2001 LC100 shakes and Steering wobbles on hwy, resulting in a bizarre tire explosion

[Spike555]

I had some very similar experiences with Michelin LTX tires on my cruisers recently. Both these incidents happened not to long after I used the spares tires. Both tires had never previously been on the ground. Problems started with a slight shimmy in the steering wheel which got worse and started pulling to one side. On the first one a fairly large section of thread blistered up before I figured out the issue, but amazingly still held air. After checking the date codes it appears that they were both likely the original spares from the factory(16 yrs old). Lessons learned: 1. Get under your vehicle and check the date code on your spare before you need to use it! 2. If you experience the onset of a steering shimmy, stop and check those tires(however it can be difficult to visually identify the onset of tread separation)

Do one better, drop the spare from under the truck, check the tire pressure, date code, check for cracks, clean it with a degreaser to clean any corrosive road grim off of it, like road salt.
Do this twice a year, this not only makes sure that the spare is in good enough shape to be used safely it also makes sure that the spare tire carrier will work when you need it to. To many of those under the truck/van spare tire carriers never get used and rust and seize and now you're being chased by zombies and you can's change your tire because the spare wont drop down and you get your face eaten.

 

[Ninja Cruiser100]

Why not just place the spare into the normal rotation? That's what I do.

 

[iRMX]

fyi - the toyota advisor and tech were suprised to see the state of the falken tire given fairly a new tire. The front blow-out took out the speed sensor and some wires. The shop is waiting for parts and will put the lc100 on the rack for a full alignment before test driving. I should get the lc100 back next week. I'm now shopping for new tires - looking at toyo at2.

The michelin 275/70/18 rear tire was at 40 PSI and the blow out/damage was contained at that section, probably given it is an E-load all terrain tire. The 2nd blow-out falken 275/70/16 front tire was at 35 PSI and the blow-out ripped bald the entire tire, probably given it is a passenger tire. Here are the pics of both tires.

 

[Ninja Cruiser100]

I would be taking a picture of both and send them to the PR and legal departments.

 

[tacoduck]

The Truth Behind What Caused Paul Walker's Fatal Crash

this is incredibly relevant...

 

[oakback]

Man, now I wish I paid more attention to my tire's age/brand/etc before replacing it. It blew while I was towing a popup camper, loaded car, on a hot day. I didn't hit anything on the road.