vehicle was serviced at Toyota dealership.
Posted speed limit was 35. Vehicle was traveling at speed limit.
At the 6000 mile first service there was no indication by dealership to check alignment. The tire pressure was checked at the dealership when the car was serviced.
Tire pressure or ABS light did not illuminate.
The right front tire is completely smooth with no treads.
The vehicle is back at the dealership. They checked the ECU and showed no indication of misuse.
The rear tires show uneven wear and have different tread depths remaining.
The driver was not turning while braking. The road is two lane and contains long
stretches of pavement with no intersections (country road).
The road is well travelled subject to early morning and early evening bumper to bumper "rush hour" traffic. Accident occurred at 10:30AM when traffic is extremely light.
Suspension was original and not modified

 

it sounds like something was done during the 6k service to cause your wheels to become misaligned. i'm assuming the dealership did a visual inspection of your tires at 6k to verify tread uniformity and normal wear and tear. i would take a hard look at the documentation for that service. did the driver experience "pulling" of the vehicle to one side during the 2k miles after service?

 

It sounds as if you were not the driver. How can you confirm that the conditions you mention (i.e. speed, driving distance, etc.) are accurate?

Second, to have a completely bald tire at 8000 miles would indicate that the driver does not properly maintain their car and/or tires. Most tire manufacturers would recommend a four-wheel alignment twice per year. The dealerships recommendations vary based on driving conditions, so they would not be responsible for handling this.

And third, the driver was an idiot to continue driving on a bald tire. If it weared prematurely, they should have attempted to resolve it through the dealership or a Bridgestone tire center before waiting for the accident to happen.

 

note to self... everyone LIES... that the end truth.. i highly doubt the person at hand was going 35 mph... i personally drove on these tires for about 30000 miles... never experienced excessive wear... but i'm a freak.. i rotate every 3000 miles... i drive like a bat out of heck... i will agree... they are not the greatest tires... but they do do their job...
PLUS... if the tires were worn excessively.. the driver should have seen that they were being worn excessively and should have done something about it... 2000 miles from service.. i'm sure he/she fill the gas tank up severaly times.. should have done a visual inspection of the car at every fill... imo...
but then again i said i was a freak.. hahaha.. jk jk

 

i do have the trd springs.. maybe you should sue toyota for not putting trd springs on every tc ... hahahahah

 

look, if these tires are on oem equipment on honda, toyota and subaru, yet there aren't a dozen daily reports of catastrophic tire failure on the news, then the tires are not to blame.

this is what we would call an isolated incident. maybe there could have been one set of bad tires out there, with so many tires on so many new cars, i wouldn't doubt it. or maybe he ran over something that could have hurt this tire.

how could a tire be completely bald without the driver noticing. every time i park my car with the wheels turned, i take a moment to check my treads to make sure everything is fine.

now, it is true that the bridgestone protenza re92 have notoriously poor handling, they are a not a very aggressive tire, but stopping a tc from 35 mph is a freakin cake walk, even in the rain if proper following distance is maintained.

now, it is possible that there could have been an error in something like the abs, or electronic brakeforce distribution that caused a spinout, but the tc is naturally going to understeer most of the time. especially on stock suspension.

to make the car oversteer so uncontrollably, the brakes would have to be pushed hard while sharply turning the steering wheel one way.

hell, reading all this, it sounds like one tire was underinflated, which would cause it to wear out fast and explain why the other tires would have unusual wear on them. so blame the tps, not the tires.

 

yeah these tires do suck, but there is nothing you can do about it. Mine too are very worn and only 2 years old and I also have slid on wet pavement, but the truth is it will get you by. I used these in a terrible winter in ohio and *shocker* they get you through.. Not good by all means, but if your attentitive and are a safe driver they will work. The lawsuit will flop- just buy some new tires (you cant have everything perfect in a car- tCs are on the cheaper price range of cars anyway)

 

Thanks for replying. I have noticed a few answers that will make the case difficult for the driver in court:

As you may know, speed limits are usually determined by road surveys in optimum dry conditions. It's also recommended by law enforcement to lower your speed during adverse road condition, such as those the driver experienced, and driving the speed limit in those conditions is not always a safe speed.

This would be seen as driver/owner error as the scheduled maintenance cycle for the tC is every 5,000, tire rotation included.

This too would be seen as an indication of driver/owner error. It's basic driver education (and common sense) that you should inspect your vehicle before you drive and at least at every fuel fill up. Since you've mentioned that excessive wear allegedly occurred within 2,000 miles, it appears the owner/driver missed no less than five opportunities to inspect the tire pressure, thread depth/wear, and condition.

Nearly every qualified ASC-certified technician would testify that uneven wear is a sign of poor alignment, incorrect tire pressures, and/or a lack of proper tire rotation. Again, responsibility falls on the owner/driver to regularly inspect their vehicle not only for their safety, but for the safety of those they share the road with. So far, it sounds like the driver didn't take the steps to do so.

Even with a catastrophic tire failure, at 35 mph, the driver should have been able to brake safely and in straight line if maintaining a safe distance, was not distracted, and holding onto the wheel with both hands.

FWIW not only do manufactures do extensive long-term testing on vehicles, many car magazines (Car & Driver, Road & Track, etc.) and consumer organizations (Consumer Reports, Edmund's, etc) do as well, and none have reported excessive wear issues with the tires in question on the Scion tC, other Toyota/Lexus models, Honda, Ford/Mercury, Mazda, GM, Hyundai, or Chrysler vehicles.

If I were a judge or sitting on a jury hearing this case, nothing you've presented so far would lead me to believe there is a systemic tire issue besides that cause by the driver's own negligence and questionable skill.

 

IMO this is 100% BS. The tires wore unevenly, the abs failed, the car spun way out of control, the driver was being a perfect angel, and its the tires fault so we can sue them. I suppose someone from bridgestone set up the wreck too just to screw with this person. This sounds about as shady as can be no matter how you look at it.

 

Once again i agree with engifineer. He's got a point and its not been disproven yet. engifineer is right on all sides of this. Seems like B.S. and driver error. I've applied the brake really hard before in a descent amount of rain going 65mph before and my brakes worked and the tires kept their grip. Not the best grip but they kept what they had and worked for me and saved my car and the persons in front of me. It happened coming home from my night class at college. an 18wheeler blew a tire causing all the cars next to him to slam on the brakes. This all happened at night in the rain and i applied my breakes evenly and didnt lock them and i was fine. No spinout or blown tire. Not sure what the deal is here.

 

I am not calling anyone a liar but there are so many factors for this. Abnormal wear and tear from the tires, especially from a certain tire or a more than one tire seems to be another issue and not just the issue of the Bridgestone tire. Also, there is no possible way to actually prove what happened without proper identification of the problems, etc. I would go to the dealership or go to another Bridgestone dealer and see what they say.

On spinning out, that could've been caused by many things. The tire is not the only thing to blame in this, it could be the driver as well. Not pointing fingers, but more investigation should be placed in before making a Class Action Suit against a company with HIGH PRICED LAWYERS!!!!

 

Thanks to Jerry Springer, the American Dream is to sue someone and get rich....screw hard honest work!

 

No, thanks to Jerry Springer the American Dream is to sleep with your cousin then live together in your parents trailer while cheating with your sister.

 

Name a normal road use tire that is "rated for use on ice".

I'll let you in on a saying my dad used to give me while teaching me to drive: "Everything slides on ice."

 

^^^hahahaha.... not if i ____ on the road first and then drive... hahahaha.. jk jk

 

Based on a single accident? This is the stupidest thing I've read in a long time.

How about the owner of the tree you hit sue you into bankruptcy. THAT might be justice.

Stupidity, if it cannot be made painful, should be made expensive.

 

what if your pee freezes before you drive over it? no help at all

 

wow lmao, hope your joking