Cord

iTrader: (2)

I know this is off topic and will get moved to the bilge section, but I need the exposure the general discussion area offers.

I recently bought a trailer and after blowing one of the tires I noticed they are the recalled Firestone Wilderness AT tires. The date code is WP. If I had these tires on a Ford, they would be exchanged with no problem. My issue is that they are mounted on a trailer. Apparently Firestone requires a VIN number which my trailer doesn't have. No VIN, no warranty claim. Can anybody help?

PhantomChaos

I think it was a Ford recall, not Firestone.....but that was YEARS ago! Your tires are probably too old!!

Iggy

The recall was for any Firestone Wilderness tire that had the right codes.
But I believe the time ran out for taking them back.
There was a piece on the local news about a Ford SUV that recently rolled due to a blown tire. The tire that blew out was a Wilderness AT with the recalled codes, but the tire was the vehicles spare and no one checked it during the recall. No word from tire maker on it.

wannabe

Cord, put trailer tires on your trailer. They are constructed differently.

Wannabe

Cord

iTrader: (2)

Well, that's part of the reason why I'm trying to get these tires off, because I want some real trailer tires.

Yes, apparently there is now a second effort to replace the spare tires which may have not been included in the original recall. Although the recall did originate from Ford, my memory serves that Firestone finally did perform a voluntary recall to preempt a mandatory one from the fed. The recall was based on the tire make, size and date code. I have confirmed that my tires meet the recall criteria based off the information provided on the Firestone website. Yes, the original recall has run out. Looking on the Fed website, it looks like the recalls expire after 5 years. It has now been 6 years. However, there is this second effort for the spare tires, so that might reset the recall time window. Getting the tires replaced doesn't seem to be an issue. It's having them on my trailer that is proving to be a problem. Apparently Firestone requires a VIN to process the paperwork.

marineclean

I was a Firestone store manager for years and 'yes' we changed a truckload of tires. Go to the Firestone website and contact the customer service department. Tell them you realized your spare was a recall tire and you need their help. Be nice, tell them you are a loyal customer. They will ask where your closest dealer is and then hopefully contact them and setup everything for you. Go to the store with just the tire/rim already pulled off of the trailer and everything should be fine. You took the tire/rim off of the vehicle because you felt it would be unsafe to drive on. Hope this helps! BTW, you won't get trailer tires, Firestone dosen't make them. You'll probably get a nice set of truck tires.

spk1

I managed a private Firestone at the time of the recall, it was a voluntary/mandatory recall, if we didnt do it, the fed was going to anyway, Ours was a private firestone, so most of the real traffic went to the corp. firestone down the road, but the understanding I had from the whole ordeal, and the main reason you are getting alot of crap right now about the tires, is that the entire first round of recalled Wilderness A/T tires that were pulled, were not properly destroyed (supposed to cut a large square in the sidewall), anyway all those tires that were not properly destroyed ended up on the used tire market, and alot of people were comming in with tires that had already been taken off before, thus the VIN identification system, , So probably being that the tires are on a trailer, you are getting "profiled", with the right attitude, and the right manager, I still think he may be able to pull some strings to get you taken care of. I left there years ago, and just before I left, I initiated a franchise name change away from firestone, so none of my old connections can help on this one, hopefully the info helps,

spk1

Just read Marine clean's post above,, he has the right idea. thats exactly what I would do.

Cord

iTrader: (2)

Guess what? They're ALL getting replaced. I figured it was a really long shot, but I tried e-mailing the corporate Auto Care site. He replyed back that day. I sent him some pics of the date code and tire size and he arranged to get them replaced. They still need a vin so we are going to use the vin of my tow vehicle. You guys are right, I won't get a trailer tire. I'll end up with a tire that is correct for the weight capacity of the trailer. Wish I had a bit of reserve capacity, but they wouldn't do it. There must be something that is forcing them to install a comparable tire. Oh, well. I'm just happy to get them replaced.