NHTSA Complaint #10819211 — 1995 CHEVROLET G20

TRAVELING STRAIGHT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS (65MPH), ON A VERY SMOOTH HIGHWAY, A LOUD POP WAS HEARD AND MY FRONT END DRIVER'S SIDE SUSPENSION COLLAPSED. I VEERED LEFT, STARTED TO ROLL, AND WAS RIGHTED BY A TOYOTA TACOMA IN THE LANE TO MY LEFT. THE TACOMA PROCEEDED TO WRAP AROUND THE FRONT OF MY VEHICLE COLLIDING WITH A VEHICLE IN THE LANE TO MY RIGHT. TWO VEHICLES WERE TOTALED AND THE DRIVER OF THE TACOMA SUSTAINED INJURIES. THE RECENTLY INSTALLED SUSPENSION (MOOG COMPONENTS, INSTALLED BY FIRESTONE) HAD TWICE BEEN INSPECTED BY FIRESTONE IN THE PREVIOUS 6,000 MILES. (SUSPENSION INSTALLED 10,000 MILES PRIOR TO ACCIDENT, INSPECTED 6,000 AND 3,000 MILES PRIOR TO ACCIDENT BECAUSE I NOTED TO FIRESTONE OBSERVED EXCESSIVE TIRE WEAR AND A SUSPENSION CLUNKING NOISE). THE PATROLMAN ON SCENE DID NOT CITE ME BECAUSE HE OBSERVED THE OTHERWISE BROKEN SUSPENSION WAS OF NEW, RECENTLY INSTALLED CONDITION. A LOWER BALL JOINT FAILURE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN THE CAUSE. GIVEN THE SEVERITY OF THE ACCIDENT I REQUESTED ALL FAILED SUSPENSION COMPONENTS BE PLACED IN MY VEHICLE. WHEN I ARRIVED TO PICK UP THE VEHICLE I WAS INFORMED THESE PARTS WERE DISCARDED. TWO DAYS AFTER I PICKED UP THE VEHICLE I FORMALLY REQUESTED FIRESTONE ADDRESS A SERIES OF SUSPENSION CONCERNS I HAD, ONE YEAR LATER, NO RESPONSE ON ANY CONCERN. 500 MILES AFTER THE SUSPENSION RE-REPAIR, I ONCE AGAIN WAS EXPERIENCING A CLUNKING NOISE AND ANOTHER FIRESTONE RETAIL CENTER DETERMINED ALIGNMENT SHIMS WERE MISSING, AND ON REPLACEMENT THE CLUNKING NOISE DISAPPEARED. FIRESTONE HAS NOT RESPONDED IF THEIR COULD BE A CONNECTION BETWEEN SHIM OMISSION AND PREMATURE BALL JOINT FAILURE.