Cooper Tires Awful! Most recalled 2013-2018

[oil_film_movies]

Like many, I've tried to see which tire company makes quality. Safety, hassle, you know.

https://recallinfo.ustires.org/TireRecallSearch/ListRecalls/60
has the list of tire recalls for the last 5 years.
Cooper tires (aka Cooper, Mastercraft, Avon, Cornell, Futura, Roadmaster, Vanderbilt, Starfire sub-brand names) make the list way too many times.
Continental makes the list a little too often, and I have a bad personal experience with them a few years ago, in a Continental class action lawsuit, so I know they are capable of messing up big-time.

Other tire brands are on the list, but I wouldn't say its too many times for the rest.
Just Cooper & Continental are on my "do not buy" list right now.
Rule: Any car company that starts with a "C" is banned.

I wonder why Kumho, Hankook, and some of the other brands you might think would show up are not there?

I just got a set of Kumho Ecsta 4X II tires for cheap, made in Korea and they seem to be of decent quality.

 

[kschachn]

Hey welcome back, you haven't been around lately.

Cooper does seem to dominate that list.

 

[Gixxer46]

I quite like continental tires but you’re right, Cooper is having a bad time. Either way, I’m sure they will comp the new install so you’re getting a new set.

 

[Phishin]

People on here love Cooper tires. I just bought a set of Mastercraft's for my Honda.

I don't believe most of the [censored] I hear on the internet.

 

[Boomer]

I would be more concerned with those that were recalled recently, not 4 or 5 years ago. Cooper still makes that list, big time. My experience with them when I had a set put on a Saturn (since sold) is that they had to be replaced because of being out of round. Even the ones they used as replacements were out of round. Never bought another Cooper again.

 

[kschachn]

I was just looking today for tires for my old BMW and it came down to Cooper or another set of Kumhos. Guess I'll go with Kumho, they also have the proper speed rating.

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted By: Phishin
People on here love Cooper tires. I just bought a set of Mastercraft's for my Honda.

I don't believe most of the [censored] I hear on the internet.


I don’t either … out of my buds … several have owned one set of Toyo … no more.
Hankook is the only set I ever put at the curb at 10k … hydroplaned like a turbo beaver …

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: Phishin
People on here love Cooper tires. I just bought a set of Mastercraft's for my Honda.


Since Cooper makes Mastercraft tires?

You are saying you love Cooper tires?

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
I was just looking today for tires for my old BMW and it came down to Cooper or another set of Kumhos. Guess I'll go with Kumho, they also have the proper speed rating.
Kumho is a safe bet, as far as I can tell. The Ecsta's I just got are XL (extra load) and do have a very high speed rating, so they should be strong enough.
Buying tires is an exercise in cost, performance, brand-risk (recall history), etc., and there is no perfect answer.
For example, I noticed Walmart sells "Solar" brand tires in my 225/50-17 size, and with 808 reviews on it, customers gave it 4.5/5 stars. Its actually made by Sumitomo, a good Japanese company. Solars are very cheap which appeals to many of us. Therefore, taking a risk on cheap Solar tires might not be that bad. .... Only if you want to spend the big bucks on expensive Michelins to make absolutely sure you're getting the Best would one avoid the cheap tires.

Another consideration: Tire Rack has been noticing up to about a 5% difference in MPG between some tires. A rough calculation shows that if you buy an LRR tire (Ecopia or Michelin Energy Savers are tops), they must not cost more than about $25/tire more for the better MPG to make a difference. And those LRR tires tend to be pricey.

 

[novadude]

I've had nothing but good experiences with Cooper tires. Kumho is the only tire brand I've ever had fail at speed. I won't be buying Kumho again, but I did just buy a set of Coopers for my '65 Nova (CS5 Ultra).

 

[pandus13]

Coopers A/S (CS4 on Hyundai Elantra, CS5 on Toyota Yaris, RS3-A on Mazda5) for me have been grippy (rain, dry, snow(when new)):
but:
-noisy (all ; I believed I had to replace a wheel bearing on Mazda5: nope, just "bumpy" tire)
-developed bumps (RS3-A on Mazda5)
-developed cracks in tire and tire+blocks at less than 3 years old(CS5 on Toyota Yaris)

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: novadude
I've had nothing but good experiences with Cooper tires. Kumho is the only tire brand I've ever had fail at speed. I won't be buying Kumho again, but I did just buy a set of Coopers for my '65 Nova.
Any brand of tire can fail at speed. The only thing important is minimizing how often they fail.

Over the past 30 years, I've heard of the bead failing on some Goodyear LS tires and Michelins that fail too often. Just anecdotal stuff that doesn't mean much but gives you pause. Recall history might be the best indicator of safety-quality I can think of.

 

[SirTanon]

Companies/industries seem to ride waves up and down.. it happens... but let's face it - Tires are a safety product, and a recall is a good way to insure that safety concerns are addressed and resolved.

What's worse? A company that has frequent recalls but an overall safe track record, or a company that is responsible for many crashes and deaths as a result of not issuing a recall or acknowledging a problem quickly?

I'll stick with my Coopers.

 

[kschachn]

Originally Posted By: SirTanon
Companies/industries seem to ride waves up and down.. it happens... but let's face it - Tires are a safety product, and a recall is a good way to insure that safety concerns are addressed and resolved.

What's worse? A company that has frequent recalls but an overall safe track record, or a company that is responsible for many crashes and deaths as a result of not issuing a recall or acknowledging a problem quickly?

I'll stick with my Coopers.

Which manufacturer is that? Surely not Kumho.

 

[123Saab]

While not on that list, a Nokian tire recalled was also made by Cooper.

http://www.moderntiredealer.com/news/391938/cooper-made-nokian-tires-fall-under-recall

 

[WobblyElvis]

Thank you Oil Film for posting this. I have some Cooper/Starfire tires that have been impossible to balance they ride like they are out of round. I just may be getting a free set of tires.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: SirTanon
What's worse? A company that has frequent recalls but an overall safe track record, or a company that is responsible for many crashes and deaths as a result of not issuing a recall or acknowledging a problem quickly?
I think most of those recalls were not "Voluntary" ones.
You can go to https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchSafetyIssues?prodType=T and check the forced NHTSA recalls by brand name. I did that for Kumho tires and it basically corroborated the TMA data which shows Kumho has been mostly unscathed in the last 5 years.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: WobblyElvis
Thank you Oil Film for posting this. I have some Cooper/Starfire tires that have been impossible to balance they ride like they are out of round. I just may be getting a free set of tires.
No problem. Just wondering who is running the best company. They need Quality Control & engineering design to keep the problems minimized.

What would be nice to know is the frequency of blowouts, by brand, in the last 5 years or so. Like the highway "gators" we see. Tread separations and blow-outs are the biggest safety issue. I can't believe how many gators I see on the highways in the summer. Truckers are plagued by it, and drivers swerve to avoid the big debris.
I'm not saying this was from a Cooper or Continental, but with so many recalls, you be the judge:

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Originally Posted By: 123Saab
While not on that list, a Nokian tire recalled was also made by Cooper.

http://www.moderntiredealer.com/news/391938/cooper-made-nokian-tires-fall-under-recall


Nokian then dropped them as a supplier and switched to Bridgestone for their outsourced tires.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Originally Posted By: WobblyElvis
Thank you Oil Film for posting this. I have some Cooper/Starfire tires that have been impossible to balance they ride like they are out of round. I just may be getting a free set of tires.
No problem. Just wondering who is running the best company. They need Quality Control & engineering design to keep the problems minimized.

What would be nice to know is the frequency of blowouts, by brand, in the last 5 years or so. Like the highway "gators" we see. Tread separations and blow-outs are the biggest safety issue. I can't believe how many gators I see on the highways in the summer. Truckers are plagued by it, and drivers swerve to avoid the big debris.
I'm not saying this was from a Cooper or Continental, but with so many recalls, you be the judge:

I would bet most "road gators" are retreads/recaps-that's why they seem to come off in long strips. The ones that worry me are the Chinese passenger car low profile so-called "Ultra HP" ones that come off as a whole tread donut!