FWIW - a coworker of mine showed me the damage to his Dodge Durango 4x4 caused by the violent blowout of the left front Wrangler RTS tire. He said he was simply taking the I55-I355 ramp at 35mph when suddenly the wheel was ripped out of his hands and he slammed into the concrete barrier. $4000 damage.

We looked at the tire and can't find and visible signs of cuts to the tire or sidewall. The tires have less than 10,000 mostly highway miles on them, and it's pressure was check the previous week. Size 265/70s. He's in his early 50s and has been driving trucks for most of his life. He said he misses his pickup, and that he'll be replacing ALL of his tires soon.

 

That sounds horrible! I would have an attorney check into that, maybe have the tires examined by some 'experts'. I am certainly glad that no one was hurt or even killed when this happened! I never liked the Wranglers, but I thought they were better than that, but the most important thing is that everyone was okay.

 

Just replaced my SECOND Wrangler RT/S tire within 60 days! first one (LR) blew at 65mph, straight dry pavement on a two lane road. Due to steep shoulder, had to drive on it to get clear of traffic to change. Run-on damage made it near impossible to determine where failure occured. However, suspect it was sidewall because there was no visible punctures/tears within visible tread. Second failure was (RR) while climbing a moderate hill with loose rock. Started slipping and felt tires finally grabbed. Heard a loud "pop" with associated air hiss. Managed to get down the hill and change out tire. Inspection revealed center lug was pulled from tire and ripped through. Goodyear dealer stated road damage and hence no warranty. I truly suspect that the Wrangler tire line hasn't been fully tested throughout the conditions Goodyear advertises them for. Especially when they come on a 4x4 intended to go off-road.

 

Any tire that blows COULD cause that kind of damage. No offense intended but every time someone has this happen they blame the tire (no thanks to Firestone). Often times there is a legitimate reason for the tire failing and it is sometimes as simple as a nail in the tire the night before.

 

I had my Right front blow out on me at 70 MPH it pulled to the right very quick I just eased the steering wheel to the left and costed to a stop the truck did very well in my opinion when it happened it was a Goodyear wrangler AP.

 

You're right Gearhead. There is generally a very good reason a tire blows. However in the case of the center lug, there was a tear around 50% of the lug. Direction of tear indicated an outward and backward force. The interior of the tire also displayed an outward pull based on edge feathering which formed a large + shape. Of course that's just a single case.
Today I had TWO Wranglers die on me due to sidewall puntures. One was pinched against a rock and another was a cut to the sidewall about an inch in length. The driver behind me must've got the same rock, just closer in. His slice was about 3.5" in length. We later search the area and found nothing but rocks.
Now I'm not saying that the tire was defective, just that there may be a sidewall protection issue.
Based on my luck with the Wranglers, they are no longer going off-road in any capacity. I'll switch tire set with something with a little more sidewall protection and designed/built with off-roading in mind. Wranglers will be demoted to "grocery getting."

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one of my dads buddies has these tires on his dodge and he was out hunting in ND. and drove over a bigger rock on a gravel road and cut the whole side wall. I also had these on my truck and with about 30,000 on them keep going flat and i couldn't find a nail or anything in it so i brought it in and it was rotting away from the inside the wires were comming right out! the guy said that was the 3rd set he seen like that and one set only had 15,000miles on.

 

Well, just entered 13,000 miles on my 2002 Expedition and all original tires (5) have bit the big one and died deaths of which there's no return. Three tire failures and two sidewall punctures. The Wrangler R/TS 2 ply's are for "grocery-gettin'" only. Never take them onto a gravel road or you'll be walking in no time. Contacted Goodyear and they offered to set me up in an light truck version of the Wrangler with 6 ply vice 2 at $75 per tire. Of course that was for four tires only. Now that I've had failures on five, that deal isn't good enough. I seriously believe that Ford blew it when selecting this tire for a vehicle they advertise as "No Boundary" and capable of going onto gravel roads. BS! Buyers beware, insist on 6 ply tires.