NHTSA Complaint #752392 — 2000 FORD FOCUS

WE WERE ON VACATION AND 75MPH ON I-80, IN BIG SPRINGS NE, OUR REAR LEFT TIRE BLEW OUT. OUR CAR SWERVED ALL OVER THE ROAD BUT LUCKY FOR US IT WAS 2:30PM ON JULY 4TH AND TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT. AFTER GETTING CONTROL OF THE CAR WE PULLED UP THE NEARBY EXIT RAMP TO A TRUCK STOP. THE TRUCK SERVICE TECHNICIAN CHANGED OUR TIRE AND PUT ON THE SPARE. THE CLOSEST GOODYEAR TIRE RETAILER OPEN ON 4TH OF JULY, WAS WALMART 150 MILES AWAY. WE HAD TO DRIVE UNDER 50MPH ON A 70MPH HIGHWAY FOR THAT 150 MILES, FINALLY ARRIVING IN KEARNEY NEBRASKA AT 7:30PM. IT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE THAT WE WOULD NEED TIRES SO SOON. ALSO, KNOW THE TIRES HAVE BEEN ROTATED AT A FORD DEALER EVERY 5000 MILES (AS PER MY WARRANTY) THE TIRE TECHNICIAN AT WALMART INFORMED US THAT THE TIRES WERE DAMAGED BY A DEFAULT IN THE CAR. HE SAID THAT FORD TWEEKS THE ALIGNMENT ON THEIR CARS TO IMPROVE HANDLING AND THAT SOMETIMES THAT TWEEKING CAUSES UNUSUAL TIRE WEAR. ALSO, HE INFORMED US THEY ARE 65,000 MILE TIRES AND SHOULD NOT BE WORN THROUGH IN 20,000 MILES. HE ALSO POINTED OUT WEAR ON THE INSIDE OF THE OTHER BACK TIRE AND TOLD US WE WOULD NOT MAKE IT HOME DRIVING ON THAT TIRE. FACED WITH FEW CHOICES, WE PURCHASED 2 NEW TIRES SO WE COULD DRIVE HOME TO ST. LOUIS. THE TOTAL COST FOR THIS WAS $177.10. UPON RETURN TO ST. LOUIS I IMMEDIATELY TOOK THE CAR INTO MCMAHON FORD AND AFTER 3 DAYS, DOUG SUCHER INFORMED ME THAT THE CAMBER WAS AT 9 WHICH WAS DANGEROUSLY NEAR AN UNSAFE READING. HE ALSO TOLD ME THERE WAS NO REPAIR AVAILABLE FOR THIS PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD THE VEHICLE ALSO NEEDS NEW BRAKES DUE TO THIS DEFECT. FURTHERMORE, HE SAID HE CONTACTED THE ENGINEERS AT FORD AND THEY ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT HAVE NO SOLUTION AT THIS TIME. HE DID CONFIRM THAT THE WEAR ON THE TIRES WAS CAUSED BY THE IMPROPER CAMBER SETTING AND WE WOULD CONTINUE TO GO THRU TIRES AND BRAKES AT AN UNUSUAL RATE. HE ALSO SAID THIS IS A PROBLEM ON ALL FOCUS MODELS AND THEY ARE DOING TIRE REPLACEMENTS ONLY ON THE 2001 MODELS.*AK