closetprisoner

I have a set for Michelin Primacy and it has sidewall cracks on it for awhile and now got worse.

Went back to Costco for warranty and said they won't warranty it because it consider 'normal'.

So I called Michelin and spoke with a live person and he also told me it's normal because it caused by 'ozone cracking', WTF is ozone cracking... at that moment I'm thinking in my head 'you muterfuker is on crack' LOL..

I'm still in the process dealing with Michelin, but for sure will not buy from Michelin again.

Here are pix from different tires, does it look normal??

MilwaukeeDave

iTrader: (3)

Have any slow leaks? Or ran an extended period low on air?

closetprisoner

None are ever run on low air.. last year (that's when i notice all of the cracks but didn't think nothing of it), and one of them has a slow leak, which i argued with Costco pepz to have it replace, but they claim the leak was cause by an ice pick that some poke that shit.. LMAO.. i told them i drove home from work and park in the garage and woke up next morning preparing going to work and found out it was flat. No warranty here, and since i was Costco at that time, i just purchase one replacement tire. I only go there for tire only, but now ain't getting no more auto service from them.

Did some search online, and many stated the same issue that Michelin are notorious for sidewall cracks.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

michelin tire warranty does NOT cover weather checking/ozone cracking. some other tire manufacturer's have limited coverage for this type of sidewall cracking. I had two of the original OEM michelin's on my MDX...they had the same weather checking/ozone cracking on them. the born on date for the tires was 2008 (despite the car being an 09). i researched a bit about michelin warranty...they aren't going to cover it. i wasn't a fan of the OEM tires anyway, so i ended up replacing all of them despite two having plenty of tread left and the sidewalls perfectly fine). i wanted peace of mind (and a better tire) since we road trip with the MDX.

we also have an accord with OEM michelins. the two older tires have early signs of weather checking, but not overly concerned since it's used for tooling around town. i just keep an eye on it each time i wash the car.

3.2TLc

Just wondering what the actual age of those tires is.....?
Perhaps Costco got a deal on some compromised Michelin products and passed the buck.

A few years back I got some better Goodyears at Wally's mart for my old Accord and they wore quickly and developed sidewall bulges. I guess ya can't always trust the big names.

MilwaukeeDave

iTrader: (3)

Walmart can eat my ass. I never shop there, ever. I live close to one and there's one by my job and I still won't shop there.

closetprisoner

update..

Got contact with Michelin with the same pix I sent them, and they called me and told me to go the nearest dealer to have the tires inspect because that is beyond what deemed to be ozone cracks, which I did today, and the sale rep said that he hasn't seen any cracks like that and agreed that's not normal and said my warranty cost is over $300. What kinda cracks he smoking.. !!?? so I rant out a few sentences to Michelin and to see what happen next, my few sentences below..



Went to America Tire you (Michelin USA) direct me to and the sale rep inspected the crack tires, said he haven't seen cracks like it and deemed hazardous to continue usage on the current condition. The inspection of thread remaining is at %60 on all three crack tires, however the tally of the total warranty replacement cost was ridiculous, charging installation, disposal, valve stem and others, over $300 for three tires replacement, under warranty??, so which is the warranty item, the valve stem?, but later discounted to $280, still too high.

Consider the retail tire cost is $130 and I only used %40, thus the percentage I should pay would be %40 of retail which should be around $52 each, which I shouldn't even need to pay for the defective replacement.. I SHOULD NOT have to pay for the install, balance, stem, disposal and other charges that are not relative as if the product were not defective to begin with.

He will need an authorization from Michelin to lower the total cost of replacement, the call was placed but your office was closed due to east coast timezone. I will follow up on Monday to know how you will rectify this warranty matter.

How do you justify on someone spending more money on replacement units that may continue to be defective and hazardous as the original??

I have to admit the marketing campaign is catchy to say the least, advertised of a cute infant inside the tire hovering over the road as it deem to be the safest, free from danger and harm.

I took the privilege to revamp their pictorial ad with the cute infant, which soon to be posted on their FB.

nj2pa2nc

wow-sorry-had excellent luck with the original Michelin tires we had on our 06 tsx-drove them on 2 cross-country roadtrips..snow, downpours, mountains, twisty roads, etc. They performed great and last 74K+miles. When we replaced them we were planning not to keep the tsx more than another year so did not what such expensive tires. We still have the tsx.

3.2TLc

Out of curiosity, did ya save the original receipt of the bill of sale for the tires ?
Also, have they taken note of the date of the effected tire's manufacture ? (serial / dot #)

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^in the first pic, it shows the born on date of the tire (if i'm not mistaken). so...13th week of 2009.

i'm surprised Michelin is even going to cover anything considering the tires are over 4 yrs old based on that code.

3.2TLc

A top rated tire manufacturer should try to make some sort of effort trying to help the original purchaser of the tires if there was no intentional neglect on the owner's part.

Michelins are somewhat pricey and the buyer should expect reliability and safe conditions for the tire's usable life. Not to be put at risk by inferior manufacturing process or materials. The sidewall on that tire said it had 1 polyester ply.....so that's the only thing left holding the tread to the rim, once the outer rubber deteriorates as shown. Unsafe at any speed, what are the tire's speed and heat ratings ? Don't let the tires kill you !!!

Price out 4 new equivalent Michelin tires and tell them that you want a 50% off discount....plus free mounting & balancing. End of story, no bite...then call your attorney to file a formal complaint !

closetprisoner

Today is Monday.. got a call from tire dealer this morning that he got authorization from Michelin and they will absorb the labor and other minor charges, except taxes.

Total cost replacement of 3 tires OTD is $218.. I'm ok with it, so will have them replace it sometime next week.

3.2tlc - I have the receipt from original install but Costco wouldn't warranty it, have to take it up with Michelin. Michelin told me that lots of shop will carry their product but they're not the authorize dealer. So no more Crackco.. lmao

Also, I don't drive this car much, although the tire was dated 1309 (13th week of 2009), I've only put about 25k miles since the installed, got too many car.. LOL.

Hey.. Thanks for all the inputs, guess I'll save the revamp pictorial ad. Thought I would post it on their FB if I didn't hear from them today.

SatinSilverAV6

iTrader: (2)

I am glad you posted this closetprisoner. My original Michelin Pilot MXM4 215-50-17 on my accord did the same thing. At 30K i had the same issue you did. I have never bought a michelin tire again. Any other Tire I have owned has never done that.

3.2TLc

Bravo !!!! Way to go Closetprisoner...ya held your ground and it paid off. David beat Goliath !!!

Many times the unwary customer gets the short end of the stick and shuffled off to the side. But, when it comes to you and your family's safety and wellbeing, sometimes you have to fight the big guys.

I've been to many classic car shows where sometimes the tires are over 20 years old and have never seen anything that appeared as bad as your Michelin's. Had they been neglected or run low in air, then that's another situation, but anyways.... thanks for the enlightening outcome !!!

closetprisoner

Got all 4 tires replaced instead of 3..!

Went the Michelin authorized dealer and they only got 2 of the exact match and the guy said since i made the trip down, said he got 4 of same model but just H rated instead of V rated (as my original) and instead of me coming back he ask me if I'm willing to replace with the H rated one... of course I said yes.

Dman00tl

I had the same issue with my Michelin's. I got a flat in one tire, and it had the same thing, sidewall cracks. Brought it to Costco, they said the same thing, that it was "normal". So, I just went all out and bought Bridgestone Potenza tires. I love them, never would by a Michelin again.

nj2pa2nc

Had bridgetone potenza tires on one of our vehicles. They developed the sidewall cracks with less than 25k miles on them. They were terrible.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

4 year old tires....SMH!!!!

TLtrigirl caught it!!
if I was the person warranting your tires, i'd question the born date as well.
tires do get old, ya know.


thanks for cheating the system and making it harder for us good folk

nj2pa2nc

additional: thanks to the bridgetone tires that were prone to getting flat-I became a expert on changing tires.

tennysonb

I have seen cracks like that on tires but the tires were old and stored away for a while. My brother informed me that the cracks were due to dry rot. The tires in this case were not Michelins. At that time I replaced all 4 tires with new ones. I would replace the tires for my own safety and continue to fight the battle with Michelin.