NHTSA Complaint #736860 — 2000 MAZDA 626

THE SIDEWALL FAILED. THERE WAS A LARGE TEAR, WHICH DEVELOPED SUDDENLY AT A LOW SPEED. THERE DIDN'T APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN ANY OBJECT THAT STRUCK THE TIRE OR CAME IN CONTACT WITH IT. THERE WAS NO PUNCTURE ON THE SURFACE THAT CONTACTS THE ROAD, JUST A LONG "CRACK" UP THE SIDE. THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE WAS IN THE 40'S AND THERE HAD BEEN LIGHT RAIN. I HAD ONLY DRIVEN ROUGHLY 4 MILES AT LOW SPEEDS, BUT WAS ABOUT A MILE AWAY FROM INTERSTATE 77 WHERE I WOULD HAVE BEEN GOING FASTER IN TRAFFIC. I FEEL FORTUNATE THAT THERE WERE NO CONSEQUENCES OF THE TIRE'S FAILURE BECAUSE OF THE LOCATION IN WHICH IT FAILED. THE SIDEWALL CRACK EXTENDED DOWN TO ONE OF THE INDENTATIONS IN THE TREAD, WHICH APPEARED TO STILL BE INTACT. THE TIRE SHOWED NO SIGN OF SIGNIFICANT WEAR. SINCE THE RENTAL CAR HAD JUST OVER 5000 MILES ON IT, I ASSUME THE TIRE HAD NO MORE WEAR THAN THAT.*AK (DOT NUMBER: UNKNOWN TIRESIZE: P215/60R16)