2003 Saab 9-3 Tires & wheels Problems

MICHELIN PILOT SPORT A/S 3 DOT: B9N) 11RX 3213 THESE TIRES HAVE TO BE DEFECTED!!!! WITH NO WARNING, THE PILOT SPORT A/S 3 TIRE JUST BLEW! BAM CAR PULLED HARD TO THE SIDE OF THE FLAT TIRE AND DRIVER STEERED OVER TO THE SHOULDER OF I95 THE TIRE'S THREADS COMPLETELY SEPARATED FROM BOTH THE INNER & OUTER WALLS OF THE TIRE. THE RIM WAS STILL HOLDING ONTO A THIN STRIP OF THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE TIRE- WHERE THE RIM AND TIRE CONNECT. A WEEK PRIOR TO THE INCIDENCE THE CAR HAD THE 40K SERVICE INCLUDING TIRES ROTATION. NITROGEN AIR WAS AT THE CORRECT INFLATION LEVEL AS WELL. AND THE DAY PRIOR TO THE BLOW OUT. NEW BREAKS WERE INSTALLED AND ALL THE TIRES AND ALIGNMENT WERE CHECKED AGAIN-- WITH NO PROBLEMS TO BE FOUND. JUST PULLING OUT OF A SERVICE STATION THAT INSPECTED THE TIRES TO NOTE ONLY MINOR WEAR. LOW MILES ON THE TIRES AND NOT HITTING ANYTHING TO CAUSE A FLAT= SOMETHING WRONG NOT RIGHT WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS TIRE. TIRES WERE: 6 MONTHS OLD, FROM COSTCO, WITH ABOUT 5,000 MILES TOPS. THE DOT CODE STATES THAT IT WAS A 2013 TIRE. THOSE LITTLE TIRE NUBS HAVEN'T EVEN HAD A CHANCE TO WEAR DOWN YET. PLEASE LOOK INTO THESES TIRES!! I GO TO COSTCO TOMORROW FOR A REPLACEMENT. I AM AFRAID THAT THESE ARE DEFECTED TIRES AND I HAVE 3 MORE ON THE CAR. I WILL KEEP THE SHREDDED TIRE IN CASE IT IS NEEDED FOR INVESTIGATION PURPOSES. *JS

NHTSA ID

10592303

Incident

May 15, 2014

Mileage

40,000 mi

DRIVING DOWN STREET AT 30 MPH. LEFT SIDE FRONT SPRING BROKE. SPRING STUCK OUT AND SHREDDED TIRE. LEFT SIDE OF CAR DROPPED, WHICH THEN CAUSED RIGHT SIDE SPRING TO COME OFF AND CUT RIGHT SIDE TIRE. HAD TO REPLACE BOTH FRONT SPRING / STRUT ASSEMBLIES, AND REPLACE 2 TIRES. RESEARCHED PROBLEM, FOUND THAT GM MANUFACTURED THESE CARS IN 2003 - 2006 AND WAS OFFERING A WARRANTY TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. MY SAAB IS SEVERAL MONTHS PAST THE WARRANTY DATES BUT NOT THE MILEAGE LIMIT. HOWEVER, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE ORIGINAL PARTS WERE FAULTY OR DEFECTIVE. VERY DANGEROUS, AS IF CAR WERE TRAVELING FASTER IT COULD HAVE BEEN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I WOULD HOPE GM WOULD CORRECT OR PAY FOR A TRUE SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10567588

Incident

Feb 16, 2014

Mileage

94,304 mi

WHILE DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE, TIRE SUDDENLY LOST PRESSURE, STEEL BELT SEPARATED INTERNALLY. TIRE IS INTACT AND STILL MOUNTED ON WHEEL. *TR

NHTSA ID

10325922

Incident

Apr 15, 2010

Mileage

1,856 mi

DT*: THE CALLER STATED, THE IGNITION SWITCH WOULD NOT START THE VEHICLE. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP, THE BATTERY WAS REPLACED. HOWEVER, NOTHING WAS DONE ABOUT THE RUSTED WIRING TO THE IGNITION. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED BY A LETTER. THE EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS LOCKED AND WOULD NOT RELEASE, THE HORN DID NOT WORK, THE LOW HEAD BEAM FAILED. THE TIRES WERE DEFECTIVE, THE ALARM WOULD SOUND WITHOUT WARNING. UPDATED 07/25/06. *JB

NHTSA ID

10161643

Incident

Jun 1, 2006

Mileage

33,000 mi

BRAKE PADS & ROTORS, SEAT BELT, BATTERY REPLACEMENT, TIRE, TRANSMISSION, SUNROOF MALFUNCTION. *NM

NHTSA ID

10136875

Incident

Sep 15, 2005

AFTER BLOWING A TIRE BY RUNNING OVER A POTHOLE, I DISCOVERED THAT MY PIRELLI TIRES WERE SERIOUSLY WORN MUCH EARLIER THAN ANYONE SHOULD EXPECT. MY TIRES HAVE ROUGHLY 12,000 MILES ON THEM AND THEY ARE WORN DOWN TO THE WEAR TREAD INDICATORS. AFTER A BRIEF CONVERSATION WITH MY DEALER I DISCOVERED THAT SAAB AND PIRELLI ARE AWARE OF THE SITUATION, BUT THEY HAVE FAILED TO LAUNCH A RECALL TO FIX THE PROBLEM. INSTEAD, THEY ARE REPLACING TIRES ON AN "AS-DISCOVERED" BASIS. IN OTHER WORDS, AS SAAB OWNERS DISCOVER THEY HAVE A TIRE ISSUE AND ACTUALLY REPORT THIS TO THE DEALER, THE TIRES ARE THEN REPLACED. SO, IF A SAAB OWNER DOES NOT THINK TO COMPLAIN TO THE DEALER, HIS/HER TIRES WILL NOT BE REPLACED AT NO CHARGE. THIS TO ME IS A SEVERE SAFETY HAZARD AS NO DRIVER SHOULD EXPECT TIRES TO BE WORN TO NEAR BALDNESS AFTER ONLY 12,000 MILES. A BLOWOUT HAZARD SEEMS TO BE QUITE POSSIBLE, YET NEITHER SAAB NOR PIRELLI SEEM INCLINED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT UNTIL THEY'RE FORCED TO REPLACE THE TIRES OF ONLY THOSE WHO COMPLAIN.*AK

NHTSA ID

10114513

Incident

Mar 6, 2005

Mileage

12,000 mi

RECALL ISSUES ABOUT SAAB AND PIRELLI. *BF AT 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE WOULD HYDROPLANE. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED REIMBURSEMENT. THE CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT THE TREAD WEAR DID NOT QUALIFY THE TIRES FOR THE RECALL. *SC RECALL# 03V006000 PER THE CONSUMER *JB

NHTSA ID

10095395

Incident

Oct 1, 2004

EXPERIENCED A SIDEWALL BLOWOUT OF THE FRONT PASSENGER TIRE ON MY RECENTLY-PURCHASED SAAB 9-3 LINEAR. THE VEHICLE HAD 13.5K MILES WHEN PURCHASED, THE TIRE BLEW AT 14.2K. WAS DRIVING 50 MPH ON A LOCAL HIGHWAY, DID NOT HIT ANYTHING, TIRES HAD VERY RECENTLY BEEN INSPECTED FOR WEAR AND INFLATION, THERE WAS NO PRECIPITATING EVENT PRIOR TO HEARING A LOUD "POP"; SHORTLY THEREAFTER FELT AND HEARD THE EFFECTS OF THE DEFLATED TIRE. TIRE REMAINED ON THE WHEEL, BUT WAS FLAT WITH A SIGNIFICANT HOLE IN THE SIDEWALL. THE TIRES ON THE VEHICLE WERE PIRELLI P6 FOUR SEASON TIRES 215/55R16.*AK

NHTSA ID

10089001

Incident

Aug 26, 2004

Mileage

14,200 mi

LEFT REAR PIRELLI TIRE ON MY 3 MONTHS OLD SAAB 9-3 BLEW UP ON FREEWAY. THE CAR ONLY HAS 5,500 MILES ON IT. I LOST CONTROL OF STEERING WHEEL AND BRAKE. CAR WAS OUT OF CONTROL, IT VEERED LEFT, THEN RIGHT, THEN CIRCLED AROUND. I WAS SO SCARED THAT IT WILL HIT A DIVIDER OR OTHER CARS BUT A MIRACLE HAPPENED, I DID NOT HIT ANYTHING. EVENTUALLY THE CAR STOPPED. I AM VERY UPSET WITH SAAB AND PIRELLI, SO FAR CUSTOMER SERVICES HAVE BEEN VERY POOR. I'M WAITING FOR PIRELLI TO DO THEIR INVESTIGATION. I AM SO WORRY ABOUT PIRELLI TIRES BLOWING UP ON ME AGAIN. NEXT TIME I MAY NOT BE SO LUCKY. PLEASE HAVE OTHER SAAB OR PIRELLI CONSUMER WITH COMPLAINTS CONTACT ME AT MY EMAIL ADDRESS. THANK YOU.

NHTSA ID

10031094

Incident

Jul 28, 2003

Mileage

5,500 mi