NHTSA Complaint #10060795 — 1999 FORD CONTOUR

AFTER 22K MILES I HAVE TO REPLACE THE ORIGINAL TIRES 185/70/R14 ON MY FORD CONTOUR SE '99. I CONTACTED GENERAL TIRE (THE TIRES HAVE 70K MILES WARRANTY). I WAS SURPRISED TO FIND OUT THAT "GENERAL TIRE WAS NOT CONTRACTED BY FORD CO TO PUT TIRES 185/70/R14 ON FORD CONTOUR SE". I CONTACTED TIRE DEALERS, CHECK WEBSITES AND FOUND THAT THE ONLY SIZE 205/60/R15 IS LISTED AS AN ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT. THE SIZE 185/70/R14 IS DOWNSIZE TIRES, AND TIRE MANUFACTURES WILL NOT HONOR THE TIRE WARRANTY IF I PUT THESE TIRES ON MY CONTOUR SE. THIS IS ONE PROBLEM. THE BIGGEST ISSUE IS SAFETY: DO THE TIRES 185/70/R14 PROVIDE THE SAME SAFETY FEATURES AS 205/60/R15? I FOUND THAT R15 TIRES COULD HOLD 400 LB MORE THAN R14 TIRES, PROVIDE BETTER TRACKING CONTROL. AND, I ALREADY KNOW THAT, THE R14 TIRES LASTED ONLY 22K MILES. I TRY TO CONVINCE FORD CO THAT BECAUSE OF THE PRODUCTION DEFECT MY CAR - CONTOUR SE 99 -WAS EQUIPPED WITH INCORRECT TIRES (185/70/R14 INSTEAD OF 205/60/R15), AND AS A RESULT OF THAT THE SAFETY LEVEL OF THE CAR IS LESS THAN IT SHOULD BE, AND TIRE WARRANTY IS DENIED BY TIRE MANUFACTURERS. THE ONLY FIX IS TO REPLACE THE WHEELS (RIM AND TIRES). THANK YOU.