Bridgestone Tire Failure

[Woodeye]

Any help on this one will be greatly apreciated! My 2007 FJC MT6 with just a tad over 40K on the clock just had a flat tire last week. Stock Dueler H/T P265/70/17R tires. Just happened to be the day before I was going on vacation (flying) so i am just now getting to having it fixed. The tire dealer I went to said it had a hole in the side wall and could not be fixed. When I went back to get the tire, they showed me where the hole was. It is on the side wall no where near the tread. There is on visible sign od abrasion, scrapes, or punture. The tread wear is even and not too bad. It is obvious that I have rotated them every 5K, never run low or high pressure. Yet, the dealer told me there is no warranty. Any ideas or suggestions? I will try to attach some pics but I have never tried this before. The white 1/2 circle is where they marked the tires with a crayon and indicates where the hole is.

Thanks,

Woodeye

 

[knoll0351]

I would at least get into contact with Bridgestone...

Good luck man sounds like they should cover it, but I wouldn't hold my breath....sucks.

 

[WyoCruiser]

Have you read the tire warranty that was included with the new vehicle documentation? With that understood, contact Bridgestone. From my experience, 40+ years driving, a puncture in the sidewall after 40,000 miles is probably not a manufacturer's defect. I would have a hard time remembering everything I did over 40,000 that might have caused sidewall damage that finally weakened to the point that the tire went flat. We recently had sidewall damage in the orig. equip. tire of one of our vehicles that resulted in us losing air in the tire. We could swear that we didn't do anything recently to cause it.
Also, I/we have had them occur from situations we didn't think were a problem at the time. Other times we went crawling around off road and thought for sure we'd have tire damage and never ended up with a flat.

When we replaced our FJ orig. equip tires, we received a warranty on the new tires that goes beyond defects and mileage and includes damage, including to the sidewall, that we may cause by running over objects, over curbs, off roading...it doesn't matter whose fault it is...it is covered down to when the tread is a certain depth.

 

[lgrt]

there is a recall on SOME Bridestone Duelers that came stock on FJC check if your included.
http://auto-recalls.justia.com/content/06V235000-TOYOTA-FJ-CRUISER-2007.html

 

[Woodeye]

Hey, now that's the kind of info I was hoping for. Obviously, (well in my opinion) there is no evidence of physical damage on the outside. I too hve been driving for 40+ years, never had this baby off road and completely amazeded at the leak which the naked eye can't even see until leak detector is sprayed on it.

Oh, well, wish me luck, I'm not done with this yet.

Thanks,

Dick/Woodeye

 

[Woodeye]

WyoCruiser,

Thanks for your input, I appreciate your time. I'll keep you posted on what happens.

Dick/Woodeye

 

[zuluzeugma]

Mine have 44K on them and are dry roting (2 years old, properly rotated, etc)... Crappy tires is all there is to it...

 

[fjcruising]

Haha Buy Goodyears!

 

[Mikescruiser]

The dealer supose to contact bridgestone for you and warranty the proration of the tire but if not you need to try another dealer. every dealer I use to work for operates differently and some hate dealing with tire issues. clearly looks like a tire defect!

 

[Woodeye]

Thanks Mikescruiser! I took it to a different tire dealer this week and the guy said he could "sneak it by the Bridgestone rep" and warranty the tire. But the tire I need is scarce around here and it will be another week before I can get a new one. I talked to the Toyota dealer today and his "best" mechanic said to stop driving it since my spare has 5k on it and the other three have 40K. He said the center differential could get hot and ruin it since there is such a big difference on the one tire. Looks like I will have to buy 4 new tires at the least! Any ideas out there?

Thanks,

Woodeye

 

[knoll0351]

You could just buy one tire and then run your spare and the new tire (as long as they are then the same). Then you're 40k would be your spare...
Or you could just buy two so the front, or rear are the same...
But if you do go for the four I would not buy the Toyo's again. A very good tire, but heavier than needed and the side walls are a bit too stiff. $.02

 

[Woodeye]

You could just buy one tire and then run your spare and the new tire (as long as they are then the same). Then you're 40k would be your spare...
Or you could just buy two so the front, or rear are the same...
But if you do go for the four I would not buy the Toyo's again. A very good tire, but heavier than needed and the side walls are a bit too stiff. $.02

Thanks for the info. My rig is MT6 and the dealer told me Friday that even the difference of 3-4/32nds could cause the center differential to overheat and I might be in fir a big bill! They recommend all four being the same. These are Bridgstone Dueler H/T 840's the tread after 40K is still 8-9/32nds. Not too bad in my opinion. My mileage on the road at 75-80 in KY, WV and MD mountains is 20+. Around town 17-181/2. What will other tires do for that mileage? Also anyone know about the center differential going bad because of difference wear amounts? Should I buy LT or stick with the P tires? Woody says don't buy "E" load rating for off roading, but so far all my miles are on the pavement. I know, it's a shame, but one day I will get her in the mud! One day I will not have to depend on her for my daily driver.

Thanks,

Woodeye

 

[KayakPanic]

i would suggest a good all-terrain type tire. Yokohama Geolandar is a good model. also have a 40,000 mi. warranty. you can also buy (off)road hazard protection for $16 per tire, good for 5 years from:

www.discounttirewarehouse.com

AT tires have beefed up sidewalls, and have more plys...you never know when the rain or snow is going to fly. is there much snow where you are? those type of tire look like they are begging for a disaster, if there is.

another tried and true AT tire is the Goodyear Wrangler AT, or Cooper Discoverer...

i also, value my life, so i would never buy a firestone or bridgestone tire...

 

[Lemony]

40k on a tire, does your mom drive it? Puncture the side wall means you almost ran over something, next time put it under the tread and it won't pop so easy. Prius would have been a better choice than the fj lunch box.

 

[ksheffield]

The Bridgestone Dueler AT Revos are a good tire and get great traction on wet pavement. The Truck version of the tire as a deeper tread and more plies in the sidewall, I believe. The Passenger tire tread is not as deep and not as many plies, but still a good tire, and good for some off roading. Not all that great in that sticky mud.

Got a set of 5 on my rig and rotate the spare in every 5,000 miles. Got this set at a Firestone in Oregon for $700 installed, warrantied and out the door. Buddy of mine did the negotiating.

Those stock dueler HTs have pretty thin sidewalls, and I'd feel comfortable swapping them out at 40,000 miles. They did their job, now look for something better.