Anyone ever buy tires from Firestone?

AaronW · #1 09-05-2012, 07:01 PM

Im buying some tires from firestone tomorrow (bridgestone h/t 684II, because i get a free wii if i do lol) and i was wondering if anyone had ever bought tires from them before? All I was wondering is if a tire alignment is something that they do in the installation package or is that something i need to shell out extra for?

austinranger85 · #2 09-05-2012, 07:05 PM

No and after the "Exploder" issue I never will.

AaronW · #3 09-05-2012, 07:08 PM

care to share?

zmister11 · #4 09-05-2012, 07:12 PM

^x2

Retroboy1989 · #5 09-05-2012, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AaronW

care to share?

There was an issue with firestone tires they put on brand new Explorers like 12 years ago. I dont know alot of the details, but I think alot of folks died because of it. I think it is where the term Ford "Exploder" came about.

The OP is not looking into buying Firestone tires, he is looking at buying Bridgestone tires at a Firestone location.

That being said, Firestone is made by Bridgestone.....

Personally, i would run Bridgestones. The REVOs are sweet.

sgtsandman · #6 09-05-2012, 07:48 PM

The whole Firestone/Explorer fiasco was mainly a nasty "divorce" between the two companies.

Firestone supplied the tires ordered by Ford. The tires picked by Ford were slightly under rated for the vehicle Ford wanted to put them on and to top it off, the recommended tire pressure was too low.

Add to that, that many people don't bother to check their tire pressures and thus, the pressures in many cases were WAY too low. So, there was a bunch of blow outs, crashes, and injuries/deaths.

Thanks to that whole disaster, we now have the wonderful, government mandated Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).

Bridgestone/Firestone tires are perfectly fine. Just like any other tire manufacturer, they have good ones, marginal ones, and bad ones. That is where tire reviews come in. Check out the multitude of threads on the subject here and the reviews on Tire Rack. That will help you in your decision.

As far as the alignment, that is typically a separate service with it's own associated charges. It has never been included in a tire purchase that I've ever seen or heard of.

OhioMike · #7 09-05-2012, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Add to that, that many people don't bother to check their tire pressures and thus, the pressures in many cases were WAY too low. So, there was a bunch of blow outs, crashes, and injuries/deaths.

Thanks to that whole disaster, we now have the wonderful, government mandated Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).

Bridgestone/Firestone tires are perfectly fine. Just like any other tire manufacturer, they have good ones, marginal ones, and bad ones. That is where tire reviews come in. Check out the multitude of threads on the subject here and the reviews on Tire Rack. That will help you in your decision.

As far as the alignment, that is typically a separate service with it's own associated charges. It has never been included in a tire purchase that I've ever seen or heard of

I'm not that old (mid 30's), and I can't believe how many of the younger people never heard of the Firestone Fiasco. Next, It is a shame that drivers can not perform a simple safety check, such as putting air in a tire. Third, I did not know that the TPMS was a result of that Explorer/Firestone mess. Last, I'm not a huge Firestone fan simply because the last three or four vehicles I leased/bought didn't include that brand tires. When purchasing tires, an alignment is usually recommended. Some shops may run a special where they will check the alignment for free, however, most vehicles need an alignment at least yearly -- especially with heavy driving or crummy roads.

Retroboy1989 · #8 09-05-2012, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fifthranger

I'm not that old (mid 30's), and I can't believe how many of the younger people never heard of the Firestone Fiasco. Next, It is a shame that drivers can not perform a simple safety check, such as putting air in a tire. Third, I did not know that the TPMS was a result of that Explorer/Firestone mess. Last, I'm not a huge Firestone fan simply because the last three or four vehicles I leased/bought didn't include that brand tires. When purchasing tires, an alignment is usually recommended. Some shops may run a special where they will check the alignment for free, however, most vehicles need an alignment at least yearly -- especially with heavy driving or crummy roads.

I'm 23 and I had heard of it.

zackpier · #9 09-05-2012, 08:19 PM

18 and I had heard of it.

sgtsandman · #10 09-06-2012, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fifthranger

I'm not that old (mid 30's), and I can't believe how many of the younger people never heard of the Firestone Fiasco. Next, It is a shame that drivers can not perform a simple safety check, such as putting air in a tire. Third, I did not know that the TPMS was a result of that Explorer/Firestone mess. Last, I'm not a huge Firestone fan simply because the last three or four vehicles I leased/bought didn't include that brand tires. When purchasing tires, an alignment is usually recommended. Some shops may run a special where they will check the alignment for free, however, most vehicles need an alignment at least yearly -- especially with heavy driving or crummy roads.

I have no personal preference to Firestone over any other tire brand. I've had bad Firestone tires and good ones. The same with Cooper, Goodyear, and others.

Sent from my DROID X2 using FRF App

RoberticusMaximus · #11 09-06-2012, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AaronW

Im buying some tires from firestone tomorrow (bridgestone h/t 684II, because i get a free wii if i do lol) and i was wondering if anyone had ever bought tires from them before? All I was wondering is if a tire alignment is something that they do in the installation package or is that something i need to shell out extra for?

k back to the OP: I like firestone's service when buying from them.

i bought a set of 4 Destination LE 225/70/15s in 2008. i bought them for $450 WITH the warranty on all 4.

pros: they install the new tires free, (disposal of the old ones are about $3 each)
they provide free 'rotate and balance'
with warranty, they will replace the tire for free when irreparable under most conditions. (i got two FREE tires this year because of that).
the two remaining tires still have enough tread after 4 years & 50,000 miles of service to be under warranty

i believe the waranty is valid until 60k miles or 4/32nds tread left - but i can't remember exactly.

never had a flat with them (one had a slow leak, and one had a suspicious chunk taken out of the edge of the tread)

they didn't ask questions when issuing me the two new tires. i am a happy camper

edit: another thing, when the rotate and balance, they usually do a visual check on brakes and suspension. they always print me a quote on parts and labor on whatever they find. (then i go buy the part and install it myself

)

if you have any questions about my post, let me know

02RangerFX4 · #12 09-06-2012, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgtsandman

The whole Firestone/Explorer fiasco was mainly a nasty "divorce" between the two companies.

Firestone supplied the tires ordered by Ford. The tires picked by Ford were slightly under rated for the vehicle Ford wanted to put them on and to top it off, the recommended tire pressure was too low.

Add to that, that many people don't bother to check their tire pressures and thus, the pressures in many cases were WAY too low. So, there was a bunch of blow outs, crashes, and injuries/deaths.

Thanks to that whole disaster, we now have the wonderful, government mandated Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).

Bridgestone/Firestone tires are perfectly fine. Just like any other tire manufacturer, they have good ones, marginal ones, and bad ones. That is where tire reviews come in. Check out the multitude of threads on the subject here and the reviews on Tire Rack. That will help you in your decision.

As far as the alignment, that is typically a separate service with it's own associated charges. It has never been included in a tire purchase that I've ever seen or heard of.

From what I have heard is that people deflated the tires a bit to give it a better ride which made them explode.

OhioMike · #13 09-06-2012, 04:35 PM

Quote:

i bought a set of 4 Destination LE 225/70/15s in 2008. i bought them for $450 WITH the warranty on all 4.

pros: they install the new tires free, (disposal of the old ones are about $3 each)
they provide free 'rotate and balance'
with warranty, they will replace the tire for free when irreparable under most conditions. (i got two FREE tires this year because of that).
the two remaining tires still have enough tread after 4 years & 50,000 miles of service to be under warranty

i believe the waranty is valid until 60k miles or 4/32nds tread left - but i can't remember exactly.

never had a flat with them (one had a slow leak, and one had a suspicious chunk taken out of the edge of the tread)

they didn't ask questions when issuing me the two new tires. i am a happy camper

edit: another thing, when the rotate and balance, they usually do a visual check on brakes and suspension. they always print me a quote on parts and labor on whatever they find. (then i go buy the part and install it myself )

if you have any questions about my post, let me know

The Firestone Destination tires are the only ones that I would ever consider buying since I've heard good things about them. However, I've also heard good things about the Cooper Discoverer, Yokohama Geolander, and the Mastercraft Courser (division of Cooper). Without going into details, the Firestone stores here don't have the greatest reputation, and I personally found a local shop that has better deals that I trust. Also, a good shop will have the employees notice the brakes, tie-rods, etc. when removing the tires, and they will also provide a print-out of recommended services. Next, the shop I go to will rotate tires for free also under two conditions. The first being the tires were bought there and the second with an oil change.

Quote:

From what I have heard is that people deflated the tires a bit to give it a better ride which made them explode

A couple things worked against both Ford and Firestone. The first negative against Ford was that the Explorer was the only vehicle that was having problems with that particular tire. Remember, tires are manufactured for different vehicles. The second negative, I believe, was that Ford was incorrectly advising customers about the proper air pressure thus further complicating things. The last negative was that Ford was very slow to alert consumers that there may be an issue, and I think that Ford even tried covering up evidence that they knew there was a problem. On the other hand, I think that Firestone has an obligation legally and morally to let the public know that there may be a problem with the tires if they are under or overinflated. Either way, I think Firestone was guilty of "it's your vehicle, it's your problem", and I think they covered up necessary evidence too about the number of incidents involving their tires. Over time, less and less Ford's were equipped with Firestone tires, and that led to the parting of ways, the lawsuits, and the hatred between the two. Also, I had heard that Henry Ford's son/grandson married Harvey Firestone's daughter/granddaughter, and they had a business relationship without a contract. So, Firestone was mad at Ford for bad publicity, yet Ford was mad at Firestone for the same thing, and when billions of dollars and human lives are at stake, the problems that occured wouldn't solve themselves. I remember when I leased my 02' Ranger, and I was finishing the paperwork. I was given my owner's manuel and the tire insert brochure, and the salesperson had to specifically show me the brochure and why checking air pressure is important. He also explained that I should never decide on my own to change the pressure.

AaronW · #14 09-06-2012, 05:56 PM

Well I now have four brand new Bridgestone HT 684II (245/75/16) tires on my truck and I must say the ride is much more smooth. I paid in total $700 with the warranty which idk if thats great or not but the tires are supposed to be good for 65000 miles and have some sort of ecoboost shit that is supposed to give better fuel efficiency. I also sent in for my free wii so if i do get that then that'll be cool

I ended up not getting the allignment because i didn't have enough money. I may go do it elsewhere though.. im not sure yet. If you pay like $150 you get free allignments for the life of the car which doesn't sound too bad to be, and firestones are everywhere so no matter where i moved there would be one around somewhere im sure. I'm pleased with my Firestone experience and I would probably buy tires there again!

RoberticusMaximus · #15 09-06-2012, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AaronW

Well I now have four brand new Bridgestone HT 684II (245/75/16) tires on my truck and I must say the ride is much more smooth. I paid in total $700 with the warranty which idk if thats great or not but the tires are supposed to be good for 65000 miles and have some sort of ecoboost shit that is supposed to give better fuel efficiency. I also sent in for my free wii so if i do get that then that'll be cool

I ended up not getting the allignment because i didn't have enough money. I may go do it elsewhere though.. im not sure yet. If you pay like $150 you get free allignments for the life of the car which doesn't sound too bad to be, and firestones are everywhere so no matter where i moved there would be one around somewhere im sure. I'm pleased with my Firestone experience and I would probably buy tires there again!

awesome! glad you're happy with the purchase!