1998 Ford Ranger

ON JULY 10, 2003 MY COUSIN'S 1998 FORD RANGERS LEFT REAR TIRE PEELED APART, CAUSING THE TRUCK TO FLIP AND BLOW-UP. THERE WAS NO WARNING, WHAT-SO-EVER. MY COUSIN AND A PASSENGER WERE BOTH KILLED. THE REAR TIRES WERE COOPER DISCOVERER H/T TIRES. A TIRE EXPERT LATER DETERMINED THAT THIS TIRE HAD BOTH A MANUFACTURING AND DESIGN DEFECT. THE FAMILY ATTEMPTED TO MITIGATED THIS TRAGIC EVENT BY CONTACTING COOPER TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY DIRECTLY. COOPER TIRE COMPANY OFFERED NO DEFENSE, NOTHING. WE ARE NOW IN LITIGATION. I PERSONALLY ASKED COOPERS' ATTORNEYS ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THEIR TIRES RUBBER. I WAS TOLD, "COOPER GETS THEIR RUBBER FROM VARIOUS SOURCES." WE REQUEST THE NHTSA INVESTIGATE COOPER TIRE AND RUBBER COMPANY'S MANUFACTURING PROCESS. THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO KNOW IF THIS COMPANY USES UNSAFE RUBBER MADE IN CHINA IN THE MANUFACTURER OF ITS H/T DISCOVERER TIRE. WE ALSO REQUEST THE NHTSA DISCUSS WITH COOPER ITS MISLEADING USE OF THE LETTERS " H/T" WHICH SUGGEST THE TIRE IS SAFE FOR BOTH HIGHWAY AND TERRAIN (OFF ROAD) USE. THIS IS AN UNSAFE TIRE. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON I-95 AT APPROXIMATELY 80 MILES AN HOUR WHEN I HEARD A 'POPPING' SOUND AS IF MY TIRE WAS FLAT. THE NOISE CAME FROM THE DRIVER SIDE FRONT. MY TRUCK (A 98 FORD RANGER) WAS PULLED OFF THE ROAD AND INTO THE GRASS ON THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD. AS SOON AS I HEARD THE NOISE, I ATTEMPTED TO SLOW DOWN BY APPLYING THE BRAKE AND CONTINUED TO DO SO AS I MOVED ONTO THE GRASS. UNFORTUNATELY WHETHER THE GRASS WAS TO WET, OR FOR WHATEVER REASON, MY TRUCK DID NOT SLOW DOWN AND I RAN INTO A TREE- RENDERRING MY TRUCK UNDRIVEABLE. I LATER FOUND OUT THAT THE TREAD OF MY FIRESTONE P225 70R15 WILDERNESS TIRES HAD PEELED. THERE WAS STILL AIR FILLING THE TIRE, BUT THE TREAD HAD PEELED OFF. *AK

WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH, THE RIGHT REAR TIRE BLEW OUT (BLOWOUT WAS A SIDEWALL). UP TO THIS POINT, TIRES HAD WORN EVENLY. TWO MONTHS PRIOR, ALL TIRES WERE CHECKED BY VARIOUS TIRE SHOPS AS I WAS THINKING OF REPLACING THE TIRES. NO ONE COULD FIND ANY EVIDENCE OF WEAR AND RECOMMENDED I KEEP THESE TIRES AS THEY WERE IN SUCH GOOD SHAPE. REAR TIRES NOW SHOW EVIDENCE OF WEAR THAT IS NOT VISIBLE ON FRONT TIRES.*AK

WHILE DRIVING, VEHICLE WOULD START TO SHIMMY/ VIBRATE AT 35MPH AND ABOVE, VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP, AND HAD TIRES ROTATED EVEN THOUGH IT WAS THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE, HOWEVER PROBLEM STILL EXISTS, CONSUMER CONTACTED FIRESTONE, AND NOTHING WAS BEING DONE ABOUT THE TIRES. P225/70R15 ON A 1998 FORD, RANGER.*AK CONSUMER CONTACTED FORD AND WAS INFORMED THAT THIS IS A FIRESTONE PROBLEM.*JB

ATTORNEY FOR ,[XXX],CONSUMER, REPORTED THAT WHILE VEHICLE WAS MOVING APPROXIMATELY AT SPEED LIMIT, CONSUMER BELIEVED THAT LEFT FRONT TIRE BLEWOUT. BLOW OUT CAUSED VEHICLE INTO A ROLLOVER. ALSO, FRONT RIGHT TIRE TREAD SEPARATED FROM TIRE. FIRESTONE, WILDERNESS HT, P225/70R15 100S. CONSUMER SUSTAINED MAJOR INJURIES WHEN HE WAS EJECTED FROM VEHICLE. VEHICLE WAS A 1998, FORD TRUCK RANGER PICKUP. ORIGINAL TIRES PURCHASED WITH THE VEHICLE. *AK INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

WHILE DRIVING, THERE WAS AN INCREASED DIFFICULTY WITH THE STEERING/HANDLING, CONSUMER TOOK VEHICLE IN FOR INSPECTION AND THE FRONT TIRES REVEALED THAT THE RUBBER WAS WEARING IN A VERY UNUSUAL MANNER, IT APPEARED THAT THERE WERE RUBBER STUDS PROTRUDING FROM THE FRONT TIRES WHERE THE TREADS SHOULD HAVE BEEN, HOWEVER NOT BEING AWARE OF THE TIRE RECALL, CONSUMER PURCHASED TWO NEW TIRES OF THE SAME MAKE AND DISCARDED THE OLD TIRES, AND THE DIFFICULTY OF THE STEERING/HANDLING SEEMED TO HAVE BEE RESOLVED, MONTHS LATER CONSUMER THEN EXPERIENCED A BLOW OUT OF ONE OF THE NEW TIRES THAT WERE PURCHASED, WHILE TRAVELING AT 65 MPH, CONSUMER IS NOW AWARE OF RECALL EVEN THOUGH TIRES WERE NOT APART OF THE RECALL, HE IS NOW SEEKING REIMBURSEMENT.(FIRESTONE TIRES)*JB