Anybody here ever have a $1000.00 flat tire? I had one today.

[redwitch]

Seriously. Tire popped in our driveway when the shitty defective Ford plastic spring jumped out and punctured it. That's what our mechanic said ( in a nutshell). Don't ask me to explain further, I didn't entirely understand it. Except apparently Ford has recalled quite a few model years for this problem, just not mine. Towing, new tire, new struts, labor and tax = $992.00. It's a little depressing folks. And beyond inconvenient. Oh well, I didn't actually think we would get out of credit card debt anytime this century.

[tjdee]

1. Holy shit!

Don't tell me about bad car things, I'm using mine A LOT this month. :scared:

Sorry about your flat tire, I can totally identify with shitty car things that happen that cost way more than you'd like.

[redwitch]

2. yeah probably anyone who owns a car can.

and expensive repairs are never convenient. I hope the car repair gods smile down on you and your car this month and every month!

[Redstone]

3. New struts? How does a flat tire result in that?

Redstone

[redwitch]

6. I did say don't ask me to explain further...

There is some part ( of the struts?) that FORD coats in a cheap plastic which corrodes and then the spring inside jumps out and attacks your tire. Thus, tire and struts need replacing. Or so I was told. I do know that the car dropped really fast when the spring punctured the tire.

[Redstone]

13. Aha. Now I get it. that was a perfectly good explanation for anyone

who knows anything about cars.

Redstone

[BigMcLargehuge]

18. I did the same repair to my escort for an inspection sticker

even with me doing the labor it was a $500 repair

[Kali]

22. I know a bit about cars (unfortunatly all learned the hard way!)

but I am still having touble picturing this - did the lower mount come off? the outer spring that the "shock" is inside of? or a spring from inside of the shock?

[redwitch]

25. A nasty, sharp, killed my tire in a nanosecond spring.

As I know next to nothing about cars, that's the best I can tell ya.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. Seems like you should be able to get some compensation from Ford for that

But I guess they're too wealthy to pay for their mistakes.

Hope things look up for you soon! :hug:

[redwitch]

7. I am going to contact them.

It may be that my car had this recall notice and I didn't get it. I got the car used. And thank you for your kind thoughts and the hug!

[Cobalt Violet]

5. I'm glad your okay.

It sure sucks to have to spend that kind of money.


Better in the driveway than driving down the highway though.

[redwitch]

8. Very true!

I am grateful I wasn't on the road when it happened, thank you!

[Kali]

9. possibly, but we don't worry about body damage around here

I have NEVER heard of what you describe! and I have had just about any kind of flat you can, including highway blowouts (how you can get major body damage with a flat - the flinging rubber tears up the fenders), hitting rocks, stumps, cactus, glass, nails, screws, etc. Slow leaks, children letting the air out, sidewalled on fence posts, even got a railroad spike in a tire once. My favorite was the time we went to go pick up a tire from a repair and the guy showed us what was in the tire and it was a BONE!!!

But I have never heard of springs or struts popping while the car was sitting (and yes of course I have broken spings but never got a flat from it). ever. yikes!

[redwitch]

11. I was backing up when it happened.

Fastest flat i have ever had!

[pitohui]

10. good lord

my flat tires are usually free, courtesy of a gifted husband and, when he's not around, the magical triple a

i had a flat tire which could have cost me a flight to europe once but it was fixed in plenty of time and i got to the airport just fine

knock on wood my good luck continues, i'll try to sparkle some good luck dust in your general direction

[redwitch]

12. thanks, I'll take it

my flats are usually free too- not this one boy oh boy!

[richmwill]

14. Someone once told me...

"Your car is your pimp. You go out, do all the work- and whenever it feels like it, it takes just about every dollar you have". Soooo, so true.

[redwitch]

15. LOL

Are you callin' me a ho? And on that note "G'night DU, TOMORROW WILL BE BETTER, IT HAS TO BE!"

[Kali]

21. Ha - good one! nt

[uppityperson]

16. Do you have insurance? Maybe they can help go after Ford, mine did

I have State Farm and they went after Ford when my pyro car (tempo) finally burnt itself up. Turns out the previous 2 yrs tempos had been recalled for faulty headlight switches that shorted out and caught fire. So my insurance agent went after them and got reimbursed. Report it anyway, because if it happened when you were driving it it would've caused an accident and insurance would be liable. They also like to know if there's a problem with a batch of cars. $1000 really is too much.

[redwitch]

19. thanks, good to know this.

I am waiting to talk to Ford when I have all info later today.

[uppityperson]

20. Yes, there are things that are maintenance and things that cause accidents

Insurance companies like to know about the latter since it could cost them a whole bunch of money. Good luck and let us know what happens.

[SW FL Dem]

17. I had to put in a 700 dollar alternator last week

on my Volvo wagon that I am getting rid of this spring. Sorry! I understand your pain.

[Kali]

23. yow! that seems kinda high.

Did it require taking off a bunch of other parts to get to it or something? Alternators arent too difficult - or all that expensive, in my experience.

[Whoa_Nelly]

24. For what it's worth...this helped me get back $$ from

an expensive fix that was a duly noted problem by the car company...and I did it all through the dealership.

Since you state that Ford knows about this problem, then there's a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) about this.

Go to http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/tsbsearch.cfm

Enter your vehicle info to look for listed TSBs. This is on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website. If the company knows about the problem, you can push the envelope with the dealer.

Here's another link to same above link, in case the first one doesn't work:
http://tinyurl.com/65avp

I did. My vehicle suddenly drained all the water from the engine (am not technical, but after taking it to dealer, looked up the info...)
Anyway, I printed out the info, made a big stinking deal about how this was a known problem regardless of the fact that my car was already 30K out of warranty. My almost $1,000 repair got me back almost $800 of the initial repair cost.

They (the car company person I spoke with when I kept pushing for a refund) said it was going to be refunded to me because I had a great service and care record on my vehicle. I first went through the dealership and the service manager, then kept hounding them until I got info on how to contact the manufacturer. It had to be approved by the maker vi-a-vis approval to pursue through the dealership main manager.

Personally, I think that was total bullshit. What happened with my car had nothing to do with the previous service and care. The problem was with a noted over several years defective part that the company was still using in building several of their vehicles, including mine.

Be nasty...fight back! :hi: