good all terrain tire should be able to handle a light sidewall rub with out exploding. I know my BFG's and Falken's have both been rubbed on rocks and neither have had an issue.

 

[OHP]

I've been through two sets of destination A/T's and have been very happy with them. No problems but I guess anything can have a defect.

 

[4Running Daily]

Even if you did hit something, a good all terrain tire should be able to handle a light sidewall rub with out exploding. I know my BFG's and Falken's have both been rubbed on rocks and neither have had an issue.

Exactly! These tires barely have 2,000 miles on them, AND they haven't touched dirt! This is ridiculous! :whipping2

 

[RunninInGA]

Duct tape wil fix that.

 

[habanero]

Call a Firestone rep and see if they'll do anything for you? Have pics ready to email.
Michelin replaced 4 10+ year old tires that were on a horse trailer that had been sitting for several years. Not the original owner, the guy bought the trailer in Colorado and blew tires in Kansas and Missouri on his way to a Civil War reenactment. There's no way as a tire dealer I would have replaced them without the Michelin rep giving his ok. It was a jaw dropper for me. Might be a long shot but you never know...

 

[AKAndy]

I also have the Destination AT's with about 20K on them, and they've been a great tire for me. I was a bit hesitant to buy Firestone with all of the blowout problems they had a few years back, but I bought them because they were the highest rated "On-/Off-Road All-Terrain" tires on Tirerack.com customer surveys.

I've found them to have a nice quiet ride on pavement, good off-road, and great in the snow. Tread wear is looking good, and I'm expecting to get 50K out of them.

Crazy about the blowout, but it sounds like a fluke defect to me. I would also call Firestone and try to make your case that they should do something to make it right.

 

[steezemcqueen]

If your tire was shot, you would either have another exit wound or the bullet would be in the tire somewhere.

I'm guessing you found neither of these so i'm gonna go ahead and say that it wasn't shot. Bring the tire in and show them how it burst. i bet you get your money back for the new tire.

 

[Hepar]

Not to mention that where it burst is right in the middle of the lettering with no signs of any damage around it. If hitting something caused that, you would most likely see some scuffing on the lettering.

 

[kball]

Wow, and people think Treadwrights are dangerous! LOL, At least if it happens to me I'm only out $100.

I think Firestone is great. They did a fine job of balancing my Guard Dogs.

 

[TOYOTATECH30]

The best part is you were not driving at the time(thank goodness)!
I second calling a rep, they love having people do stuff for free

 

[Kung]

What others have said. They just don't want to be out a tire. The burden of proof is on THEM to prove that it WASN'T a manufacturing defect; and to me it certainly looks like one.

For the record, my wife actually DID have this happen while clipping a curb at like 5MPH. Took it to the tire shop, and they asked one question - "If we wanted to, could you provide proof of how fast you were going?" Wife told them "Yes - I had a coworker in the vehicle at the time, plus the 2 guys behind me who stopped to help me out."

They replaced it free of charge.

 

[iowajosh]

Not to mention that where it burst is right in the middle of the lettering with no signs of any damage around it. If hitting something caused that, you would most likely see some scuffing on the lettering.

Tires are pretty tough. If something pokes a hole there really should be some marking around it, no?

 

[4Running Daily]

I'll call tomorrow. Stupid time zones.

I sent an email last night and it's 6 my time with nothing back, so I'll call and see what happens.

 

[4Running Daily]

So I called.

Because I did not buy the warranty, they could not swap a tire for free. But, they charged me for what there cost is. All other fees are gone. So they buy the tire for $126.99, So I pay that with tax which some out to about $140. So the tire was discounted about 25% off. Which I am quite happy with!
Will I buy firestone again? Probably not.