<<Please Read - Caution with Goodyear SR-A Tires!!!>>

[Stout72]

This may not pertain much to trucks, however, like me, a lot of you may own an SUV. Just thought I'd pass this warning along.

Our 2003 Dodge Durango suffered a rollover accident due to a rear tire blowout on the Northbound 14 Freeway in Lancaster, CA on Sunday, July 6th. My family and I were returning home from a 4th of July weekend spent with my brother in nearby Palmdale.

We were doing 70 (the posted speed limit) in the fast lane when the passenger-side rear tire let go. The Durango fishtaled and went into the median, slid sideways and rolled 2 1/2 times (I think). Fortunately and by the grace of God, my wife, three sons and I were relatively unhurt.

I have to tell you that so many people stopped and helped us, among them were two off-duty paramedics and a surgeon. I get all choked up when I think about it or tell others this story. My heartfelt thanks go out to each and every one of those individuals who stopped alongside the freeway and helped us out until the fire department, CHP and ambulances arrived.

For those of you who know the area, this is basically in the middle of the Mojave Desert. So the median was nice, soft sand and scrub brush that I believe cushioned the rollover considerably. Had the Durango rolled on the freeway, things would have been much worse. Regardless, the Durango, with 6200 miles on it and a servive call just 4 days before, was totaled. I have tons of photos, but they're all amout 800K in size, too large to post.

Now that I got your attention, I want to put the word out to watch out for Goodyear Wrangler SR-A standard load tires. I'm pursuing information regarding any known defects with this tire. The offending tire's sidewall separated from the tread ala Firestone. I read the other day that Goodyear had a similar problem with some of their Wrangler LT load range E tires. If you're running these SR-A tires on your SUV or any other vehicle, or have friends that do, have caution. I don't yet know if my accident was a fluke, if there is a historical problem with these tires, or if I'm just the first. Will keep you all posted as I find things out.

[VNMOUS]

Glad to hear everyone's ok.

[yellowgmc]

yeah, glad everyone's ok. i don't like goodyear tires. this gives me another reason.

[Longhorn Man]

One of the things to look at is the tire pressure that Dodnge tells you to run, and the tire pressure on the sidewall of the tire. This was Fords mistake on the Explorer. A few years before they all started rolling over, Ford had posted a service bulitin to lower the tire pressure to 26 psi, down from 28...and the sidewall said something like 40 max. The reasoning behind this was owners complaining that the ride was too "truckish". (I'll keep my coments on that one to myself)
I personally believe that it was this, and not the Firestone tires that were causing this kind of accident. If you were ro look into the Ford problem, you'll discover that in Australa, the Exporer was having the exact same problem, but was equipped with a Good Year tire. (I can not remember the model tire)
I am glad, and even amazed that all of you walked away relatively unhurt. That is amazing. I have spent time in the desert out there near Borstow, and agree that the deep sand probably improved the outcome considerably.
My wife had the exact same thing happen in her S-10 Blazer back in 2000, she was doing 75 and the right rear tire gave out. The whole tread let go just like a Freightliner tire does. She fish tailed and was able to recover. She got lucky and never left the road. I was amazed that she didn't panic and stomp the brake pedal, which would have probably tipped the sucker over.
I did some research on her blow out, and came to the conclusion that it was just the fact that the full size spare (mounted on the right rear...the one that gave out), even though never used before, was just too worn from the sun being that it had been sitting in the cargo area standing up in the window for about 8 years. I thought I had something when a friend at work had the exact same thing happen on his 93 S-10 blazer. Exact same make and model tire (Tiger-Paw) which was O.E. on this SUV. His was purchased back by Tiger Paw and sent out for testing. (no joke, Tiger Paw actually did this and at no charge). Turned out the belt had been broken from a pot hole or other type of road hazzard.
None the less, they repaired all damage and set him up with a whole set of tires.

I'm glad to hear you are ok along with the family! I'm from that general area, and know what it is like. Going up 15N to get to Bakersfield is what I think you're talking about. Its Not a good area to have this happen to. Sometimes you can be 30-40 miles from the nearest building or person. Its always good to know there are people out there that still help each other when in a time of need...

[jays68yak]

Glad to hear your ok.

As always pictures would be nice. It would give us all a better perspecive on how bad teh crash was and how lucky you are.

[old Rusty C10]

glad to hear everyone is ok...id be looking for a good lawyer tho

[Grim Reaper]

Under inflated.

GM says my Burb should have 44 PSI front (88 R20 with E rated tires with max pressure of 80PSI). NO WAY IN HELL I WOULD EVER RUN THAT LOW OF PRESSURE.

It a cheap ploy by the auto manufacture to soften up the ride.

Ran accross a Tire expert that worked for BF Goodrich and Toyo tires. As he explained it the sidewalls flexing is what causes the majority of tire heat.

Here is a trick he told the forum about and it does work. They way to figure out the correct pressure for the tire is to check the air pressure cold. Drive down the why for about 10 minutes and recheck the pressure. If you gain more then 10% of the starting pressure you are running the tire at too low of a pressure. Add 5 PSI. Drive on the hwy and check the pressure again. Do it over and over till you stay under that 10% gain.

If you don't gain any pressure lower your tire pressure a little. 2-4 PSI gain is normal according to him.

I did the above method on that same Burb that GM says should have 44 in the front. I found at 62 PSI cold I gain between 3-4PSI once I have run them. At 44 psi I gained 8 PSI.

[70 CST 4X4]

Glad to hear that you and the family are alright! I blew a BF Goodrich All terrain on my truck at easter out near Barstow (247) due to under inflation. The side wall flex was too much and it separated. It was bad, had a travel trailer on back and 3 dirt bikes in the bed. No roll over , we got lucky. I forgot to add pressure when I loaded up the truck heavy!

[Maximum Overdrive]

Originally posted by longhornmail
I personally believe that it was this, and not the Firestone tires that were causing this kind of accident. If you were ro look into the Ford problem, you'll discover that in Australa, the Exporer was having the exact same problem, but was equipped with a Good Year tire. (I can not remember the model tire)

They had a similar problem down in South America with the Explores also. I had the "recalled" Firestone tires on my truck and never had any problems driving 80-85 mph (when we had no speed limit) down the road. Of course I ran the tire pressure with what the tires called for. I was just about ready to buy a new set when this stuff hit and Firestone gave me a new set of tires for free.

[ChrisK10]

Wow, glad to hear everyone was OK after such an accident!

I know from experience (I have never been the driver in all) that rollover accidents (or any type for that matter) are NO FUN! I have been in one rollover accident from ice in winter, and two collisions (one head on at about 25 mph, other at an "L" shape kinda collision at about 20-25) from ice in winter. Wow I sure am bad luck in winter!

On our way back home on the Sunday after July 4th, we witnessed someone swerve into the median of I-29 (possibly from a blown tire, we were about 3/4 of a mile away.) We couldn't tell if it had rollen over or not. It was a minivan I think. Anyways I was amazed at the amount of people that pulled over on the side of the road and got out to look, or to help. That is great, but also, remember to be careful! This was an interstate with a lot of traffic. It is dangerous when there is a sudden slowdown on the interstates. If you feel like stopping, get out of the way of traffic. We did not stop because there were at least 15 vehicles already pulled over on both sides. In my opinion it is best when there are plenty of other people at an accident site to help, to just keep on going. Also you need to be careful of other drivers gawking that might cause another accident as well. I'm sure there are many cases where an accident was caused when someone else was gawking at another accident that just occured. Anyways... that's about all I wanted to type... hehe!

Keep safe everyone!!

[73stepside]

you can't blame the tire manufacturers for under inflated tire pressures the auto manufactureres are recommending on the tires. the reason the firestone tires were blowing out is because of underinflation. those tires were meant to run at 36-40 psi and ford recommended that you run them at 26psi. to tell you the thruth, im surprised most tires lasted in excess of 20,000 miles. those tires will take all kinds of punishment.

[SweetandLong68]

Sorry to hear about what happened. Glad you and your family made it out ok! Could have been alot worse! Keep an eye on those air pressures. I check mine at least once a week religiously!

lata
CHRIS

[barn9]

Glad you and the family are OK, that is by far the most important thing! As for the tires, I would not put a set of GY tires on anything, ever, bar none! I use to sell the POS, and have worked in more than one place that sold them, and I would not, nor will I ever, use them! NEVER! OK, I vented, and I will not say any more, so don't ask. If you like them, go for it, it's your vehicle and your life!

[mrein3]

Another problem with the SUVs, in addition to underinflated tires, is the fact that the cargo capacity is almost always OVER EXCEEDED.

They just can't hold much stuff weight wise and still be safe.

Shortly after the brew ha ha about the Firestones I needed two tires for my 4x4. I went to the shop I used to work at and asked what they recommended for two tires.
Firestones. The exact ones that were recalled. I have two on my truck and four on my Exploder (Explorer).

Do I run the pressure the door on the Exploder says to run? No way! Do I put more than 1500 pounds in the Exploder? No way. 1500 pounds ain't much when you add up your butts, luggage, and the tounge weight of the boat/trailer/whatever you are towing.

Four 250 pound adults, 500 pound tounge weight trailer, plus luggage...
Rock 'n Roll over.

The Firestone Wilderness tires on my truck are rated for 1850 pounds each. The Goodyears on the front are rated for 1900 pounds each. The truck weighs 5000 pounds (+/- depending on how full the gas tanks are). So for the sake of not blowing out the tires I got 2500 pounds to spare. I'm 160 of that. The dog is 100 pounds. I'm already down to less than 2300 pound cargo capacity.

When I see some huckleberry hauling a load of crap in an old piece of junk truck I get out of that guy's area quick.

I'm not accusing stout72 or anybody else of anything but I'd be curious to see if all those blown out SUV tires blew out underinflated on a vehicle that was overloaded. The lawyers and news channels leave those facts out of the debate.

[SweetandLong68]

Originally posted by barn9
Glad you and the family are OK, that is by far the most important thing! As for the tires, I would not put a set of GY tires on anything, ever, bar none! I use to sell the POS, and have worked in more than one place that sold them, and I would not, nor will I ever, use them! NEVER! OK, I vented, and I will not say any more, so don't ask. If you like them, go for it, it's your vehicle and your life!

I agree 100%! Dont buy no tire! Try a Kuhmo next time. You pay for the TIRE...not the NAME!

lata
CHRIS

[Stout72]

I'm reasonably sure the tire was not underinflated, unless we ran over something within the first 20 minutes of the trip that may have caused a slow enough leak to overheat the sidewall. I checked the pressure before we left. 35 psi, just like the tire supplement that comes with the owner's manual says. The tire is rated for 44 psi max so says the sidewall. I have custody of the tire and rim, and as soon as I get the insurance/credit union/replacement transportation sorted out (my wife now wants a Tahoe), I'll pursue an inspection of the tire, and go from there.

I lowered the resolution of the photos so they could be posted.

[Stout72]

Another view. Havent yet figured out how to post multilpe photos in the same session.

[Stout72]

Ignore the camera date, it wasn't set right. Too bad.

[Stout72]

Finally, the offending tire.

[VTKidder]

holy crap!

Glad you are all okay. Cripes....

[SweetandLong68]

WOAH! That is pretty wild there. Glad you and your family made it out ok. That roof looks like it didnt stand a chance! Glad your wife wants a Tahoe. Keep it all in the family

lata
CHRIS

[yellowgmc]

holy sh!t! and you're all ok!! man you guys are lucky!! if i had a wreck like that i'd be going for a tahoe with a full roll cage! man i've seen people killed with half the damage there.

[jays68yak]

Wow you are one lucky SOB.

[wnc mountain]

First off, Glad you guys are OK!!!
I really think there is no such thing ass a good tire, they all $uck. Just got rid of some firestone steeltex load range e tires that the belt seperated on two different tires. One on the way to vacation, the other on the way back. Opted for the Goodyear Wrangler RT/S load range E. We'll see. But I did not like the firestones, could never keep them balanced, then this.