The tread came off the tire and hit the wheel well. I was able to drive to the edge of the road and no other damage occured. The tire was on the rear and Firestone would not even prorate the tread wear on the tire and claimed that there was no manufacturer's defect and the tire was the original equipment tire at the time of the failure.( dot number: Vd______ tire size: P235/75R15 )

- Sunnyvale, CA, USA

Tire tread partially separated at speed (not all the way across--a strip about 1/3 the circumference of the tire and about 3 inches wide came off). Temperature was about 85 degrees.( dot number: Vdhlipy346 tire size: P23575sr15 )

- Melbourne, FL, USA

While traveling down a graveled road in a remote location in northwestern Colorado the left rear tire suddenly went flat. Some pictures of the tire being changed were taken but may not show the damaged tire. I manage a fleet of government vehicles and thought the tires looked as if there was a break down of the materials prior to the incident. There was no indication of the tire going flat, it just blew and almost came off the rim in a distance of less than 10 feet.( dot number: Vd tire size: P235/75R15 )

- Grand Junction, CO, USA

Tire noise and vibration at highway speed, replaced tires before failure occured.( dot number: Wzuu1po446 tire size: P225/70R15 )

- New Orleans, LA, USA

I lost part of the tread with another part peeled back along with steel belt while travelling on highway near miami. I heard popping sound and then a noise with each tire rotation. I discovered damage after pulling over to side of road. The lost tread measures about 12" long by 3" wide. There were no injuries or loss of control..just several anxious hours riding to and from our vacation with no spare and 3 other possibly defective tires.( dot number: Vdhi ipy tire size: P23575R15 )

- Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA

We purchased the 97 Explorer in 1999 - as a new vehicle - with 9,000 miles on it. We originally noticed that the tires had a problem in April of 2000 and experienced problems with the vehicle pulling to the right. We took to the dealer who performed a front end alignment that did not help. They rotated the tires that helped with the steering problem, however, the tires had already began to show signed of treadwear cracking and sidewall cracking. This vehicle only has 26,000 miles and we should not be experiencing problems with our tires at this time. After the recall notice, we took back to the dealer who referred us back to Firestone. Firestone stated they are not recalling our dot number tire at this time, but we feel that this tire is an extreme safety hazard in hauling our family and feel Firestone needs to recall these tires as well. We have always used Firestone tires and have never experienced or seen this type of problem before and would like to see Firestone recall these tires as well, in order to save our lives as well as the lives of many others! that could very well be prevented now!( dot number: Vnhl tire size: P2357515 )

- Front Royal, VA, USA

Tire is starting to separate. Dealers are being slow to replace it. The other three tires are also showing signs of separation.( dot number: Vdhl tire size: 235/75R15 )

- Algonquin, IL, USA

Driving on 1-75 to naples L rear tire came apart.

- Hialeah, FL, USA

Consumer is concerned about the wilderness (P235/75R15) at tires because they all have cracks all the way around the tire where the tread meets the sidewall. Nlm

- Oxford, NJ, USA

Noticed on 8/11 that my left front tire had good sized cuts/splits in the sidewall of the left front tire. This tire is not coded vd as in the recall but coded vn which means it was made in the Firestone Canadian plant. The left front tire was changed-out with the relatively new spare tire by my Ford dealer in New York.( dot number: Vn-------- tire size: P235/75R15 )

- Delmar, NY, USA

No summary.( dot number: Tire size: P23570R16 )

- Presto, PA, USA

Tire separtion caused a roll over accident. Tires checked 2/25/2000 by mechanic and ok'd. major injury was severing of 4 fingers on the left hand of the driver. Two children and another adult passenger were inthe back seat and sustained cuts and bruising and psychological trama even still.( dot number: )

- Weston, FL, USA

No summary( dot number: Tire size: P235 75R15 )

- Covina, CA, USA

No summary listed for above vehicle.( dot number: Tire size: 16 )

- Lebanon, NJ, USA

Two tire failures within 8 weeks. Rotated every 3000 miles, properly inflated.( dot number: Tire size: 23575R15 )

- Mesa, AZ, USA

At approximately 11;30 P.M. May 28, 1999, as we were traveling along interstate 10, just outside of tallahassee, Florida, my Explorer suddenly veered toward the left abruptlly. A loud crashing sound was heard from the right rear of the vehicle. Pulling the car on the shoulder of the road, my wife and I checked to see what had happened. Much to our surprise there was nothing left to the right rear tire except shreds of a radial tire. Lucky for us, that at the time of the problem, I was driving and not my wife, as she would have never been able to manuever during the problem. Also there was no one in the right lane due to the late hour. With great problem, we changed the tire and arrived at our destination quite shaken up. After further examination of the tire and the vehicle the next morning, we realized that there had been much damage to the underpanels of the car. I must note, that at the time we were trailering a wave runner. So you can imagine how difficult it was to keep the vehicle and the boat on the road. After returning home, I went to Firestone, a which time I was told that they could do nothing for me. I purchased 2 new tires to replace the back tires from Firestone. One year later, almost to the exact date, we were again visiting in the tallahassee area, and on our way home the car began to shake. After going through the ordeal the last time, we quickly pulled over to check the tires and sure enough the same thing was starting to happen again. We changed the tire and came home. The very next day we replaced all the tires on the vehicle but not with Firestone tires. I must mention that there was a total of $920 worth of damage done to the Explorer during the May 1999 accident. There was no damage done during the latest shredding because I knew what was happening again. I am quite upset with the fact that nothing was done for me last year or this year ecept a denial on firestones part. My family could have been seriously hurt, not once but twice.

- Coral Springs, FL, USA

I want to add our name to the list of those complaining about this tire. Luckily no one was hurt. But the accident occurred during rushhour in seattle traffic when it was cold (not hot). The incident happened with no warning. I was lucky to maneuver T( dot number: Tire size: P235/75R15 )

- Federal Way, WA, USA

As we were returning from vacation on 3/20/00 from Florida, my wife (the driver at the time) felt weird vibrations through the steering wheel. (note -we were approx. 5 miles in to Georgia on I-75 just passed the ga/fl border - near lake park?). as we continued to slow down and move away from other traffic, we heard a popping noise from under the Explorer as if things were kicking up from the road and hitting the undercarriage. Once we were able to pull off the interstate, I looked under the SUV and did a quick visual inspection of the tires, however, all appeared to be normal (no flats, nothing that we could visibly see). We pulled back onto the interstate and before we even reached merging speed (55 - 60 mph), the popping noise returned and we could actually see small black parts exiting the rear of the vehicle. We managed to immediately pull off the road and enter a gas station at which time we discovered a foot long patch of the left rear tire was completly gone. Although the tire never deflated, a complete foot long section of tread, through the steel belts and all, was gone. No other damage to the tire was visible (side walls all okay, no punctures, nails, etc.). I inspected the rest of the tires and we continued our trip home once the spare tire was installed. On 4/1/00, I went to the local Firestone center (940 old monrovia rd, huntsville, al 35806) and had them inspect the damaged tire. Although they did not confirm or deny that the tire was defective, they did offer me a new tire at a pro-rated discount. At that time, I had them inspect all of the tires, perform wheel balances, rotations, etc. Based on the tread wear at that time, full replacement of all tires was not needed. Since that time, we have heard from other people of similar problems and with the latest news on the investigation of the Firestone tires, I felt it was necessary to report our experience. We were fortunate not to have had an accident and are awaiting more recall info.

- Madison, AL, USA

Tire blow out on interstate 45 South. Car traveled across traffic lanes.car hit cement barrier and came to stop facing oncoming traffic. Back window popped open. Pictures of tire have flap of rubber seperated from the tire.( dot number: )

- Houston, TX, USA

I live in md, and tire still failed not due to heat( dot number: Tire size: P235 75R15 )

- Baltimore, MD, USA