NHTSA Complaint #10468014 — 2007 KEYSTONE COUGAR

EXPERIENCED RAPID LOSS OF AIR PRESSURE ON A BF GOODRICH COMMERCIAL T/A LT225/75R16 ALL SEASON LRE TIRE WHILE TRAVELING ON A 4-LANE HIGHWAY. TIRE WAS ONE OF A SET OF 4 INSTALLED ON A 5TH WHEEL. BOTH MYSELF, AS WELL AS THE ROAD SERVICE THAT CAME TO MY AID, THOUGHT THE PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY APPARENT TREAD SEPARATION. THE TIRE WAS LESS THAN 3 YEARS OLD AND HAD AROUND 16000 MILES ON IT. I RETURNED THE FAULTY TIRE TO MICHELIN FOR INSPECTION. THEIR REPORT CONCLUDED THAT THEY COULD NOT FIND THE EXACT CAUSE OF FAILURE. SPECIFICALLY, THEIR REPORT STATED "WHILE WE DID NOT FIND ANY DEFECTS IN DESIGN, MANUFACTURE OR MATERIALS IN THE TIRE WHICH WOULD HAVE CAUSED IT TO BECOME UNSERVICEABLE, NEITHER COULD WE FIND ANY EVIDENCE OF MISAPPLICATION OR MISUSE". IN THE INTEREST OF CUSTOMER GOODWILL, MICHELIN AGREED TO REIMBURSE ME FOR REPAIR COSTS TO MY 5TH WHEEL, PAY A 75% PRORATED REPLACEMENT COST ON A NEW TIRE AND COVER THE DEFECTIVE TIRE SHIPMENT COST. WHILE I'M GRATEFUL FOR MICHELIN'S ACTIONS ON MY BEHALF, I AM WONDERING IF THE PROBLEM I EXPERIENCED IS PART OF A LARGER PROBLEM. SPECIFICALLY, IS IT SOMEHOW RELATED TO YOUR NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER : 12T019000 RECALL? THAT RECALL IS FOR THE SAME TIRE, BUT SPECIFIES DIFFERENT SIZES. I AM METICULOUS ABOUT WEIGHING MY 5TH WHEEL TO STAY SAFE, ALWAYS MAKE SURE I MAINTAIN THE PROPER AIR PRESSURE IN MY TIRES AND USE A TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM. THERE WERE NO INDICATIONS OF ANY PROBLEM WITH THE TIRE, PRIOR TO THE INCIDENCE. *TR