The contact owns a 2003 Ford Focus equipped with Firestone primewell PZ900 tires, size: P205/50Z/16 (na). While driving 65 mph, the contact heard a roar and felt a vibration from the front passenger side of the vehicle. Upon examination of the tire, the contact noticed a large crack on the sidewall of the tire and replaced it with the spare tire. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer and the tires were not replaced. The tires were replacement tires. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The approximate vehicle failure mileage was 124,000 and the tire failure mileage was 25,000.

- Sugar Hill, GA, USA

First incident occurred when a pothole was struck with the right front, causing a blister to the sidewall and a slight bend to the rim. Upon review of the shallow depth of the pothole, I could not believe it caused a problem. One week later, the rear tire on the same side showed a blister. The rim was fine and have no recallection of hitting anything. Another week and another pothole. This time a flat, on the same front. Now a severely bent rim; on the inside. The rim was repaired and the tire reinstalled. However, no new blister occurred on the inside wall. I have made this same commute for 10 years with other vehicles shod with off-brand tires, and never had an incident of any kind.

- Macungie, PA, USA

I have had bulges develop in the sidewall of two Firestone firehawk gta 02 tires that came as original equipment on a 2003 Focus ZX3 hatchback. The first tire bulged at 3800 miles and the dealer reluctantly replaced that tire. Now at 11,500 miles a second tire has a bulge in the sidewall. The first bulge I attributed to a manufacturing defect. Now that the second tire has bulged, and many others report similar problems, I think Firestone has another big problem developing. Ford/Firestone should be made to replace all of these tires at no cost.

- Canton, OH, USA

Front wheel aloy rim is bent due to faulty Firestone firehawk gta 02 205/50R16 tires with weak sidewalls. Tire has bubble on sidewall dealer stated Firestone problem not Ford problem. The dealer refused to replaced the tire and rim under the warranty because they believed the dented rim came from the vehicle hitting a rock or pothole. The bent rim caused the tire to have bubble on it. The dealer ultimately replaced the tire but not the rim. The new tire was good for about two weeks and while driving on the interstate it punctured and destroyed. The bottom line is that the firehawk tires have design flaws and should be recalled.

- Mooresville, NC, USA

While driving down the highway at 60 mph the left front tire on my car suddenly blew out. It was a failure of the sidewall. The tire was a Goodyear integrity size P185/65/R-14. The sudden blowout caused 900 dollars damage to my car and the dealer and tire manufacturer refused to pay.

- Nitro, WV, USA