Firestone Firehawk dangerous sidewall cracks
Thread Starter
6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Firestone Firehawk dangerous sidewall cracks
Does anyone have any information regarding the Firestone Firehawk tires. I had a set of them on my 99 coupe for approx. 22.000 miles when I took the car in to have a set of HRE rims installed. I got a call from the installer that there was a problem and he wanted me to return to inspect the tires. What I found was two of the tires had severe cracks alont the inside of the sidewall. One of them was over 12" long and very deep into the rubber. The other tire was slit for several inches and had a jagged v-shapped crack. I was terrified to think I was using these tires on the highway. Needless to say I had all 4 tires removed and a new set of Michelin tires installed. I have kept the tires until I speak to the dealer and maybe a lawyer. There was plenty of tread left on these tires, maybe another 15,000 miles, and NO SIGN OF THE DANGEROUS CONDITION on the outside. If you have these tires please beware of the potentel danger and even if you have to spend a few bucks please get them inspected on the inside. If you have any information of simmilar problems please advise me.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 3,123
Likes: 3
From: Orland Park Illinois
St. Jude Donor '06-'07
Well, this woan't be the first time Firestone has made defective tires. Their shoddy workmanship has caused many people to lose their lives and has caused countless injuries 
. I do not understand how anyone w/ any sense at all, would ever buy Firestone tires... 
. I do not understand how anyone w/ any sense at all, would ever buy Firestone tires...
Tech Contributor
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 41,058
Likes: 9,822
From: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
Be fair. Firestone got blamed for a problem that wasn't theirs. Ford tried to solve an Explorer rollover problem by lowering the tire pressures which would make the vehicle slide versus hook in a turn. The tires were not designed to run at that Ford recommended pressure with the load of the vehicle they were installed on. Any tire will fail if it is run at a too low of a pressure in combination with high speeds, loads and temperatures. Bumping the pressure a couple of pounds would have prevented the tire problem but would have still resulted in rollovers. How is that Firestone's problem?
By the way the Firehawks are made by Bridgestone in the land of high quality (Japan).
If these are the Firehawk SZ50 EP RFT tires there may not be a problem since cracks in the side wall may not mean much. If you can drill 3/4 inch holes in the sidewall and still drive on the tire what is a crack in the rubber?
Bill
By the way the Firehawks are made by Bridgestone in the land of high quality (Japan).
If these are the Firehawk SZ50 EP RFT tires there may not be a problem since cracks in the side wall may not mean much. If you can drill 3/4 inch holes in the sidewall and still drive on the tire what is a crack in the rubber?
Bill
Last edited by Bill Dearborn; Sep 10, 2006 at 12:08 AM.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 4,419
Likes: 6
From: Arroyo Grande CA
Originally Posted by Bill Dearborn
By the way the Firehawks are made by Bridgestone in the land of high quality (Japan).
U.S. DOT Tire Identification Number on the tire, from the NHTSA.DOT.GOV site.
This begins with the letters "DOT" and indicates that the tire meets all federal standards. The next two numbers or letters are the plant code where it was manufactured, and the last four numbers represent the week and year the tire was built. For example, the numbers 3197 means the 31st week of 1997. The other numbers are marketing codes used at the manufacturer's discretion. This information is used to contact consumers if a tire defect requires a recall.
http://www.harriger.com/tires.htm < Plant Codes
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,652
Likes: 2,106
From: Left Coast, San Diego
Originally Posted by Bill Dearborn
Be fair. Firestone got blamed for a problem that wasn't theirs. Ford tried to solve an Explorer rollover problem by lowering the tire pressures which would make the vehicle slide versus hook in a turn. The tires were not designed to run at that Ford recommended pressure with the load of the vehicle they were installed on. Any tire will fail if it is run at a too low of a pressure in combination with high speeds, loads and temperatures. Bumping the pressure a couple of pounds would have prevented the tire problem but would have still resulted in rollovers. How is that Firestone's problem?
By the way the Firehawks are made by Bridgestone in the land of high quality (Japan).
If these are the Firehawk SZ50 EP RFT tires there may not be a problem since cracks in the side wall may not mean much. If you can drill 3/4 inch holes in the sidewall and still drive on the tire what is a crack in the rubber?
Bill
By the way the Firehawks are made by Bridgestone in the land of high quality (Japan).
If these are the Firehawk SZ50 EP RFT tires there may not be a problem since cracks in the side wall may not mean much. If you can drill 3/4 inch holes in the sidewall and still drive on the tire what is a crack in the rubber?
Bill
It all started with the Firestone 500 tires back in the late 70's. Firestone has been trying to get it right ever since. Appears they still have work to do!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,652
Likes: 2,106
From: Left Coast, San Diego
Originally Posted by Bill Dearborn
Be fair. Firestone got blamed for a problem that wasn't theirs. Ford tried to solve an Explorer rollover problem by lowering the tire pressures which would make the vehicle slide versus hook in a turn. The tires were not designed to run at that Ford recommended pressure with the load of the vehicle they were installed on. Any tire will fail if it is run at a too low of a pressure in combination with high speeds, loads and temperatures. Bumping the pressure a couple of pounds would have prevented the tire problem but would have still resulted in rollovers. How is that Firestone's problem?
By the way the Firehawks are made by Bridgestone in the land of high quality (Japan).
If these are the Firehawk SZ50 EP RFT tires there may not be a problem since cracks in the side wall may not mean much. If you can drill 3/4 inch holes in the sidewall and still drive on the tire what is a crack in the rubber?
Bill
By the way the Firehawks are made by Bridgestone in the land of high quality (Japan).
If these are the Firehawk SZ50 EP RFT tires there may not be a problem since cracks in the side wall may not mean much. If you can drill 3/4 inch holes in the sidewall and still drive on the tire what is a crack in the rubber?
Bill
It all started with the Firestone 500 tires back in the late 70's. They had to replace a set of 500's I had. Firestone has been trying to get it right ever since. Appears they still have work to do!
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 885
Likes: 0
From: The Woodlands Texas
Hmmm. I am on my second set of Firehawks and love them. Never had a problem. Took off the crappy Goodyears run flats that came on the car within the first 5,000 miles due to the obnoxiously loud road noise generated and the lack of road gripping during cornering. The Firehawks are a proven performance tire. I typically get about 30,000 miles out of a set (the rears just melt off for some reason
) The only tire I would consider replacing the Firehawks with is the Michelin Pilot Sport run flat.
By the way, my 1991 Explorer came with Firestone tires and the factory set lasted 96,000 miles - yes, 96,000 miles. Of course the replacement set of Firestones only lasted 28,000 miles - what can I say.
) The only tire I would consider replacing the Firehawks with is the Michelin Pilot Sport run flat.By the way, my 1991 Explorer came with Firestone tires and the factory set lasted 96,000 miles - yes, 96,000 miles. Of course the replacement set of Firestones only lasted 28,000 miles - what can I say.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,202
Likes: 5
Although the tires may have only 22K miles on them, how old are they (look at the stampings on the tires). After a while (I don't remember how long), the rubber starts to get hard. When rubber gets hard, you lose traction and cracking starts.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 753
Likes: 2
From: Denville NJ
Wow, all this tire hoopalah. I'm finding it hard to decide on new tires on the used 04 I just bought. Definitely leaning toward the run-flats. Is anyone happy with the Kumho's (not sure of the spelling) but they seem to be cheaper and have a decent reputation.
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 66
Likes: 0
From: South Ogden Utah
I went through two sets of Firehawks with the same problem before I switched to Michelins. Firestone prorated the 1st set, after the second set developed cracks, I didn't want Firestones at any price.
