Firestone Firehawk GTA

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Saturn of Madison

Year / Model Reviewed:
2003 Saturn Ion3

Strengths:
None, These tires are J-U-N-K !!!

Weaknesses:
Firestone!

Summary:
These tires became excessively noisy at 20k. At 40k you couldn't hear the person next to you or the radio. Cupping! Performance tires?

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $14000.00 from saturn of larchmont

Year / Model Reviewed:
2004 saturn ion

Strengths:
None, Car companies should not put performance tires on economy cars

Weaknesses:
Noisy at 27000 miles unacceptable.

Summary:
I am so glad I have come across this review, I have taken my car back to the dealership twice for noisy tires at 27000 miles never believing it could be excessive tire wear. The dealer told me the tires had been cupped. No more Firestone tires.

Price Paid:  $7500.00 from Koons of Manassas, M

Year / Model Reviewed:
2001 Ford Focus SE

Strengths:
NONE - Do not purchase this model of tires under any circumstances. If you're considering a used vehicle that has this model of tire, ask the dealer to replace the tires with better ones even if you have to pay extra for it.

Weaknesses:
Flimsy appearance (quite thin-looking, especially compared to the new Dunlops installed today)
Tendency to wear out too early
Requirement for very frequent rotation (according to other reviewers)

Summary:
This review concerns the factory-installed tires on the Ford Focus SE. I bought these tires (Firestone Firehawk) as part of the package on a low-mileage 2001 Ford Focus SE at the end of March, just over a month ago. From the moment I drove off the lot, I experienced a near-continuous "rattling" noise from the front. When I took the car to an independent source for a checkup, I was told that it might be the wheel bearings, which really worried me because those can be expensive to fix. However, when I took the car back to Koons today and they gave it another thorough once-over, they discovered that all four tires had become "cupped" with just over 27,000 miles on the vehicle (25,466 when I bought the car, and I had driven it for about 1600 miles since then). They replaced all four tires with new Dunlops - at no cost, thankfully, since tires are covered by the limited warranty on their used vehicles - and recommended that I rotate the tires at 6,000-mile intervals. It was when I got home and did some research that I discovered all the other complaints about this poorly-constructed tire model and its tendency to wear out early - AND the fact that Ford no longer uses Firestone tires on its vehicles due to the numerous and very serious quality issues. Had I known this earlier, I would have asked Koons to put new tires on the car right off the bat and saved unneccessary time and worry. This car is otherwise in excellent condition and has given me fine service, and I hope to get good service from it for years to come especially with the new Dunlops. It's a shame that a good vehicle like this one was saddled with such lame tires out of the factory.

Similar Products Used:
None

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $11000.00 from MegaMitsubishi

Year / Model Reviewed:
2002 Ford Focus ZTS

Strengths:
none

Weaknesses:
excessive shaking, excessive thumping, excessive road noise.

Summary:
I bought a 2002 Ford focus in 2005 with about 60000 km on them... the tires were finished and the dealer said they would put 4 brand new tires on it. The tires were brand new alright but about 4000km later the front end started shacking, it felt like the tires were out of balance.
I had them balanced and it still shook like the front end was coming apart... in fact there is so much shacking that I believe that all the creaks that have showed up in the car are were caused by excessive vibration/loosening of fasteners... it was even worse after I did the tire rotation.
I've owned other performance tires that lasted allot longer without the excessive shacking and roid noise.
Firestone... never again.

Similar Products Used:
Eagle GT's a bit noisy but overall they were good.

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $19000.00 from Flammer Ford

Year / Model Reviewed:
2002 Ford Focus ZTS

Strengths:
NONE

Weaknesses:
DANGEROUS

Summary:
Firestone Firehawk P205/50R/16 These tires are dangerous and should be removed from any automobile you drive. The rear tires started making a high pitched whine sound three days after I took delivery of the new Ford Focus. The salesman stated this was normal for this type of tire and should not be of concern. The tires now have 21000 miles on them and are chopped. They are so loud I cannot listen to the radio. The dealership refuses to make an adjustment for these defective tires and insist the cause of the problem was alignment and is my fault. Firestone blames Ford for a rear suspension problem. I have purchased 12 new vechiles from this dealership over the past 15 years. This is my last Ford product and I will never buy another Firestone tire.