I purchased 4) 225/45/17 Continental extreme dw tires. They were installed on my vehicle January 2013. The vehicle is a 2004 BMW 325 ci. It is garaged during the winter and was on the road from April 15, 2013 until November 15, 2013. It was not driven again until April 15, 2014. When the tires were removed to install new brake parts it was noticed that all 4 tires contain cracks in the area between the tread, in large amount of area of the tire surface. With the tires off the wheels, the tire technician flexed the tire, as if to put a weight load on it, and the cracked opened up a noticeable amount. When I purchased the tires I was told that they were a top of the line model, and an upgrade to what was the oem tire when we purchased the vehicle new. There is no question that my tires have a defect. I paid the dealer tire depot 16 john ave. Bristol, ct. 06010 $169 to warranty the tires. My position is that the tires displayed the defects prior to my notice of them. They just didn't appear last week. I'm troubled by the fact that my wife has been driving on defective tires. I have obtain evidence that this defect is known to Continental and is agent and or agents. At no point were we contacted of this defect by either Continental or it's agents. Why I should pay any monies to replace tires that I purchased just over a year ago, and have been used far less than that time, is very disturbing to me. The decision to pro rate my defective tires based on remaining tread wear is also disturbing. With the tires being defective, than the performance and tread wear could be equally effected!

- Bristol, CT, USA

I recently replaced all four tires on my passenger car (2004 BMW 325xi). After doing research on which to buy, we believed the rating in consumer's reports and purchased 4 Continental pro contact tires (order was placed on 3/3/2009 and the tires were installed at tire rack on 3/6/2009). I had a service call on this car in February (2/10/2009) and the recorded miles from the vob service department were 29,750. On the day of the incident (4/18/2009), the miles on this car were 30,906. Therefore, the new tires had far less than 1000 miles on them. At about 8:15 pm on 4-18-2009, we had a tire blowout (right rear tire) going close to 70 mph on I-95 in Maryland. The steel sidewall completely separated on this tire. My husband was driving and struggled to get the car over to the shoulder of the road. Although it was very dangerous (it was dark and lots of trucks and cars were speeding on the highway) we exited the car because we were concerned another vehicle might rear end it (even though the flashers were on). We called the police because we were having trouble giving the exact location ( we were not by a mile marker) to a towing service. The police did not come out. We eventually got a tow truck to change the tire. Luckily my spare was full sized and in good shape. My rim and the tire itself do not look like there was a major road hazard. We believe the tire failed. After the blow out incident, my automatic braking system light is lit. We don't know if the ABS system has been affected. Although we could have been killed (this was very scary) no one was injured. We are trying to get a response from the tire installer (tire rack) and the tire manufacturer (Continental).

- Potomac, MD, USA

The contact owns a 2004 BMW 330I. The contact stated that the steering wheel vibrates, the vehicle shakes during acceleration and braking, all four tires were dry rotted, the ABS light illuminates on the instrument panel, and a knocking noise is heard during acceleration. While driving approximately 50 mph, the contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to stop. The contact had to depress the brake pedal all the way to the floor for the brakes to activate approximately ten seconds later. The vehicle has been taken to a dealer 8 times regarding these safety issues and several parts have been replaced; however, the failures still occur. The current mileage was 50,400 and failure mileage was 25,000. Updated 04-02-08

- New York, NY, USA