NHTSA Complaint #738189 — 1993 FORD TAURUS

A FEW DAYS AGO I DISCOVERED THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE APPEARED TO BE LOW ON AIR. I HAD ALL FOUR TIRES REPLACED ON 8/25/2000 WITH GOODYEAR AMERICAN EAGLE P205/65R15 AT WAL-MART IN BAYTOWN, TEXAS. THE TIRES WERE DUE FOR ROTATION AND BALANCE, SO I HAD WAL-MART IN BAYTOWN, TEXAS PERFORM THE REGULAR MAINTENANCE AND CHECK THE FRONT RIGHT TIRE FOR A LEAK. AFTER THE MECHANIC REMOVED THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE FROM THE RIM HE DISCOVERED A CRACK ON THE INSIDE SURFACE OF THE TIRE. THE CRACK RAN PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION OF TREAD. THE CRACK RAN ACROSS THE TREAD AREA AND UP INTO BOTH SIDEWALLS. THE CRACK WAS NOT VISIBLE ON THE OUTSIDE SURFACE OF THE TIRE. I LOOKED AT THE TIRE AND THERE APPEARED TO BE A SLIGHT MOLD INDENTATION IN THE CRACK AREA. I CONTACTED GOODYEAR'S CONSUMER INFORMATION SERVICE AND PROVIDED THEM WITH THE SAME INFORMATION. THEY ACCEPTED THE INFORMATION BUT ADVISED ME THAT THIS WAS A WAL-MART PROBLEM. WAL-MART REPLACED THE TIRE IN QUESTION AT NO EXPENSE. I VISITED WAL-MART YESTERDAY 12/23/2000, AND SPOKE TO THE STORE MANAGER AND MECHANIC. THEY AGREED TO CHECK THE REMAINING THREE TIRES FOR PROBLEMS NEXT WEEK. THE MECHANIC WAS GOING TO TRY TO LOCATE THE TIRE THAT WAS REMOVED AND STORE IT FOR EXAMINATION. THE INTERIOR TIRE DAMAGE WAS VERY UNUSUAL. I'M NOT ONLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF MY TIRES, BUT ALSO THE SAFETY OF OTHER PEOPLES TIRES. IT MAY BE A GOOD IDEA TO TRY TO GET HOLD OF THIS TIRE FOR EXAMINATION. PLEASE CONTACT ME, IF YOU HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. *AK (TIRESIZE: P205/65R15)( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: P205/65R15 )