Are Cooper Tires Safe?

[shiny]

In October 2019, I purchased my second set of Cooper CS5 Grand Touring tires at Discount Tire. They're size 255/55 R17. I really like these tires. They're grippy and quiet. This particular tire is not included in any Cooper recalls. They have 22K miles on them with lots of tread left. I check the air pressure monthly and get them rotated on schedule.

On my last set of Coopers, (same model) one of the tires started to develop tread separation near the end of its life. The manager at DT didn't know if it was a defect or just to be expected due to its age, but he gave me a new tire and sent the old one back to Cooper.

This week, my rear tire exploded when I was on the freeway doing 70mph. The road was clear at the time- I didn't drive over anything. The tire just went POP like a gun shot and blew apart. I lost control of my car; did fishtails and donuts all over the freeway in heavy traffic before coming to a stop on the shoulder. Other drivers had to swerve to avoid me, and then swerve to avoid each other. It should have been a 10-car pileup but miraculously there were no collisions. No one was hurt or killed, for which I'm intensely grateful.

I'm taking the car in to DT today for a replacement tire, but I'm wondering if these tires are safe? It's possible that I ran over something, but if not, then the issue was the tire itself. Even though these tires aren't in any recall, what if they're defective and just haven't been acknowledged as such yet? If it was you, would you keep driving on them or switch to another brand?

 

[oggb]

We had CS5 grand tourings on our Outback and while they were only about 5 years old they showed so much cracking on the sidewalls that I decided to replace them. The car was always garaged and driven about 7500 miles/yr on those tires.

 

[CapriRacer]

If you got photos of the tire, please post them. They will go a long way to help sort out the cause.

But just based on your description, it was likely a road hazard. It is not uncommon for people to run over objects and not know it. It's nearly impossible to see small objects at high speeds.

 

[Blinker]

I have no experience with Cooper tires, but I have had Goodyear tires that blew apart at the 7 year mark.

Here’s the timeline, bought a full set of Goodyear Integrity’s in 2004, and had a blow out on one of the tires in 2011. Got it replaced, and a week later another tire blew out. I said forget it, and got all the 7 year old Goodyear’s replaced. The vehicle was garage kept with about 30,000 miles on the tires, no external signs of thread separation that I could see.

I thought Goodyear bought Cooper recently. I could be wrong, just something to think about.

 

[Tdog02]

I just bought a set of Cooper Discover AT3 4S for my F150. The recall was size specific and didn't include my size.

You get 4-5 years on a set of rubber. After that replace asap.

 

[manicrodder]

Currently have them on both vehicles and no problems.

 

[shiny]

I just bought a set of Cooper Discover AT3 4S for my F150. The recall was size specific and didn't include my size.

You get 4-5 years on a set of rubber. After that replace asap.

Agreed, and I do replace them responsibly, but these are only a year-and-a-half old with lots of tread left.

 

[volk06]

Yes they're safe. I wouldn't switch brands based off of 1 tire blow out with an unknown cause. Also, Id ask DT if they see many blow outs of this particular tire.

 

[JTK]

I've always gotten great service out of Cooper and their other names.

 

[JHZR2]

I have two sets in use currently with no concerns.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Nothing systematically wrong with Cooper tires

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Always liked cooper tires, never heard of anyone having problems with them.

Sudden explosion sounds like it was low on air and gave up.

 

[Hall]

Also, Id ask DT if they see many blow outs of this particular tire.

I like Discount Tire and I'm confident that their answer will be, "no, we haven't had trouble with them at all". They just won't get involved (or bad-mouth one of their suppliers).

 

[volk06]

I like Discount Tire and I'm confident that their answer will be, "no, we haven't had trouble with them at all". They just won't get involved (or bad-mouth one of their suppliers).

That hasn't been my experience with my location.

 

[Tkonrr]

Had a set of Cooper CS5 tires become extremely out of round after about 12,000 miles of mostly gentle interstate driving. Cooper did not warranty them since I rotated my own tires.

 

[wdn]

Cooper has one of the highest if not the highest number of NHTSA safety recalls for a tire manufacturer. All I would expect to see on Bob is a bunch of anecdotes. I would call their hotline and report the issue here is the link.

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/Complaint.cfm

 

[tiger862]

I won't buy Cooper tires as I had 3 sets. First one tires wouldn't stay balanced and DT wouldn't stand behind them. Second set blew out as it started shaking at 75 then as I was slowing down boom. I was on a bridge so I limped it along until I got off bridge and DT again didn't want anything to do with it since I rode it on flat. Mom was selling Dad's Silverado and it needed tires which no one wanted with Michelin tires that had cracks so I brought truck to Tire Kingdom which put Cooper tires on. Truck rode like a log wagon. Brother bought truck which he is a tire installer and auto technician to which he only kept tires for less than 10k. He put Falken tires on and gave the Cooper tires away. He has sold many Cooper tires and even recommended them for years but last couple of years he has said Cooper tires need a major redo.

 

[Lubener]

I have had several sets of Cooper tires. I will never buy another Cooper tire. I have had severe cracking, ply separations and vibrations with the different sets. One set was recalled due to cracking.I never really wore out a set because I had to replace before they wore out. I even had to drive to Findlay Ohio with a set of four Classics off the rims to get a refund on them because they caused vibrations. They had probably 5000 miles on them. Their dealers were no help.

 

[Capt W]

Have over 40K on a set of CS5 Grand Touring and they still ride great with loads of tread left and no sidewall cracks whatsoever. Also have Cooper Evolution Touring on a newer vehicle. I'm always very pleased with Cooper.

 

[Astro14]

If the tire went “pop” you likely hit something. You say the road was clear, but that only means you didn’t see what you hit. Rear tires failing are more likely to be debris. The front tire kicks it up so that it’s not laying flat and punctures the rear tire as it rolls over it.

I once had a tire go “pop” - a three inch metal piece tore the tire open and lodged inside. I never saw it. It was the right rear tire.

Failure from under inflation, or structural failure, generally takes a while; noise, thumping, sloppiness, or a combination of those generally precede the tire deflation.

Speaking of failure, under inflated tires, particularly in hot climates, will fail from the heat of flexing. When was you last pressure check?

You description is dramatic. Swerved all over, and lost control, you say?

That’s a driver problem. Straight up.

Not uncommon, as it’s a startling situation, but in that startle response, over control of the steering is likely. A firm, not panicked, grip on the wheel and smooth steering inputs, and the car will track just fine. My tire blew on a Volvo wagon, with a 3,000# tandem axle Uhaul in tow. It was loaded with a bedroom set and a piano. I stayed straight, let off the gas, pulled over to the shoulder. No problem.

My daughter, six months old at the time, was in her car seat, and slept through the whole thing.