raghav

The acura TSX comes stock with Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 225/50/R17 93V tires.
These tires have had quite a lot of problems with their sidewall being very susceptible to "cracking". If you google the tire, you will see how bad the ratings are for it.

The point is:
1) These tires do not come with any road Hazard or warranty on them.
These cost $200 bucks a piece to replace.

I had to replace the driver's side Front Tire due to a "Road Hazard" sidewall tear, which the service reps state to being the result of a pothole.
To think.......the tire has only 1500 miles on it. The car was used mostly for Office Commute within San Jose.
No Nails....No spirited driving Nothing.......

Makes me think.....if these substandard tires keep busting out as indicated in the online forums, then this is another great.......caveat to the Acura Experience........(pinging/rattle, Rear Camera blacking out sometimes...)

I intend to pursue the Manufacturer's warranty, but i know Michelin & their authorized retailers are very quick in calling this a "road hazard".

Any ideas, suggestions or if anyone has faced the same problem with the stock Michelins.
I had the tire replaced at Costco for $192 and the tire comes with a "road hazard" warranty.

This is a 2009 Acura TSX Black with Nav/Tech Pkg with 1600 miles on it; Less than 2 months purchase.

iTimmy

Sounds more like bad luck then a faulty tire

NorCal09TSX

I had the exact same thing happen to me last weekend. I hit a pothole on highway 92 east at the 800 interchange (a lot of construction around there). I was maybe going about 50 mph, as i was slowing for the on-ramp to 880. Next thing I saw was the tire light go one and the TPMS alert showing the front driver wheel was flat. I had to buy a replacement at Costco in South SF for about $195. I called my service rep at Acura of Serramonte and they told me that i was pretty much SOL since it's road hazard. At least there is road hazard warranty on the one tire form Costco (included in the price of the tire).

raghav

Could be....but its the aspect that the tire's poor ratings can end up increasing ownership costs within the initial years.

soon4tsx

How many of you really run at the recommended tire pressure of 33 psi?

I run 38 psi Front and 34 psi Rear, measured COLD, in my garage.
Gets better gas mileage and more protection for "pot holes".

nj2pa2nc

I keep the tire pressure at the recommended tire pressure. I get the tires rotated and balanced every 6,000 miles. Had the tires measured for wear a few weeks ago-all tires were 4/32. Still have the original OEM tires with just over 70,000 miles on them.

raghav

Yep! Mine was the sunday before President's day. Was headed down on 87 Guadaloupe to Valley Fair. Lost pressure gradually. Did yours go flat due to a tear at the sidewall? i have to take it to my dealer Autowest Acura at Stevens creek as i had changed it at Costco.

Maybe if both our tires have the same characteristic tear, we can put on a common michelin case.

Quite frustrating......

raghav

Maintain them at 33 psi. Tried experimenting with higher pressure and the car got quite bumpy. So sticking with 33 for now.

raghav

Touche!

NorCal09TSX

The tear was in the sidewall, I took it to a Big-O and they pointed out where the tear/hole was. I don't have the tire any longer, I just had Costco dispose of it. Trying to file a warranty claim through Acura or Michelin it going to be a fruitless effort in my mind since they are easily going to dismiss it as road hazard. Moreover, I don't have the time to go through all that. Good luck with you case.

SSFTSX

TSX tires are available at $150 a piece at tirerack. Every one should stock on extra at home. 225 size is cheaper than 215. May 225 is used in more cars so more production.

nj2pa2nc

Tires are not warrantied by the dealer- you have to go to a authorized Michelin dealer. According to the tire warranty book it says road hazard is not covered. On a previous car I owned while driving I drove over a sharp metal object in the road (unavoidable) with damaged the tire. I bought it back to a authorized Michelin dealer. They replaced it-no problem as it had very few miles on it.

26Shaun

I noticed on the TSX that I test drove (I got a 3-day test drive with the demo actually) that I really did not like the stock Michelin tires. They are bouncy and unresponsive and don't offer much feel to the road. I decided to go for the accessory 18" wheels and had Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position tires put on and I'll tell you it's a world of a difference in how the car drives. There is still a bit of numbness with the steering compared to my 05 TSX, but different tires change the driving dynamics of this car tremendously. If anything, upgrade to a larger rim so you have an excuse to switch tires.

One caveat with the Bridgestone's though... they flat spot after sitting for a few hours. Other than that, they are great.

MrTee12

When I purchased my TSX. I paid for a warranty that covered the cost of my tires for 4yrs/50,000 miles. I pay $10 a month.

I got 2 of my tires replaced 3 weeks ago when I hit a pothole. The tires cost $379 total. The warranty covered everything.

litesout

I've heard good things about those Pole Positions, and I'm thinking about getting a set when it is time to replace the OEM Michelins. I had a set of Cooper Zeons on my last car, and they got the flat spots when they sat for a few hours too. Especially annoying on those cold mornings when the flat spots were a bit bigger and the tires were a bit harder. But within a few miles they were smooth again.

tsxcisa

you might look at the michelin pilot sport a/s plus or bridgestone turanza serenity also (both look to be pretty decent tires)

Miamicarfan

Does anyone know if these tires have the exact tire size as previous Acura TSX models from 2004-2008 had? (Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 225/50/R17 93V)

miner

My 2008 has this size. I think my '06 had 215/50/R17.

nj2pa2nc

I just looked at the oem Michelin tires on my 06-you are correct- they are P215/50 R17 93V.

Zoopa

I had a bulge in the driver-front sidewall. Went to Sears for warranty claim, Michelin paid 40% of the replacement and labor. While I was happy to get only pay 60%, it was still North of $120.

It is pretty telling of Michelin when the dealer advised me to install Falken tires instead. I used to have the Falken Ziex 512 on my other car, and I can swear by them in terms of low noise and wet/dry traction, which I can't say about the Michelins ("these tires are loud", "what did you say?").

More recently, I replaced the Falkens with General Altimax HP, and these are awesome too. The company is owned by Continental, so their QA/QC is really high. These may be better than my old Falkens, but they don't have a rim protector (neither do the Michellins) and they're only average in the snow.

deepen03

yea these stock michelin tires are crap, acura should be disgraced for putting these on the tsx. i have had so many problems with these tires for the past four years. from 2006-2008, i had two of them pop with bubbles and got news ones and countless punctures and flats.

its not just bad luck, the reviews for these tires are terrible on many sites.

for the high price and very low treadwear rating, the specs for these tires are horrible when compared to other much cheaper tires.

i am finally looking to change my tires this month or by summer atleast.

nj2pa2nc

We must be one of the very few lucky ones with these so-called crap tires. We drive on types of roads in all kinds of weather. The original tires now have 73,000+ miles. We are leaving on our annual cross-country roadtrip early Saturday morning, the 25th (NC north to Madison, WI west to Seattle, WA south to San Francisco, CA and then east home.

mercman

I just closed the deal on an 09 TSX and I am a bit concerned about the tire problems (pot hole = side wall). My current TSX has 44k and the tires are still in good shape thanks to rotation and upkeep but they are showing their age in reduced traction especially wet. The roads here are in dismal shape and I am considering the tire and rim insurance offered by the dealer. It is $300 and will cover the rims and tires from road hazard damage. I’m not big on dealer add-ons but this one might pay for itself if the tires are as bad as it looks.

Anybody have this coverage?

Jeff

vollum

Check with tire chain stores in your area that carry Michelin to see if you can buy a road hazzard protection plan from them. I lived in Minnesota when I first got my TSX. Got a screw in a tire within the first month. Tires Plus sold me a road hazzard protection plan for $12.50 per tire...$50 for all four.

mercman

That is a good idea; My 06 has 45K with no road hazard problems, not even a nail! That is just plan luck because my last car picked up so many nails that I started plugging them myself. My real concern is pot holes and sidewalls, my last two cars hit pot holes so deep that both the tire and rim were toast.

Thanks
Jeff

hondatourer

Yokohama tyres on the UK Accord

marts230

I had the same thing happen, one tire had 1700 miles on it, a Michelin dealer in Vermont said it was defective and replaced it, I noticed it on the other front tire today, same problem, as if it was cut with "W" patern, and only 7300 miles on the tire, I think there was a defective batch. I plan to file a complaint with the federal Government, regarding the safety or lack of safety of these tires.

lightjak_tsx

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

It's pretty unanimous. The OEM tires are horrible.

CU2MIKE

actually, i had 32k miles before i got new rims and tires. the oem held up just fine in everyday LA driving (potholes and all).
tire shop said i should be able to get another 18k miles out of them if i decide to throw them back on.

tcwatkins

That's great. I went about 60,000 on my stock tires (2005 Acura) and only had two flats due to nails. (Damn contruction in my area!) Instead of using the same tires I went for a set of Michelin Primacy MXV4 after reading what others here were buying and the ratings at tirerack. I told the dealer I wanted this non-OEM tire and he quoted me a price about 30% higher than the tirerack. I said I'd buy them else where. He asked the price, I told him, he said they couldn't match it but later that day he called and said the tire wholeseller agreed to cut a deal so I could have the tires installed at the dealer for the lower price.

Not sure who actually cut the deal but the tires are smoother and quieter than the OEMs were. And much much quieter on concrete grooved roads. Very little hum. I wish I had changed the tires the day I bought the car.

Bart50

I must be one of the only people that likes the Pilot HX MXM4 tires haha.

Before I got my TSX, I had a 2002 RSX Type-S that also came with the Pilot HX MXM4 tires. When those tires on the RSX were ready to be replaced, I was determined to find a better tire. A friend of mine, who also had an RSX, had purchased these Yokohama tires (I wish I could remember the model of them) and he swore by them. He said that a lot of other RSX owners on another RSX fan site recommended them.

Listening to my friend, I got myself these Yokohama tires and they seemed okay, though not obviously better than the Michelins. Not more than 1 month later, Consumer Reports did a review on performance all-season tires. Can you guess what the number 1 tire was? Yep, the Michelin Pilot HX MXM4. The #2 tire? The Yokohamas.

Oh well.

My take on it is the OEM tires are great all-season tires. If you want better performance, you probably need to give up on other factors like ride quality, tread wear, wet traction, snow traction, etc.

nj2pa2nc

Make that 2. I now have yokohama avis v-s tires and not impressed with them. Very noisy, lose traction on wet roads, and gas mileage went down

frescagod

i don't mind the stock michelins either...they're not SUPER loud like some people are saying. wet traction isn't awesome but i have never felt unsafe going 70 mph in moderate rain. dry traction is good enough for a Euro Accord.

are they worth the price? probably not. i have also heard good things about the bridgestone potenza pole positions. i ran stock RE050s on my S2000 and they were great, although they wore out after 20k miles.

as for the potholes...don't hit them? i am always 100% aware of potholes coming up and i will literally swerve/drive around them (within reason, given the cars that are around me).

jctsxguy

Looks like I am in the position of having to resurrect another old thread . I have 2011 tsx with about 33,000 miles. I just went to the dealer to get 30,000 miles service done which was to include the rotation. However the service rep said that the tires were on their way out an I would probably need a new set by winter (2015) and so they didn't even bother doing the rotation.

I have had the car for a year now and when i got the car it had about 20,500 miles. My commutes is about 7 miles (each way) in stop and go traffic traffic here in NYC metro area. Is it really possible the tires are done at this stage? I mean they looked fine to me however I am not sure if I know how to look.

ulrblitzer

<p>OEM tires are notoriously bad. I have yet to get a car where I liked the OEM stockies or had aftermarket&nbsp;tires where they met the life of the warranty (Some have gone way over, some didn't even make it to&nbsp;the advertised mileage. It's all on your driving style and roads).</p><p>Anything less than 5/32&quot; and I wouldn't want to drive thru winter. That's my opinion and comfort level here in MN. You can measure with a tire tread gauge, grab a quarter and flop washington's head into the tread, or look for the visible tread wear indicators.</p>

VR1

My tires wore out at 24,000. I am getting new ones next weekend.

rawger

Lol, you must be hooning around too much.

I'm surprised, I bought mine used and it's at 46,000 miles right now with the stocks. They'll be needing changing soon though, but seems like they lasted their lifespan.

xtcnrice

<p>No useful input here about mileage and when to switch them out, but to comment on what ulrblitzer said, these OEM tires in particular are far worse than anything else I've ever driven on. They are bad when wet, they are bad when there's snow, and they're just okay when dry. Only real positive here is the road noise; there isn't much at all. If they're really on their way out, my suggestion is to do a bit of research and get a better set of tires. These OEM Michelins are not cheap, and they suck plenty. Probably the complete opposite of bang for the buck.</p><p>Good luck OP, keep us posted. Hope your tires aren't close to shot, but at the same time it'd be a great opportunity to upgrade.</p>

kixo

The OEM tires are grand touring all season 300 AA, so don't have the longest treadwear life compared to other tires on the market. They are a compromise between ride, fuel economy, sporty handling, and longevity. But Acura could have chose a lot worse for OEM spec.

After four years and 43k, my tires are at 6/32. Not bad, and I will replace at 4/32 as I drive in temperate Northern California (no snow conditions). Looking at the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3, which is less expensive than the OEMs. Anyone have comments on these?