NHTSA Complaint #10300421 — 2007 MAZDA CX-7

APPROXIMATELY THREE WEEKS AGO, I NOTICED INCREASING DIFFICULTY MANEUVERING MY CAR AND TWO WEEKS AGO, AS I TURNED ONTO MY STREET, (TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH), MY CAR ACTUALLY SLID ACROSS THE INTERSECTION AND INTO THE CURB ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE STREET. FORTUNATELY, NO PEDESTRIANS WERE NEARBY AND NEITHER MY CAR NOR I SUSTAINED ANY INJURY. CURIOUS AS TO WHY THIS WOULD HAVE OCCURRED, MY HUSBAND INVESTIGATED AND MUCH TO OUR DISMAY, WE DISCOVERED THAT MY BRIDGESTONE TURANZA TIRES ' WITH JUST 18,800 MILES ON THEM ' WERE BALD EXCEPT FOR THE GROOVES THAT RUN ALONG THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE TIRE. AT THIS TIME, WE CALLED TWO AREA BRIDGESTONE DEALERS WHO JOINTLY CONSENTED THAT THE TIRE HAD NO TREAD WEAR WARRANTY WHICH FURTHER SERVED TO REINFORCE THE FACT THAT BRIDGESTONE IS AWARE THAT THE TURANZA IS A POOR QUALITY TIRE NOT WORTHY OF WARRANTY. WHEN QUESTIONED ABOUT THE POOR STATE OF THE TIRES AFTER JUST 18,800 MILES, THEY INDICATED, THAT OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT THE TURANZA WAS A 'CHEAP' TIRE (THEIR SPECIFIC VERBIAGE), IT COULD ALSO BE DUE TO POOR DRIVER HABITS OR AN OUT-OF-ALIGNMENT VEHICLE OR BOTH. BECAUSE I AM THE SOLE DRIVER OF MY VEHICLE AND COMMUTE JUST 21 MILES ROUND-TRIP TO MY JOB VIA A STATE-MAINTAINED ROAD WITH A MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT OF 50 MPH, POOR DRIVER HABITS IS ELIMINATED. FURTHERMORE, INVESTIGATION ALSO REVEALED THAT THE CAR WAS, IN FACT, NOT OUT-OF-ALIGNMENT, AS WE HAVE NOW REPLACED ALL FOUR TIRES ON THE VEHICLE AND CONFIRMED THAT THE ALIGNMENT WAS FINE. FRANKLY, WE FIND IT NOTHING SHORT OF DESPICABLE THAT BRIDGESTONE CONTINUES TO SELL THESE TIRES WHEN FULLY AWARE OF ITS POOR QUALITY AND IT IS PARTICULARLY DISHONORABLE THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO RISK PEOPLES' LIVES BECAUSE THEY ARE UNKNOWINGLY DRIVING ON INFERIOR, NON-WARRANTED TIRES. *TR