NHTSA-reported issues for cooper discoverer stronghold AT 285/60R20
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (460) · Tread / Belt (370) · Sidewall (160) · TPMS (12) · Bead (11)
Reported across: 1990 – 1990 (1 year)
What owners described
Tread or belt separation appears in 24% of these reports; about 1.8× as often as across all tire complaints. Percentages are shares of the 759 reports filed against Cooper tires across every line and vehicle that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.
| Reported problem | This subject | All tire complaints | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread or belt separation | 24% | 13% | 1.8× |
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 21% | 20% | 1.0× |
| Sidewall failure | 21% | 15% | 1.4× |
| Bubble or bulge in the tire | 12% | 6% | 2.0× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 9% | 8% | 1.0× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 7% | 9% | 0.7× |
Mileage at failure
446 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 42,999 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 5,219 and 155,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Cooper. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
THIS IS THE SECOND SAME SIZE COOPER TIRE THAT HAS FAILED THE SAME WAY IN THE SAME TIME FRAME. THE TIRE WAS PROPERLY INFLATED AND BEGAN TO LOSE AIR EVEN THOUGH IT HAD NO PUNCTURES IN THE TIRE. THE TIRE STARTED TO RUN LOW AND THE SIDEWALL CRACKED AND DID NOT DEFLATE BUT RAN WITH LOW PRESSURE. I NOTICED THAT THE TIRE WAS LOW BUT NOT DEFLATED. UPON EXAMINATION OF THE TIRE THE SAME CRACKS APPEARS ON THE SIDE WALL AND NOTHING WAS HIT THAT HAD ABRADED THE TIRE. BOTH TIRES WERE SIZE 215/50 R17 CS4 V XL BW 95 TL. BOTH TIRES LASTED APPROX 15-17K MILES BEFORE FAILING AND APPROX 2 YEARS IN EACH CASE. ONE WAS REPLACED BY THE TIRE DEALER ONLY BECAUSE I HAD BOUGHT THE TIRE PROTECTION POLICY AND THE OTHER WAS NO LONGER COVERED AS REPLACEMENTS ARE NO LONGER COVERED AFTER 12K OR 1 YR. BOTH TIRES COULD NOT BE REPAIRED AS THE SIDEWALL HAS FAILED.
3 OF 4 TIRES, COOPER DISCOVERER LSX P265 / 70R17, FAILED WITHIN 8 MONTHS OF EACH OTHER DUE TO STEEL BELTS SEPARATING AT APPROXIMATELY 19 - 20,000 MILES. IN THE LAST INSTANCE I EXPERIENCED A BLOWOUT WHILE DRIVING. ALL 4 TIRES WERE PURCHASED NEW AND IN GOOD CONDITION WHEN THE INCIDENTS OCCURRED. THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME D.O.T #: UP1YCL71010.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 MERCEDES BENZ C300 EQUIPPED WITH COOPER TIRES, TIRE LINE: VELOZZA ZXV, AND TIRE SIZE: 255/35/R18 (N/A). THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE TIRE PRESSURE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT DISCOVERED THAT THE REAR DRIVER SIDE TIRE WAS FLAT AND THE TREAD SEPARATED FROM THE TIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT THE TIRE READ SEPARATED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE TIRES WAS NOT REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 57,965 AND THE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,500.
I WAS DRIVING ON I-95 WHEN MY VEHICLE STARTED THUMPING AND VIBRATING ERRATICALLY AND STEERING WAS VERY HARD TO CONTROL. I EXITED IMMEDIATELY TO FIND THAT MY TIRE HAD A HUGE BULGE A LITTLE LARGER THAN A SOFTBALL. A MAN STOPPED AND SAID I SHOULD BE OKAY TO DRIVE THE 2 MILES I HAD LEFT TO GET HOME. WHEN I BACKED OUT TO DRIVE HOME THE BULGE POPPED EXPOSING BROKEN PLY CORDS AND TREAD SEPARATION.
Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.
Specs
| Brand | Cooper |
|---|---|
| Model | Discoverer Stronghold AT 285/60R20 |
| Season | N/A |
| Type | N/A |
| UTQG treadwear | N/A |
| UTQG traction | N/A |
| UTQG temperature | N/A |
| Mileage warranty | N/A |
| Noise (dB) | N/A |
| Introduced | N/A |
Live prices
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Available sizes (1)
Cooper discoverer stronghold AT 285/60R20: what the numbers tell you
Manufacturer treadwear data for the Discoverer Stronghold AT 285/60R20 is not publicly listed. This is common for OEM-only or track-day tires that don't carry a US treadwear warranty. No mileage warranty is published for this tire, which is typical for performance summer and track-day rubber where the manufacturer doesn't make wear-life claims.
Cabin noise data for this tire is not published by the manufacturer. As a general tire built for the passenger segment, the Discoverer Stronghold AT 285/60R20 is positioned against direct rivals within the same category. Comparing it to a tire in a different category (e.g. summer vs all-season) makes the spec sheet misleading because the design targets are not the same.
The Cooper Discoverer Stronghold AT 285/60R20 has been part of Cooper's catalog since its introduction, and remains a current-production model.
For an apples-to-apples comparison against direct rivals, see the comparison pages linked from this tire's brand index.
OEM fitment
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Last verified 2026-09-02.