Latest on Firestone tires.

[fordkrazy]

I dont understand why ford is taking all the crap for the cruddy firestone tires. ford did not design the car arround the tires. it should be firestones responsibility to make sure that their tires perform properly to all vehicles that use that tire size. and by the way there have been studies in japan, canada and england as well as in the us and they all confirm that using a communication device while driving impares motor skills as much as alcohol does just over the leagal limit. another study gave it a relative risk factor the same as driving intoxicated at the legal limit. now i dont care what anyone says, ive had too many close calls with these people, who cant pull over to talk for 2min, to not believe this data. hey maybe someone could sue nokia because their phone caused them to have an paralyizing accident. the world is ridicules these days.

 

[Peter Weber]

Robert

Unfortunately nobody has established that these people that had accidients riding on Firestones were using a cell phone at the time of accident. So, whatever stats have been established in those studies are completely irrevelant on the subject of these rollovers.

I agree that Ford is taking some unfair flak about the tires, but if the tires are faulty (and the general consensus is that they are, Im not 100% convinced), it's Ford's job to use parts and components in their vehicles that are safe. Bridgestone didn't force Ford to use these tires, that was Ford's decision.

 

[mdrut]

I agree. They bought the tires and put them on the explorer and marketed it as the family 4x4..They are responsible for some of the deaths...And something else guys,,the general public,has become accustomed to safe, comfortable, and quite cars..Majority of people have never had a blow out or cap lose..High profile vehicles are not designed for 70 mph operation, something that everybody exspects..my .02

 

[mdrut]

And I like to add that all 4 of my caps were seperating when I turned them in..I made a comment to my wife a couple of months before the stink started," I have to get those changed before somebody gets killed." Noticed it while washing my wheels..What do you think the first thing I look at before taking off down the road is now??

 

[IgotTwo]

Had the same thing but only on the front tires... you could see a separation starting.
So I go to a local Firestone dealer and showed him. He played "can't see in one eye and blind in the other"
then he gave me "You're number 250... maybe three months"
Right you putz!
Wanta go take a spin on 78 at about 65?

So I go to Costco (they were in on the recall)
"you are number 2...do you what Michelins?"
5 tires -Didn't pay a dime.

I'm really sick of these "customer service" and "safety of our customers" sound bites! Don't sue them...incarcerate them
Let them be someone's "girl friend" in jail for a while...
That should give them a new perspective.

 

[FlyAU]

Haha...I've got a funny story about yapping on a cell phone while driving. Last August, I got new brakes put in on my truck. So I'm picking it up when my phone rings. I probably made a poor decision in answering it, but hindsight is 20/20 y'know? Anyways, I'm driving through Buckhead in typical Buckhead traffic...when the S-500 in front of me stops. Now, my truck must be the only Explorer that can stop on a dime...did I mention these were brand new brakes? Back to the story. The Benz happened to stop at an intersection where a cop was directing traffic. He sees me stop (since I had new brakes, it looked like I mashed the brakes--I did that oh-so-cute Explorer nose-dive), runs over to my position and starts banging on the front passenger window (nearly busted it in) screaming at me to get of the "f*(&ing phone!!" He was livid...I was like "Dude, new brakes! I'm in control!" No matter, I still got the third degree...at least I remembered to pick up my sister (why my mom called me in the first place).

Moral of the story: don't drive through Buckhead with new brakes.

[Edited by FlyAU on 02-08-2001 at 09:36 PM]

 

[Peter Weber]

Matt

I think it should be 'Don't have a cell phone in your ear when driving through Buckhead'. Or anywhere else for that matter, especially if Georgia is one of the states where that is now a no no.

 

[fordkrazy]

my comment on the cellular phone use was in response to previous posts on the first page. not to the rollover on that web site.

 

[briantf]

Did anyone else get this from Ford?

Dead Link Removed

This is Car and Driver's article on their rollover experience (or lack thereof) with a 94 Explorer. Ford sent us a very nice (like wedding invitation nice) letter with the new tire pressure sticker. It also had a reprinted summary of this C&D article and a safe driving guide.

Sorry, but I KNOW there are a lot of crappy drivers out there, and a lot of poorly driven Explorers (we ALL see them everyday). This confirms my suspicion.

Regards,
Brian in CA

 

[IgotTwo]

Brian
I have a post out there from 1/20/01 when i got mine.
I thought it was a "wedding invitation" too.
"What in the world will I wear?"(sneakers and a tee shirt?)

Can you imagine how much that cost Ford to send out?
Just the postage alone was probably a "killer."
It must be nice to have enough money to sway public opinion.

I'm surprised they didn't enclose a lapel pin with a picture of a tire and "30 psi - safe at any speed" in the center. I think I saw the President of Ford with one on at the Senate hearings... maybe it was the guy from Firestone...whatever!

Did you put YOUR tire pressure sticker on the door jam? I did, right next to the "stay clear of overhead wires" and "do not use in the bath tub" haha

 

[Stephen]

Yep, I got that and put my sticker on

 

[Jefe]

Hmm. . my dad got the same for his '93 that is long gone. He read 'Explorer' and thought it was for me and handed it over, but I don't remember a sticker in there. . .Oh well.

 

[leebo]

I let Ford put mine on for me.

I'm an jerk....I know it.....but I don't care. I went into the dealer and asked for them to perform the "Fix" and they looked it up in the computer. Should of saw the dudes face when he saw what I wanted. HEHEHE I took the sticker off a few weeks later though.

I am one though that can speak for the tires. I had Firestones on mine when I got it. Grant it they had 50,000 miles on them, they were horrid. Driving home one day I almost suffered the dreaded blowout. Sure it would of been my fault for keeping the tires in the first place, but I can speak about the fear that a driver would get. This is my first SUV and I didn't know the way the explorer handled when a tire let go. I was lucky enough to have another j@@per flag me down and help me change the tire. I was lucky

My brother although was not. About a year ago his explorer flipped several times. He still to this day isn't 100% OK. I do not blame ford or firestone for anything, but I do wish to add though that it is not ALWAYS the drivers fault. Sometimes there are other things that can happen, and we must look for those at all times. You can't do that if your mind is anywhere but on the road where it belongs.

 

[IgotTwo]

I was going to say that I put my sticker on upside down as an act of protest....but not after that story.

I hope you brother gets up there to (or beyond) the 100 percentile.

 

[leebo]

When Firestone Tires go Bad

As he was driving home one night for some reason he lost control and flipped it twice. He doesn't remember this one being that he stands about 6'8 when the roof caved in it actualy crushed up against the top of his head. If you look closly in the photo you can see the indent in the roof. The truck landed on the wheels and he then drove about another 15 miles (BUILT FORD TUFF) where he again lost control and rolled it again and kept driving(FORD AGAIN), this time a cop stopped him and told him about flipping. The next day him and a few of his friends were driving the route to see what had happened and they found the spot where he rolled the second time. They thought that that was it till the drove some more and saw his sun-roof and other parts of the truck as well as some more skidmarks and all.

The good news is that he only suffered a concussion and is almost back to new again.

This is the last think I will say about this subject. Just please keep in mind that it's not always the drivers fault. There are several different things that can happen at any time or anywhere. We do not know 100% what happened, and at this point we don't care, but lets just keep in mind the trama that people go through before pointing at them.

Sorry if I got off my rocker a bit. I'm ok now....or at least as ok as I'll ever get.

 

[kilroy]

DAMN

That thing actually continued to work???

WHEW

Well anyway, as far as training goes, it should be mandatory to take full blown lessons and get a certificate of satisfactory completion before getting a liscense. I took training courses to learn to drive an 18 wheeler, and that cost me well over $3500. But the outcome of it is I know how to drive.

I was driving my rig from Michingan back to Illinios down the Indiana tollway when my right front steer tire blew, which is one of the 2 worse tires that you can lose on a big rig, the other being the left front steer. What can happen is the truck veering off in the direction of the blowout, but it is HIGHLY preventable with quick thinking. as soon as the truck starts to veer, MASH the accelerator to the floor, and the truck will correct itself. I did it without thinking and after the truck stablized that is when I realized that I blew a tire, and was extremely surprised to find it was a steering tire.

All it takes is proper training. There are many different classes of liscensing, and I belive they should at least add one more for the SUV and PU class so that poeple would at least need to be taught how to drive these things before being allowed to purchase one.

My liscense class allows me to drive ANYTHING on the road EXCEPT for motorized bikes, since I never trained on them. So it wouldnt be too difficult to add another class for SUV's since you need to train on a bike before getting a liscense for one.

a simple 2 day course on a skid pad is all that is needed to complete the course, one weekend. I sure dont see a problem with it.