Problems · by component

2004 Ford Explorer tires problems

28 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2004 Ford Explorer cite tires, 2% of all 1,408 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
28
2% of all complaints
Crashes
2
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the tires

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“MICHELIN CROSSTERRAIN TIRES SUFFERING TREAD SEPARATION. THREE OUT OF FOUR SO FAR. HAD I NOT BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS PROBLEM IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED ON THE HIGHWAY..”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 23, 2021TiresODI 11413513
“WHILE DRIVING HOME FROM WORK LAST WEEK I NOTICED A SLIGHT 'BUMPING' FEEL LIKE AN UNBALANCED TIRE, SO I TOOK A LOOK WHEN I GOT TO MY DRIVEWAY BUT FOUND NOTHING. THE NEXT DAY ON MY WAY TO WORK THE "BUMPING' WAS MUCH WORSE SO I STOPPED TO CHECK AND FOUND A LARGE BULGE ON THE TREAD OF THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE. AFTER SLOWLY RETURNING HOME I REMOVED IT AND SET IT ASIDE. A FEW HOURS LATER THE THREADS WERE SEPARATING BADLY SO I LET THE AIR OUT BEFORE IT BLEW APART. I ORDERED A REPLACEMENT TIRE (DIFFERENT BRAND) BUT I'VE STILL GOT THREE MORE OF THESE ON THE VEHICLE .THEY HAVE 36K MILES ON THEM AND A 60K WARRANTY WITH ONLY MODEST THREAD WEAR BUT I STILL CHECK THEM EVERY DAY. I DON'T FEEL SAFE.*DT CONSUMER STATED HE STILL HAS A DEFECTIVE TIRE.*JB”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jan 20, 2021TiresODI 11389077
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 FORD EXPLORER EQUIPPED WITH CAPITOL PRECISION TRAC II TIRES, SIZE: 245/65R17. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE CONTACT WAS ALERTED BY ANOTHER DRIVER THAT THERE WAS A BULGE IN THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE TIRE. THE CONTACT DISCOVERED THAT THE TIRE HAD A BULGE ON THE OUTSIDE WALL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14T013000 (TIRES). THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 147,000 AND APPROXIMATE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,500. THE DOT NUMBER AND VIN WERE NOT AVAILABLE.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 20, 2015TiresODI 10706615
“I HAD UNEVEN WEAR ON MY TIRES THAT WERE THE ORIGINAL TIRES FROM THE FACTORY. I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW FROM THE FORD DEALER. I WAS TOLD THAT THE TIRE SPECS AND BRAND WERE NOT THE IDEAL TYPE FOR THIS KIND OF VEHICLE. NO WARRANTY COVERAGE GIVEN. I DID BUY MICHELIN AT OWL AND THEY HAVE HELD UP TO PRESENT 2014 AT 106250 MILES. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 21, 2014Suspension, Tires, WheelsODI 10627092
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 FORD EXPLORER SPORT TRAC WITH MASTERCRAFT COURSER A/T 2 TIRES (SIZE: LT265/75R16). WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE EXPLODED, CAUSING THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE AND THE HIGHWAY MEDIAN. THE FRONT AXLE AND TIE ROD FRACTURED DURING THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED A FRACTURED BACK AND A CONCUSSION. THE CONTACT WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL VIA AMBULANCE. THE POLICE REPORTED TO THE SCENE AND A REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THERE WAS A RECALL UNDER NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 08T005000 (TIRES:SIDEWALL) THAT COULD HAVE BEEN RELATED TO THE FAILURE. THE CONTACT STATED THE RECALL THE DOT NUMBER WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,000. THE FAILURE MILEAGE OF THE VEHICLE WAS 110,000. ...UPDATED 07/19/12 *BF”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 13, 2012TiresCrash reportedODI 10461651
“THE FIRST TIRE I HAD PROBLEMS WITH WAS THE FRONT RIGHT TIRE THAT KEPT GOING FLAT, I HAD IT CHECKED TO BE FIXED WHEN THE SERVICE MAN SHOWED ME THE DEFECT IN THE TIRE. THE INSIDE OF THE TIRE HAD A SLIT OR WHERE THE SEAM WAS SPLITTING ALL THE WAY AROUND THE TIRE, ONLY ON THE INSIDE. I HAD TO REPLACE THE TIRE AND WENT AHEAD AND REPLACED THE FRONT LEFT TIRE AS WELL. TWO WEEKS LATER DRIVING MY THREE CHILDREN AND MY GRANDMOTHER TO GO SCHOOL SHOPPING MY BACK LEFT TIRE BLEW. LUCKILY I WAS ON A DIRT ROAD AND ONLY DRIVING ABOUT 20MPH. UPON CHANGING THE TIRE I NOTICED THE SAME SEAM RIPPAGE OR SLIT ON THE INSIDE OF THE TIRE SO I IMMEDIATELY CHECKED THE RIGHT BACK TIRE AND FOUND THE SAME THING ON IT. SO I HAVE 3 OUT OF THE 4 TIRES ON MY 2004 FORD EXPLORER THAT HAVE THIS DEFECT. ITS VERY DISTURBING TO THINK WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED IF WE HAD BEEN ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN THIS HAPPENED AND THAT BOTH BACK TIRES MIGHT HAVE BLOWN. I HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING THESE TIRES AND SO FAR HAVE NOT FOUND ANY RECALLS ON THIS SPECIFIC TIRE. GOODYEAR, WRANGLER SR-A, P235/70R16 104S. *KB”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 16, 2011TiresODI 10419647

Showing 6 of 28 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 7, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.