So this happened on a drive across the state and back. Doesn’t seem like a reasonable wear pattern. Just the one area.

[Jason Petri]

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[ScareCrow]

Looks like it's been filled in with Epoxy..............

 

[MJE]

Looks like it's been filled in with Epoxy..............

Fresh road tar from a construction zone maybe? It does look more filled than worn down doesn’t it?

 

[Jason Petri]

Looks like it's been filled in with Epoxy..............

Nope. It’s worn smooth.

 

[Jason Petri]

Fresh road tar from a construction zone maybe? It does look more filled than worn down doesn’t it?

When I first saw it I thought I’d run through some tar in a construction zone. But nope. Worn smooth on that one section.

 

[Dude]

Locked the brakes in a panic skid stop?

Parked on a very hot but not very wide surface that melted the tread.

 

[Wolf256]

Looks like it runs 1/4 of the way around the tire, too.

 

[Bucko]

Only one tire? I suspect inflation issues. Over or under inflation can cause extreme/quick wear of a tire.

Rear tire?

 

[Mark S.]

A patchy wear pattern is indicative of a tire balance issue or badly worn suspension components.

 

[Jason Petri]

Locked the brakes in a panic skid stop?

Parked on a very hot but not very wide surface that melted the tread.

Nothing really unusual happened, until…I was about 420 miles into a 540 mile drive. I felt a vibration in the steering wheel so I stopped at a truck stop. The tire was the cause of the vibration (or the vibration was the cause of the tire?).

 

[Jason Petri]

Only one tire? I suspect inflation issues. Over or under inflation can cause extreme/quick wear of a tire.

Rear tire?

Rear passenger side. It was inflated properly. I let the air out of it after I put on the spare because I thought it might explode.

 

[wireman]

Tread separation ??

 

[Jason Petri]

Tread separation ??

Everything seems integrated now, but I suppose a chunk could have come off. I drove 10-15 miles with some vibration in the steering wheel before I pulled off at a truck stop. The vibration became noticeably worse when the speed limit changed from 75 to 80 and I accelerated.

 

[Bronco2.7]

Loose lug nuts??

 

[Bluebaru]

Everything seems integrated now, but I suppose a chunk could have come off. I drove 10-15 miles with some vibration in the steering wheel before I pulled off at a truck stop. The vibration became noticeably worse when the speed limit changed from 75 to 80 and I accelerated.

As "wireman" said, tread separation! It's a defective tire. The tread of the tire has separated from the belts below and not something you can just look at and diagnose prior to the obvious wear pattern. Pieces can come off and start flapping around in the late stages, of the problem.

You were in no danger of it blowing up one you took it off the your BS and didn't reuse it.

After looking at the pic again and closer, it looks like you don't have much remaining tread depth on the rest of the tire. How many miles on them? It could be a problem with them being both out of balance and a poor alignment with to much toe in and/or positive camber.

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