13 of the
222 complaints about the 1998 Saturn SL are about the
tires — 6% of everything
reported for this model year.
Half of the failures with a mileage on record happened before
70,000 miles.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 SATURN SL, EQUIPPED WITH SUMMIT SIENPRE 6 TIRES, SIZE 185/65/R15. THE CONTACT STATED THAT HE NOTICED THAT THE REAR DRIVER AND PASSENGER TIRES HAD DEVELOPED LARGE BUBBLES IN THEM. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED BY A DEALER OR AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE TIRES WERE NOT REPLACED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES ON THE TIRE WERE APPROXIMATELY 30,000. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES ON THE VEHICLE WERE APPROXIMATELY 125,000.
NHTSA complaint #10481376 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 70,000 milesLouisville, KY
TIRES
MY FIRESTONE COMPACT SPARE TIRE FOR A 1998 SATURN SL2, WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN USED, SHOWS TREAD SEPARATION. THE RUBBER IS SPLITTING APART IN THE TREAD AREA AND THE BELTS ARE SHOWING THROUGH. THIS ALSO HAPPENED TO A PREVIOUS FIRESTONE COMPACT SPARE I OWNED FOR A SATURN. THE TIRE IS SIZE T115/70R14 AND THE SERIAL NUMBER IS HYM7H5A377. THE TIRE IS ADMITTEDLY OLD, BUT THE EXTENT OF DAMAGE IS ALARMING CONSIDERING THE TIRE HAS NOT BEEN USED. IT HAS BEEN IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND A NEW REPLACEMENT- TIRE DEALERS SAY TO GET A REPLACEMENT FROM A JUNK YARD, BUT THEY WOULD HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. A FULL SIZE SPARE WILL NOT FIT IN THE TRUNK'S TIRE WELL.
NHTSA complaint #10325422 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 10,000 milesOcean Side, CA
TIRES
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 SATURN SL1. THE VEHICLE HAS GOODYEAR ASSURANCE TIRES, SIZE P185/70/R14. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 65 MPH, THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE TIRE BLEW OUT WITHOUT WARNING. WITHIN ONE YEAR, SIX IDENTICAL TIRES IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT TOOK THE TIRES TO THE DEALER AND HAD THE FIRST SET REPLACED. SHORTLY AFTER THE REPLACEMENT, THE TIRES FAILED. THE MANUFACTURER DID NOT ASSIST AND THE TECHNICIAN COULD NOT IDENTIFY THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT HAS POSSESSION OF THE FAILED TIRES. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 10,000. UPDATED 03/09/09. *LJ UPDATED 03/11/09.
NHTSA complaint #10258200 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 110,700 milesCornelia, GA
TIRES
MY NEW HUSBAND AND I HAD JUST DRIVEN OVER 300 MILES THE NIGHT BEFORE ON THE INTERSTATE TO OUR HONEYMOON DESTINATION. THE NEXT AFTERNOON, WE WERE TRAVELING ON A DIVIDED FOUR LANE AT APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH WHEN A TIRE BLEW. THE TIRES WERE RELATIVELY NEW AND HAD LITTLE WEAR. THE GENTLEMAN AT THE TIRE DEALERSHIP SHOWED US WHERE THE TIRE HAD JUST "RUPTURED" ON ITS ON. THE TIRE WAS MADE BY FIRESTONE AND WAS AN AFFINITY LABEL. I REPLACED THE DAMAGED TIRE AND THE OPPOSITE TIRE ON THE FRONT (MY CAR IS FRONT WHEEL DRIVE). THE REMAINING TWO TIRES ON THE REAR LOOK JUST LIKE THE FRONT TIRES DID, AND THE SALESMAN RECOMMENDED WE HAVE THEM CHECKED AS WELL AND ALSO RECOMMENDED THEY BE REPLACED ASAP. I HAVE HEARD OF OTHER INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THIS SAME TIRE (AFTER I MADE MY PURCHASE) AND WAS WORRIED. I FEEL THESE TIRES SHOULD BE RECALLED BY FIRESTONE ASAP BECAUSE THEY ARE UNSAFE.
NHTSA complaint #10141216 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 56,000 milesEdgerton, WICrash
TIRES
WHILE DRIVING AT 65 MPH LEFT FRONT TIRE WENT FLAT, CONSUMER LOST CONTROL, VEHICLE ROLLED OVER, AND NEITHER OF THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED . CONSUMER BOUGHT VEHICLE FIVE DAYS PRIOR TO ACCIDENT, AND WAS NOT SURE IF THERE WERE AIR BAGS IN THE VEHICLE.
NHTSA complaint #10050457 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Arlington, MA
TIRES:SIDEWALL
WHILE DRIVING AT 25-30 MPH SIDEWALL BLEWOUT ON FRONT PASSENGER'S TIRE. ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT ON A SATURN, SL1, 1998. *AK
NHTSA complaint #888120 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Loveland, CO
TIRES
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLES. *AK( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: P28565/R15 )
NHTSA complaint #737424 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Loveland, CO
TIRES
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLES. *AK (TIRESIZE: P28565/R15)( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: P28565/R15 )
NHTSA complaint #737424 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Santa Clarita, CA
TIRES
TRAVELING ON I-5 SO @ APPROX 72MPH LEFT REAR TIRE BLEW OUT. ORIGINAL STOCK TIRE ON SATURN. LUCKILY VEHICLE DIDN'T FISHTAIL OR GO OUT OF CONTROL @ FREEWAY SPEEDS. SATURN DEALERSHIP REFERRED ME TO FIRESTONE. FIRESTONE CLAIMED NO CREDIT TOWARDS NEW TIRES; REPLACED ALL FOUR AT THIS TIME. TIRE HAD MULTIPLE GASHES/HOLES & TREAD COMING APART. HAD TO DRIVE ON RIM TILL GOT TO SHOULDER 2 LANES OVER. DON'T KNOW IF LUCKY I WAS IN A LOW PROFILE VEHICLE SO AVOIDED THE PROBLEMS THE SUV'S HAVE OR NOT? DUE TO LONG COMMUTES WILL NOT PURCHASE THIS TYPE OF TIRE. HAVE HAD BETTER RESULTS FROM OTHER BRANDS.DAMAGE OF $120 IS ONLY 1/4 COST OF COMPLETE SET OF TIRE REPLACEMENT OF $467.87 PAID. (TIRESIZE: P185/65HR1)( DOT NUMBER: TIRE SIZE: P185/65HR1 )
NHTSA complaint #734489 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Antioch, TN
TIRES:TREAD/BELT
PE 00 020/TIRE TREAD SEPARTION: REPORTING TIRES WERE CUPPING AND A FLAT WAS RECEIVED AFTER TWO MONTHS OF PURCHASE ON A 1998 SATURN, SL. ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT, P195/60R15, DOT# UNAVAILABLE.
NHTSA complaint #871336 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
LOS Angeles, CA
TIRES
THE TREAD SEPARATED FROM THE BELTS. I HAVE SEEN THIS ON RETREADS BUT NEVER NEW TIRES. IT IS AS IF YOU TOOK A KNIFE AND CLEANLY SEPARATED THE TREAD ABOVE THE BELT.( DOT NUMBER: W2EP TIRE SIZE: P175/70R14 )
NHTSA complaint #729892 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Green BAY, WI
TIRES:TREAD/BELT
WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 35 MPH LEFT REAR TIRE SUDDENLY BLEWOUT. FIRESTONE INFINITY P185/65R15.
NHTSA complaint #868926 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
LA Habra, CA
TIRES
TWO FIRESTONE TIRES WRRE FLAT. YH
NHTSA complaint #608965 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.