NHTSA Complaint #11503480 — 2021 JEEP WRANGLER

We purchased our Jeep brand new in January 2021. Tire Details: Bridgestone Dueler A/T, Size 255/70R18, Load Index: 133T, Speed Rating: M+S, DOT/Tire ID#: 93XJ RHF 4820. In November 2022, we experienced a catastrophic sidewall blowout of the passenger side front tire while driving 75-80 mph in the high speed lane on I-75. We were instantly warned by the dashboard automatic tire pressure monitoring system. The tire pressure dropped from normal to zero in a matter of 100 yards. This warning saved our lives. To this day, I still don’t know how we got the Jeep safely over to the emergency lane on the right side of I-75 during high traffic. Key point to note – we only had approximately 30,000 miles on our tires at the time of the incident. We called Florida’s Road Rangers who put our spare tire on the vehicle. When we got to our destination, we took it to the Okeechobee Jeep Dealer. The Service Manager and Mechanic both said they had never seen a sidewall blown out like this tire. They recommended we contact Bridgestone to notify them of a safety complaint and possible monetary credit. At their recommendation we took detailed pictures of the blown tire. The Dealer pitched the blown tire as we had a car full of luggage. We purchased a new Bridgestone tire from this Jeep Dealer at that time as we did not want to ride around with no spare. We were not sure of the integrity of the remaining 3 tires. We contacted Bridgestone, Ref # 1387342. After talking to a series of Reps, they seemed indifferent about this unsafe event and said they could do nothing on the tire warranty since we did not go to an authorized Bridgestone dealer. A Rep said if we had the original tire they would warranty it, but the pictures would not suffice! I came away with the sense that Bridgestone does not have any concern about their tire safety. They never asked for the pictures or the DOT/Tire Identification number. They did not stand behind their tires from a warranty aspect.