2016 HYUNDAI EQUUS WITH CONTINENTAL CONTIPROCONTACT P245 / 45R / 19 98V TIRES; DOT AF7VP1H6 (0615); WHILE DRIVING MY DAUGHTER AND GRANDCHILD TO THE AIRPORT ON THE FLORIDA TURNPIKE THE STEERING WHEEL BEGAN TO VIBRATE. UPON RETURNING HOME, CALLED CAR DEALER AND SCHEDULED A SERVICE APPOINTMENT THE NEXT DAY. WE BOTH THOUGHT A FRONT TIRE HAD POSSIBLY THROWN A WHEEL BALANCING WEIGHT. DEALER FOUND BOTH FRONT TIRES HAD BELT SEPARATION CAUSING STEERING WHEEL TO VIBRATE. THE CAR AND TIRES WERE PURCHASED NEW AT THE DEALER AT THE END OF 2016, ARE ONLY 22 MONTHS OLD AND HAVE ONLY 19,700 MILES. WE HAVE NOT HIT ANY CURBS, ROUGH RAILROAD TRACKS OR LARGE POT-HOLES AND IT IS SUSPICIOUS THAT IT WAS BOTH FRONT TIRES. THE TIRE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED BY THE DEALER, REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE A LIKELY MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND OFFERED ONLY 50% OF THE TIRE REPLACEMENT COSTS AND THEY WANTED THE DEFECTIVE TIRES. I WAS ABLE TO PURCHASE OTHER NEW TIRES FOR LESS COST THAN WHAT THE MANUFACTURER OFFERED. I HAVE THE DEFECTIVE TIRES IN MY POSSESSION AND PLAN TO RUN ROOT-CAUSE FAILURE ANALYSIS ON THE TIRES SUSPECTING THAT IT IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT WITH THE RUBBER USED CAUSING THE BELTS TO PREMATURELY SEPARATE FROM THE TIRE COMPOUND. I NOTED OTHER SIMILAR BELT SEPARATION FAILURES ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE LISTED UNDER THE TIRE MANUFACTURER, BRAND AND EVEN CAR BRAND. WILL ALSO BE CONTACTING THE CAR MAKER AND TIRE MANUFACTURER TO REGISTER A COMPLAINT OF A DEFECTIVE PRODUCT.
NHTSA ODI 11111896