Escaped a Blow out! Help Needed!!

[MasukBMW]

Hey guys
I walked by my mothers Volvo XC90 today and heard a leaking front tire. After changing it I decided to examine the flat tire. What I saw honeslty scared me. The tope of the tire was literally pulled away from the sidewall about 85% of the way around the tire. You could see the wire mesh inside the tire where the sidewall meets the top! The whole side was leaking, no specific spot.
Now here is my question. The affected side was the inside (closest to the engine) This mean too much positive camber correct? Bad tie rod? Thats my guess, and because I checked the other side, which is fine, it must only be that tire rod. Is that all it could be?

I cant stop thinking about me not finding that, could have been a major blow out while she (mom) was driving.
Thanks ahead for the Help!
Justin

[mrsleeve]

Could be lots of stuff, tie rods, ball joints, steering components, or a plain bad tire. Sounds like a cupping tire gone mad. Check the other side very closely an see if the tread blocks on the inside make a saw tooth pattern, like 1 higher then 1 lower, an so on.

[cobra86]

Sounds like a manufacturing defect. It's rare, but they layer too much material below the rubber compound, and it will crack around the sidewall. I would check the other tires, sometimes this stuff happens to a batch of tires.

[SchnellerVert]

Too many variables. How old was the tire, miles on it, conditions of the roads in Ct area, pot hole strewned.

Post pic of it. Manufacter?

[bimmer8604]

low tire pressure. check ur dang tire pressures!

[PiercedE30]

What year is the XC90? Those things go through ball joints like crazy.

[Car Addict]

talk about a horror show for manufacturer defects i will never forget the summer that we had 4 2000-2002 maxima's come in to the shop complaining of road noise and a pull to one side or another. we take them for a ride nothing out of the ordinary pulls a bit and a noisier than usual car ride well maybe just a bad alignment get them on to the lift lift them up and HOLY SHIT.

THE entire side walls on the tires looked like they had been slashed by a knife now remember this happened on 4 separate occasions, 4 completely different costumers. all with the same make an model car all with the factory tires. i can not recall the name of them now but they were Michelin's. Ya that was interesting to explain to the customer.

[eyagel]

take it where you bought it and bitch

[atomic]

Firestone tires by chance ? You know they had a problem on fords explorers some years back and since ford owns volvo ... I'm just saying

[bolognablake]

Firestone tires by chance ? You know they had a problem on fords explorers some years back and since ford owns volvo ... I'm just saying

That summer more people died from blow outs while riding on Goodyears than Firestones.

I bet it had just been driven around with low pressure.00

[atomic]

That summer more people died from blow outs while riding on Goodyears than Firestones.

I bet it had just been driven around with low pressure.00

Taken from this article ...

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto_News/Auto_News/Ford_Replacing_13_Million_Tires.S175.A3685.html

Blamed for over 170 deaths
The feud has been simmering since last August, when Ford announced that it was recalling 6.5 million of Firestone's Wilderness AT tires, the majority of them used on the automaker's popular Explorer sport-utility vehicle. Over the last decade, Wilderness tires have been linked to more than 170 deaths in the U.S. alone caused by catastrophic blow-outs. Scores of additional fatal accidents have been reported in Argentina, the Mideast and other parts of the world.

Since the initial recall was announced, critics have contended that it should have included millions more tires, a claim Firestone and Ford initially resisted. But the automaker says that extensive tests, along with real world reports, have led it to reverse its position. "These tires were sending out warning signals about future problems," said Ford CEO Jac Nasser, adding that the tires covered by the second recall do not appear to be nearly as bad as those involved in last year's action.

Ford's unilateral decision is being strongly opposed by Firestone. While the tiremaker admits there were indeed problems with the tires recalled last year, it insists a second recall is not warranted. If anything, Ford is trying to cover up problems of its own, charges the tire manufacturer, a division of Japan's Bridgestone-Firestone. "These tires are safe," said Firestone CEO John T. Lampe, in a letter addressed to Nasser. "We believe you are attempting to divert scrutiny of your vehicle by casting doubt on the quality of Firestone tires."

Whether the Explorer somehow contributes to the Wilderness AT's unexpectedly high failure rate is likely to remain a matter of debate, though Nasser and other Ford officials vehemently denied the existence of any vehicle defects. To counter figures quoted by Firestone, Ford pointed to its experience between 1997 and 1990, when it used 2.9 million Firestone and another 2.9 million Goodyear tires on its Explorer. There were 1183 reports of tread separations with Firestones, but only two on the Goodyears. "Clearly, the tire was a major factor," argued John M. Rintamaki, the automaker's North American Chief of Staff.

[delatlanta1281]

How long ago did she buy the car? Are these the original tires?

[AlarmedBread]

Buy good tires, check the air in them for you mom once a week because she won't do it. Do the same for all the women in your family who drive cars. Worn out suspension components will cause uneven tread wear, not tread separation.

[bolognablake]

Taken from this article ...

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Auto_News/Auto_News/Ford_Replacing_13_Million_Tires.S175.A3685.html

Blamed for over 170 deaths
The feud has been simmering since last August, when Ford announced that it was recalling 6.5 million of Firestone's Wilderness AT tires, the majority of them used on the automaker's popular Explorer sport-utility vehicle. Over the last decade, Wilderness tires have been linked to more than 170 deaths in the U.S. alone caused by catastrophic blow-outs. Scores of additional fatal accidents have been reported in Argentina, the Mideast and other parts of the world.

Since the initial recall was announced, critics have contended that it should have included millions more tires, a claim Firestone and Ford initially resisted. But the automaker says that extensive tests, along with real world reports, have led it to reverse its position. "These tires were sending out warning signals about future problems," said Ford CEO Jac Nasser, adding that the tires covered by the second recall do not appear to be nearly as bad as those involved in last year's action.

Ford's unilateral decision is being strongly opposed by Firestone. While the tiremaker admits there were indeed problems with the tires recalled last year, it insists a second recall is not warranted. If anything, Ford is trying to cover up problems of its own, charges the tire manufacturer, a division of Japan's Bridgestone-Firestone. "These tires are safe," said Firestone CEO John T. Lampe, in a letter addressed to Nasser. "We believe you are attempting to divert scrutiny of your vehicle by casting doubt on the quality of Firestone tires."

Whether the Explorer somehow contributes to the Wilderness AT's unexpectedly high failure rate is likely to remain a matter of debate, though Nasser and other Ford officials vehemently denied the existence of any vehicle defects. To counter figures quoted by Firestone, Ford pointed to its experience between 1997 and 1990, when it used 2.9 million Firestone and another 2.9 million Goodyear tires on its Explorer. There were 1183 reports of tread separations with Firestones, but only two on the Goodyears. "Clearly, the tire was a major factor," argued John M. Rintamaki, the automaker's North American Chief of Staff.

The article I was referring to only said that there were 170 deaths world-wide.

I stand corrected.

[MasukBMW]

Thanks guys, the tires were Perrelli's (sp?) with about 40-50k on them. Im sure its the ball joints or tie rods, shes going to have them both checked out. I have done EVERYTHING to every other vehicle in the family, but Im still not allowed to touch the Volvo. I dont know why, well I know why she says, but oh well- stealership here she comes!