NHTSA Complaint #731366 — 1986 VOLVO 760

I PURCHASED A USED VOLVO WITH A VIRTUALLY NEW SET OF FIREWHAWK TIRES ON IT. AFTER DRIVING IT FOR ABOUT 3 MONTHS, I NOTICED ONE OF THE FRONT TIRES HAD DEVELOPED A GOOD SIZED BULGE ON THE SIDE WALL. THIS WAS ABOUT A YEAR AGO. I WAS CONCERNED AND E-MAILED THE CONSUMER DIVISION OF FIRESTONE ABOUT THE PROBLEM. I DESCRIBED THE BULGE AND GAVE DIMENSIONS INCLUDING DIAMETER (APPROXIMATELY 2 INCHES) AND THE HEIGHT OF THE BULDGE (ABOUT 1/2 INCH). I ASKED IF IT WAS DANGEROUS TO CONTINUE DRIVING ON THIS TIRE AND WHO WAS RESPONSINBLE FOR REPLACEMENT. I RECEIVED NO REPLY FROM FIRESTONE. EVENTUALLY THE BULDGE RUPTURED WHILE I WAS DRIVING AT ABOUT 65 MPH ON AN EXPRESSWAY. FORTUNATELLY, THE TIRE DID NOT DEFLATE ALL AT ONCE, ALLOWING ME TO DRIVE A LITTLE DISTANCE AND PULL OFF THE ROAD. I REPLACED THE TIRE WITH THE SAME BRAND AND SIZE. ABOUT 8 MONTHS LATER, I NOTICED A SIMILAR BULGE ON THE SIDEWALL OF THE REAR TIRE. I REPLACED IT IMMEDIATELY WITH ANOTHER MANUFACTURER'S TIRE. THE FIRST DEFECTIVE TIRE WAS DISPOSED BY THE SHOP THAT REPLACED IT. HOWEVER, I STILL HAVE THE OTHER DEFECTIVE TIRE. AFTER HEARING THE RECENT PROBLEMS WITH FIRESTONE TIRES, I AGAIN CONTACTED FIRESTONE. IT TOOK A FEW WEEKS, BUT THIS TIME, THEY DID RESPOND. THEY TOLD ME THEY COULD NOT HANDLE MY PROBLEM BY E-MAIL AND GAVE ME AN 800 NUMBER TO CALL. I HAVE NOT YET CALLED THIS NUMBER.*AK( DOT NUMBER: W2V9 JBB TIRE SIZE: P195 60R15 )