NHTSA Complaint #10354465 — 1998 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE

ON 9/6/2010 I GOT IN MY CAR AND PULLED OUT OF MY PARKING SPACE. MY CAR HAD BEEN SITTING ALL THAT DAY AND THE PREVIOUS DAY. AS I PULLED OUT, HEARD A FLOP, FLOP NOISE, STOPPED MY CAR, GOT OUT AND LOOKED AROUND. THE FRONT RIGHT TIRE, A UNIROYAL LONG TOURING A/S, HAD COMPLETELY BLOWN OUT (NOT JUST GONE FLAT). I REPLACED THE TIRE WITH MY SPARE. I LOOKED OVER THE BLOWN TIRE AND FOUND A TEAR APPROX. 1-2 INCHES LONG ON THE INSIDE OF THE TIRE, JUST BELOW THE TREAD. MY FATHER CONTACTED THE TIRE MANUFACTURER, BECAUSE MY SISTER HAD THE SAME MODEL TIRE AND HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WEEKS EARLIER. MY FATHER WAS TOLD WE COULD GET REIMBURSED FOR NEW TIRES IF THEY WERE INSPECTED BY THE DEALER AND FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE. TODAY, 9/8/2010, I TOOK MY CAR TO A TIRE DEALERSHIP AND GOT THE ONE TIRE REPLACED. THE BLOWN TIRE WAS FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE. AN INDIVIDUAL FROM THAT DEALERSHIP CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER & WAS TOLD TO FILL OUT A CLAIM FORM SO I COULD BE REIMBURSED 60% OF THE NEW TIRE COST. THE DEALER KEPT MY BLOWN TIRE. I CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER ABOUT GETTING ALL NEW TIRES, BECAUSE THE OTHERS WERE FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE WITH CRACKS BEGINNING. THEY SAID THE TIRE I JUST PAID FOR COULD NOT BE COVERED BECAUSE IT WAS NOT AN ACCEPTED BRAND, BUT FOUR NEW TIRES THAT WERE OF AN ACCEPTED BRAND COULD BE COVERED UP TO 60%. THE TIRES HAVE ALL BEEN SAID TO BE DEFECTIVE BY THE DEALERSHIP, HOWEVER THE MANUFACTURER REFUSES TO COVER THE FULL COST OF REPLACEMENT TIRES. *TR