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Pontiac Gto Tires Sidewall Safety Report | May 15, 2007



Reported on May 15, 2007


I AM AN OWNER OF A DEFECTIVE 2004 PONTIAC GTO. I AM ALSO AN AUTOMOTIVE DESIGNER AND ENGINEER. MY WIFE AND I FIRST LEARNED OF THE POTENTIAL FOR THIS PROBLEM ALONG WITH MANY OTHERS THROUGH OUR COMPANY OWNED WEBSITES. WWW.AEDCENTRAL.COM. PROPER ROTATION TECHNIQUES WERE USED ETC TO INSURE THIS WAS NOT AN ISSUE WITH OUR VEHICLE. UNDER MY FIRST INSPECTIONS THIS PROBLEM WAS NOT DETECTED. YESTERDAY MY, WIFE AND I WERE DRIVING IN THE 2004 PONTIAC GTO IN THE RULE AREA, CALIFORNIA MOUNTAINS, AND DISCOVERED THIS POTENTIAL PROBLEM IN THE MOST FRIGHTENING MANNER. WHILE DRIVING AT THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT 55 MPH THROUGH CURVES IN THE MOUNTAINS AND VEHICLE HAD ALMOST DRIFTED RIGHT OFF A CLIFF'S EDGE. REALIZING THAT WE WERE HEADING IN THIS DIRECTION , OFF THE CLIFF, I WAS FORCED TO ENGAGE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE AND SLIDE THE VEHICLE AWAY FROM GOING OFF THE CLIFF. TWO LIVES COULD HAVE BEEN LOST DUE TO THIS ENGINEERING OVERSIGHT. THE OUTER RUBBER LAYER ON THE INNER EDGES OF THE FRONT TIRES STARTED TO ROLL OFF THE INNER SUB-TRAIT, THUS ALLOWING AN UNCONTROLLABLE LATERAL SHIFT IN THE CAR'S VECTOR/DIRECTION. RIGHT AND LEFT INNER SIDEWALL SECTION OF BOTH FRONT TIRES WERE CLEARLY FRICTION-CUT OR RUBBED CLEAN THROUGH FROM CONTACT WITH THE BOTTOM OF THE SPRING PAD ON THE LOWER END OF THE STRUT ASSEMBLY. THE PACKAGING TOLERANCE COMPLIED WITH THE FACTORY TIRE CHOICE HAS CLOSED THIS REQUIRED SPACE TO AN UNSAFE DIMENSION AND WITH TIME, BOUND TO AN EMINENT PRE-MATURE COMPONENT FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE PONTIAC DEALER , STILL UNDER WARRANTY, AND WE WERE TOLD THIS WAS TIRE WEAR AND NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME , AND AM LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR REPLY. AK
Make: Pontiac
Model: Gto
Manufactured by: GENERAL MOTORS CORP.
Year: 2004
Was a crash reported? N
Was an injury reported? 0 person(s) were injured.
Was a death reported? 0 person(s) died.
Was a fire reported? N
Location: AGUANGA CA
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN):
Mileage:
Speed:
Number of cylinders:
Vehicle type:
Vehicle fuel:
Was a police report filed? N
Tire size:
Dealer name and location: NEIGHBORS COSTA MESA CA
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