Tire Warranties

[KentheREALone Z]

Today I had a tire dealer tell me Michelin does not warrant tires for mileage any more. In fact, he said no manufacturers do.



This was in response to my question on a set of Michelins I have that are 3 years old and lasted 50,000 miles. Honest to god, I have the receipt, but it does not show the install mileage. The local place I bought them from burned to the ground a year or so ago, so records may be a problem. They are Harmony tire, warranted for 80,000 miles.



I have not had a chance to call Michelin yet. He sounded like a bozo to me.



Comments?

 

[MikeSondra Grossen]

We will be lucky to get 40,000 out of our stock Michelin. The new ones are here and waiting, will install closer to winter.

 

[KentheREALone Z]

The tires above are on a car (Toyota).



The Michelins on the '07 Trac aren't going to last more than 20,000. THEY SUCK!



Neither of these vehicles (tires) have been spun, heavily loaded in turns, over or under inflated, etc.. They have been babied, in normal driving conditions.

 

[gary s]

the gen2 mich's do suck.

i dumped them at about 20-25k for the toyo's.

 

[A Morrow]

forteras on the gen 2 aren't much better, gonna replace mine soon after 25k

 

[Jimmy Lavoie]

rednek185



I have 26k on mine and they are going strong. I tow a camper and I'm not easy on the cornering - ever. Pisses off my wife :blink:

 

[A Morrow]

I think i might get another 2 or 3 k out of mine I HOPE... but I do drive pretty hard so i'm sure thats part of it

 

[EddieS'04]

Without the install mileage on the reciept. You will be at the mercy of their good will..

 

[Les C]

Wow! I got a 104k miles out of my last set of Michelins [XLT M/S] on my 01 Trac [Firestone replacements w/365 miles on Trac in 2001]. I even got 110k on my last set on my 93 Explorer Sport. Of course I rotate & balance them every 5k miles.



Even our son just got 71k miles on his Goodyear OEMs on his 05 Trac [were rotated & balanced [9] times in the 71k though].

 

[Les]

See if you have any other maintenance receipts about the same time you purchased the tires that does show mileage. Also, there may have been a warranty card you sent to the manufacturer that stated mileage. As long as you are dealing with someone reasonable, you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[KentheREALone Z]

I wrote to Michelin. We'll see.



Thanks for the ideas. Les, that's a good idea about other receipts. Thanks!

 

[Richard L]

You will probably not have any major problems finding any Michilen dealer to handling your warranty...Just remember that most tire warranties are worthless even when they are fully honored.



When ever you get a replacement tire for warrany you will get a prorated price from the full MSRP which is a highly inflated price. The 25% or 30% discount you get for the excessive tread wear will only bring the price down to the average price the tire down to where everyone buys them for or the usual sale price.



Also, if the tires are not worn down to the wear indicator bars, they will not honor the mileage warranty becaus the tire is not fully worn. If the tire wear does not have a normal wear pattern, they will not honor the mileage warranty because they will claim that you had alignment problems, the tires were under-inflated, or they were not rotated regularly, etc.



I once had a defective tire that blew out due to sidewall ply separation. Due to the tread wear (70%) I was offered a 30% discound off the full MSRP which was $10 higher than then the tire was selling for on sale that day? I guess they thought they had a real fish on the hook.



Prorated tire and battery warranties are nearly worthless, so some creative stores are offering 100% replacement warranties for the first year. I did have a new battery kick the bucket on me in just 10 months and I got a brand new battery. Also, new car manufacturers are replacing defective batteries anytime within the first 3 years of the warranty. I had my battery rep;aced free in both my 1997 Grand Prix and my 2001 Sport Trac just before the warranty ran out. The Sport Trac only had 11 miles left on the warranty when I got a new battery for free under the warranty.



...Rich