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2003 FORD EXPEDITION — WHEELS

crash · 930936 · 2012-07-28

Vehicle

Make
FORD
Model
EXPEDITION
Year
2003
Manufacturer
Ford Motor Company
Component
WHEELS
Miles at failure
150,000
Speed
70 mph

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

I WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE ON 7/27/12 TO TAKE MY DAUGHTER BACK TO HER MOTHER, AS I HAD MY DAUGHTER DURING SUMMER VISITATION. HALF-WAY INTO MY TRIP (525 MILES ONE-WAY) IT STARTED TO RAIN AND I HYDRO-PLANED, RESULTING IN A ONE-CAR ACCIDENT. I SLID FROM THE INNER LANE (PASSING LANE), ACROSS THE OUTER LANE, INTO THE SHOULDER AND CRASHED INTO A GUARD-RAIL. IF NOT FOR THE GUARD-RAIL, MY VEHICLE WOULD HAVE FALLEN ABOUT 30-FEET FROM THE INTERSTATE TO THE ELEVATION BELOW. AFTER THE RESPONDING DEPARTMENT ARRIVED (HIGHWAY PATROL AND LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS), WE EVALUATED THAT MY DAUGHTER AND I WERE OK PHYSICALLY. ONCE I STARTED TO EVALUATE THE DAMAGE, I LOOKED AT THE FRONT TIRES AND THEY ARE SEVERELY WARPED!! I'M NOT AN AUTOMOBILE AFICIONADO, BUT MY FRONT TIRES (BOTH) ARE COMPLETELY BALD ON THE OUTER PORTION OF THE TIRES, WHILE THE INNER THREADS ON THE TIRES SHOW LITTLE WEAR (THE TIRES ARE ONLY 2 YEARS OLD). FROM WHAT I HAVE GATHERED, THE "CUPPING" THE TIRES EXPERIENCED ARE FROM A FAULTY/DEFECTIVE FRONT END ALIGNMENT. I NOTICED SHORTLY INTO MY TRIP, THAT MY STEERING WHEEL HAD A MODERATE VIBRATION. I HAVE HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE WHEN I USED TO OWN A 1997 FORD EXPLORER (IT ALWAYS NEED A FRONT END ALIGNMENT/ADJUSTMENT). I WAS NOT TICKETED FOR THE INCIDENT AND AM COMING TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE FAULTY FRONT END ALIGNMENT MAY BE THE CAUSE OF THE STEERING VIBRATION, AND THE WHEELS CUPPING, RESULTING IN UNEVEN TREAD-WEAR, LEADING TO MY HYDROPLANING ACCIDENT... *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10468091
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown