There was excessive tread wear and exposed steel belts on the left front tire. The front right tire showed exactly the same signs. Had to purchase two new tires after 16K miles.

- Miami, FL, USA

This is to let you know about a potentially dangerous problem with the Continental Contitrac TR tires that came standard on the 2003 Ford Expedition. The following is a copy of an email that I sent to the Continental customer service department. I think that has all of the information you will need to start looking into this problem. Please feel free to call me with any questions since I think this is a very important issue. You have a length of only 2000 words and my message to them is too long so please contact me for the rest of the message. Dear rashida, (or whomever else sees this message) I thank you for your help and concern this morning. I have some interesting news. I think it is quite astounding and will warrant some major attention from the powers that be. Not only is the damage to my tires a manufacturer defect but the damage is in all of my tires, including one that was replaced about 6 months ago. The other original that had to be replaced may have had the same problem since it had a gash in the side that caused it to go flat. After talking with you I happened to mention my problem to a neighbor who asked me to have her husband look at it. As it turns out he had been a plant supervisor for kelley-springfield tires before moving up to this area. He knows all about tire manufacturing and testing. He took one look at my tire and said "there is no way that was caused by a razor, that is a defect and it is bad news." He told me to let whomever I talked to know that the tire is separating "where the apex meets the sidewall." He went into a bit more technical description but I am not an expert so I can't accurately relay what he said. He said it is a major safety issue and he bets that a major recall will be occurring, hopefully before anything tragic occurs. He is not an overly excitable man but he probably told me about 10 times to get the tires off of my car.

- Sharpsburg, MD, USA

Continental tires, size P265/70R15; while driving at 30 mph rear driver's side tire blew out.

- Portsmouth, VA, USA

After 200 miles I noticed a vibration in the drivers seat, floorboards, and steering wheel. I have Continental Contitrac 17 inch tires. Ford tried force aligning the tires. Ford Motor Co. And dealer says if I want a better ride I need to buy new tires. I fought them on this and they bought me brand new bf goodrich long trail tires. I still have vibration. I feel that this proves it is the Expedition and not the tires. I will never buy another Ford!

- Lakeville, MA, USA

2003 Expedition shakes while traveling, with the shake/vibration increasing as speed increases, and becomes severe. Have had to dealership 3 times now, but continues. In searching online, this is a common issue, and appears to be linked to the Continental tires. Between the shake in the vehicle and unknown what is occurring to tires as the vehicle travels and shakes, I would think there is a risk of damage to the tires that could result in injury to the occupants. Ford seems to be shirking the issue, which seems strange to me based on the issues they experienced with tires and the Explorer.

- West Chester, OH, USA

When driving 70 mph or higher steering wheel and the vehicle shook excessively, causing the vehicle to become unstable. Dealer has replaced the tires twice, and replaced the steering gear box. However problem recurred. Dealer indicated to the consumer that it could not be fixed.

- Pembrook Pines, FL, USA

I purchased a 2003 Expedition in September of 2002. I reported a vibration in steering wheel and brake pedal, a clanking noise in the front end, along with a slippage when taking off as vehicle seems to not want to respond when pushing on the gas. They stated the engineers were aware of problem and where working on it. The vehicle has been taken in several times, but these problems still exist. On the 2 appointment for my vehicle I stated to the service area that my brake pedal would go to the floor, and I would have no brakes. They told me my brakes were fine although this has happened twice while driving ever since. As of Oct. 9, 2003 they have had my vehicle a week, and are stating they do not know these problem existing with any other Expedition so they are unsure how to fix the vehicle. At your website that is not true, as I have seen several reports of these same problems on the same vehicle as mine. I am very concerned for mine and my children's safety.

- Centerburg, OH, USA

Vibration from tires when driving on highway.

- Oak Forest, IL, USA

On a number of occasions the ABS system has failed to perform as described by the manufacturer. Upon stopping when the ABS takes over my vehicle bucks and sends me bucking through intersections. According to the dealership where I purchased this is the way the ABS works. This vehicle also has very poor visibility, there are many large blind spots.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

The traction on all four tires were not good while driving in the rain.

- Lakehills, TX, USA

While traveling at 65 to 70 mph, the vehicle developed a vibration. The dealer stated that the cause is bad tires. Scc

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

There was excessive tread wear and exposed steel belts on the left front tire. The spare tire showed exactly the same signs. The rear tire on the drivers side blew out along with side wall separation about 18 inches long. There were no obvious or unusual tread wear on this tire, consumer states the spare tire also exhibited the signs.

- Arlington, VA, USA

While traveling at 62-65 mph on dry, smooth pavement the right rear tire suffered a sudden sidewall blowout. Both the inside and outside walls were totally destroyed. I have digital photographic documentation if you are interested. Luckily it was a rear tire and not a front tire at that speed. The car has less than 8000 miles on it and had just been serviced by the dealership within the last 3 weeks and all tires were properly inflated. My concern at this time is the structural integrity of the other three tires and the safety of my family while traveling on these tires. If this tire has a history of similar incidents please add this accident to it... if not please start a new file and track potential manufacturer's problems.

- Coto De Caza, CA, USA