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THIS POST IS IN REGARDS TO YOKOHAMA TIRE COMPANIES FAILURE TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILTY FOR THIER DEFECTIVE TIRES.
I WAS IN SINCLAIR WYOMING ON I80 TRAVELING EAST AT APPROX. 70MPH. WHEN THE FRONT LEFT TIRE EXPLODED ON MY 35' RV AND I HAD A 25' TRAILER. IF YOU EVER HAD A FRONT TIRE BLOW ON A LARGE VEHICLE, THEN YOU KNOW THERES A GOOD CHANCE YOU WILL FLIP YOUR VEHICLE. LUCKILY, I HAD BOTH HANDS FIRMLY ON THE WHEEL WHEN IT EXPLODED. IN FACT, A POLICE OFFICER TRAVELING WEST SAW EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED, AND STOPPED TO CHECK ON ME. HE SAID " HOW THE HELL DID YOU NOT LOSE CONTROL AND FLIP YOUR RIG?". IF SOMEONE HAD BEEN PASSING ME, I WOULD HAVE HIT WITH THEM FOR SURE, BECAUSE I IMMEDIATELY WENT FROM THE SLOW LANE CLEAR PAST THE FAST LANE AND INTO THE DIRT BEFORE STRUGGLING TO GET THE RIG BACK ON THE ROAD AND INTO THE BREAKDOWN LANE.
IMMEDIATELY AFTER CHANGING THE TIRE, I CONTACTED YOKOHAMA TO MAKE THEM AWARE OF THIS SITUATION. THE TIRE HAD ONLY 2000 MILES ON IT AND THE TREAD WAS NEARLY FULL. YOKOHAMA ASKED I DELIVER THE TIRE TO THEM FOR INSPECTION. I ALSO FORWARDED REPAIR INVOICES FOR SOME OF THE DAMAGES THE TIRE CAUSED TO MY RIG (IT TORE THE WIRING TO THE HEADLIGHTS OUT, RIPPED THE HORNS COMPLETELY OUT, CAVED IT THE STORAGE BIN BEHIND THE TIRE AND CRUSHED THE FIBERGLAS). IT ALSO HAD HIT A MOTORCYCLE ON MY TRAILER AND CAUSED SEVERAL MORE HUNDRED DOLLARS OF DAMAGE TO IT. I HAD BEEN IN CONTACT WITH YOKOHAMA FOR THE PAST 3 MONTHS TRYING TO GET THEM TO ACT. THEY JUST DID NOT CARE WHAT HAPPENED!
I FINALLY GOT A LETTER FROM THEM SAYING THE TIRE WAS INSPECTED AND A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE HAD OCCURED, BUT COULD NOT COVER ANY DAMAHGES BECAUSE I DID NOT GIVE THEM THE TREAD TO THE TIRE, WHICH BLEW COMPLETELY OFF THE TIRE IN THE EXPLOSION. THEY WOULD NOT EVEN HONOR THEIR TIRE AND REPLACE IT WITH A NEW ONE. SO THEY LEFT ME HOLDING THE WHOLE BILL.
I FEEL LUCKY TO BE ALIVE AFTER WHAT HAPPEN, AND TO HAVE YOKOHAMA DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT IT MADE ME FURIOUS. SO IM POSTING IN ALL FORUMS AND ILL BE WRITING NEWS STATIONS, TO MAKE THE PUBLIC AWARE OF HOW YOKOHAMA DENIES ALL THE CLAIMS THEY RECEIVE. WHEN I BOUGHT THEIR TIRES I READ THAT THEY HAD A GREAT QUARENTEE IF FAILURE OCCURES, BUT THE FACT IS "TALK IS CHEAP". THEY PUT IT IN WRITING THAT THEY WILL TAKE CARE OF PROBLEMS, BUT FACT IS THEY WONT DO ANYTHING. I WARN EVERYONE TO STAY AWAY FROM YOKOHAMA TIRES, AS THEY PUT YOUR LIFE AT RISK AND THEN THEY DENY THEY DID. PLEASE HELP GET THIS WRITE UP OUT TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. ILL BE PICKETING IN FRONT OF THEIR WAREHOUSE IN FULLERTON CALIFORNIA, AND I WELCOME ANYONE WHO WILL PARTICIPATE. FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME AT KTHIBA8679@AOL.COM  

Tires can fail from a number of things that are not the fault of manufacturer.  For example, a tire can be punctured and that obviously is something that can happen to any tire.  I suspect the reason they wanted the tread (it must have been a separate piece) was that they suspected there was one.

My suggestion?  Take a different approach.  Negotiate!  Ask them to pay for your insurance deductible - provided it is fairly low.  No, your insurance preminums won't go up.  This is covered by the Comprehensive portion - which means the driver was not at fault.  It's an easy way out for both of you.  

If they don't budge, threaten to file a lawsuit in small claims court.  It will be cheaper for them to settle for your deductible than it would be to send someone to defend.  

hi i am sorry to read about your recent problem with a yokohama tyre.i just wonder why you did not have the tread part of the tyre? The tread often peels off the main tyre carcass when the tyre loses its pressure suddenly especially when weight is involved. the tyre was made using heat and the tread strips because of the same thing ,heat.how often do we see full lengths of tread that was lost from a truck tyre with a blowout on the highway?? the tread is lost with the heat.If you had recovered the tread you could have found out what caused the blowout . It would have told you whether it was an object such as a nail or screw or even a small sharp rock. or if the tyre blew out because of a fault.Yokohama are a very good product and i can tell by your post that you are not very happy but modern tyres are made to exact specs and produced in modern factories that are clean and hygienic and therefore it is now very rare that we ever see a faulty tyre, here in the UK we dont have the same litigation laws that you have in America, so i suspect that tyre companies have to tread carefully, but without the tread part of the tyre i think that you are on a loser as far as proving whos fault it was all the best in the future  eric roberts tyre specialist.