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Defective tire

I

impulse

Senior member
I drive a 1993 Infiniti J30 and a few weeks ago I had a sidewall blowout on a BF Goodrich Control T/A tire, I bought a set of 4 of these tires no more than 10k mi ago. The blowout was the front left tire and happened while I was driving along a road doing about 30 MPH, the blowout caused my car to lose control and swerve to the left and hit a curb extremly hard. The impact caused extreme front end damage ($1800 worth) and body damage I have yet to have appraised. I have the tire and I inspected the blowout, there are no scuffs of any sort around the area where the sidewall failed, it looks as though the tire had some sort of defect in it. I'm a highschool student and I can't afford to pay to fix this car (I can barely afford to pay for it and insurance). In my mind BF Goodrich is at fault for this incident for letting this tire be sold. Now my question is what should I do now? Any help is deeply appreciated.
 
How often did you check the tire pressure? When was the last time you had the tires rotated? We there signs of uneven wear caused by an untuned suspension? How much do you "push" the tires on a daily basis?

I think you are just caught up in the entire Firestone Panic. Blow outs can happen at anytime but it doesn't mean the tires of defective. By your logic, anytime something fails it's someone else's fault. I think I'll sue 3M because the Scotch tape holding a package open when the adhesive failed and ruined a surprise birthday present.

Windogg
 
I keep regular maintanence of my car, I check tire pressure regularly when the tires are cold and after they have been warmed up, my suspension is in excellent working order, no signs of uneven tire ware of any sorts.
 
I'd suggest contacting your insurance company and/or a lawyer. Trying to fight the manufacturer on your own is probably going to be a losing battle.
 
And yes I am caught up in this Fireston panic, why should I have to pay an exorbitant amount of money to fix damage that shouldnt have happened in the first place a blow out shouldnt occur on new tires while your just cruising down the road. BTW I religiously keep my tires at 42 PSI.
 
Not to discount your vast driving experience, but I find it hard to believe that your Infiniti's suspension is so poorly designed that it cannot be controlled in case of a tire failure. Even stranger that you managed to cross a lane of traffic on the blowout. Gotta admit, while I've only been driving 30-odd years, and experiencing a blowout or two, at highway speeds on at least one occassion, that I have managed to remain in my lane and not hit a single thing.

Something intersting...Car and Driver, in an attempt to get an Explorer to veer off the road and/or flip during a blowout, attempted a series of blowout tests and intentionally blew out a tire multiple times at speed of 30-70 mph, with six tries at 70mph. Even at that speed, the Explorer didn't veer off the road once, even when brakes applied. They even blew out a tire once at 70 without hands on the wheel. The Explorer still tracked straight. Seems funny your Infiniti has a poorer suspension than an Explorer is blessed with.

As C&D said, "...the Explorer, like all modern vehicles, in our experience, is stable and easy to control in the event of a tire failure." You ought to check out the video on their web site.

On the other hand, possibly your inexperience, lack of attention when the flat happened, etc. may have contributed to the car "losing control", or more likely you losing control. Just imho.
 
I too don't see how you could lose control with a blowout at 30 MPH on a car like the J30. There has to be more to this story.
 
Hehe good point kranky. I like the others feel there is something being left out. I've had a wheel fall off the studs at 30 and leave the rotor standing inside the tire. I braked and pulled off the road just fine. Whats the maximum tre pressure on those anyway? 42psi seems a tad unnecessary for most cars.
 
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