Just read that dealer is replacing stocks with Michelins for vibration resolution. True?

 

Where did you read this??

 

acura8ly wrote in "50 mph vibration and ..." thread.

Is anyone else corroborating this?

 

AS POSTED ON "50 mph vibration and ..." thread.


Acur8ly:

"Ok i got the car back, the memory issue was not resolved. Even tho I got the car back without my memory settings. Good news about tires. Acura is replacing the Bridgestones with Michelins. I have to take the car back on Friday to get them installed."

 

Wah, you guys are fast, I think acur8ly doesn't have chance to open the new thread yet.

I was calling to Acura Clients services a moment ago, they didn't know anything about this yet... They agree there are SOME owners complaining about the vibration and tires, and they don't have anwers yet. (SOME=less than one thousand)

But I really hope this is some early-leaking news to all TLs.

 

I pick up my car tomorrow. I guess I should wait until then to call Acura Client Services to complain..........

 

The tires get installed on Friday, the dealer had to order them and I will post pics of the tires and what ever info i get from the service adviser when I get it on Friday

 

acur8ly: PLEASE give more details re: how you are getting your new shoes. Did you have to really twist your dealer's arm? Is he paying for them our of his pocket? Or are you getting them because Acura is paying him to get them for you.

We need details!!!

 

Ok the details i have. I didn't request the new tires. They were offered to me. They originally wanted to keep the car till the tires came in so they could do all the work at once. I have no idea about who is fitting the bill fot the tires. Like I said earlier I will give more details when i get them. Unfortunately all the paper work i got today is in the car. In the morning I will give all that info. Then on Friday I will let u guys know the rest.

 

Acur8ly,

OK, we all really appreciate the news!

Do you know which tire it is, is it the Pilot Sport A/S?

A quick search of the tire rack shows those as the only Mich all season in 235/45-17 with the proper speed rating.

At $199 a pop, those are a little spendy, I wonder if Bridgestone is footing the bill?

 

Can anyone have the definition of "flat spot" for me? Thanx.

 

Click below for your answer...

Flat Spotting

 

I find this rumour especially interesting as I'm a self-proclaimed "race geek"....the Honda Formula One factory team, BAR Honda uses Bridgestone tires on their F1 cars. Now, Honda/Acura dealers are replacing these Bridgestone tires with Michelins (Bridgestone's only competition in F1).

Very interesting indeed...

 

The paperwork I was given yesterday reads.

Steering wheel vibrates w/ driving
Customer to bring back to install (4) New Michelins

Thats what the service advisor wrote on the paper. I was in shock to hear that they would replace the tires even tho I didn't believe that they had anything to do with my vibration issues. I was in kind of a rush to get out of there yesterday so I didn't ask all the questions I should have. I have to call them after lunch to find out if the tires have arrived. I will find out what model they are and see if they will say if it was an Acura decision or just their own.
tripp11 This is my 3rd Acura 2 TL's and 1 Cls. The 96 Tl and the 01 Cls came with Michelins stock. I was surprised they used Bridgestones on the 04 Tl.

 

Well, this is the first Acura/Honda I've ever contemplated buying but it's good to know that a few years ago they were riding on Michelins - I did not know this.

Sounds like you're extremely pleased with Acura, though. Hopefully, this will be the first of many for me.

 

You know, now that I think about it, didn't BAR Honda end their contract with Bridgestone and now are signed with Michelin in the coming season?

Ok, now I have to research...

After researching, it does indeed appear BAR Honda ended their contract with Bridgestone and went with Michelin for the 2004 season.

I know, I know, this has little or nothing to do with what your average Honda or Acura comes equipped with...just interesting that's all.

 

Those Bridgestones especially the Potenzaa are horrible and its good that Acura is replacing them for you 04 owners. Those tires are crappy and have been known vibration issues with them on the 00-03 Maxima and 350, where mulitple complaints are going.

 

acur8ly,

Can you give us any further information on this. I just called the service manager of my Acura dealership in NJ, and doesn't know anything about it. He said that from the Acura IN website there is no news on this. Do you have a TSB number on this? Or some kind of offical Acura document that says this should be done? My service manager als said he spoke to his district manager and no news there also. My service manager is willing to do this for me as long as he can get proof from me. Can you give me the name of your dealer and the service manager there so that I can have my dealer call them.

 

jdimaria I have to contact my service advisor after lunch today to verify the tires are in. When I do that I will try to find all the info I can about this matter. Till then I have no further info. When I get the tires installed and i get my paper work I will be happy to scan it and post it for all to see. I think that would be proof enuff.

 

Thanks for all the info acur8ly

 

Ok,

I just called Acura Client services

(800) 382-2238

...to make my formal complaint about the tires. The guy on the phone was perfectly polite, but not very helpful. I told him I wasn't happy with the tires due to the vibration, and wanted to know what Acura was doing about it.

He told me they are aware of the issue and are looking into it, so that verifies that enough people are experiencing the problem to catch Acura's attention. After that he didn't say anything. He just told me my complaint was "noted" and I would be notified if Acura decided to do anything about it.

So, I suggest anyone who is having the problem call and make a complaint. The more they get the more likely they are to do something about it before people get upset enough to abandon their brand.

My issue is with the tires only, not the transmission, but call and let them know about whichever problem you are having, please.

Ryan

 

I know that this might sound crazy, but anything is possible:
Could it be that the dealer ordered new tires for you and didn't realize that there were Bridgestones on the car? He may have written Michelins, but he may have ordered a new set of Bridgestones!
Hey, I'm not saying that this is what happened, only a possibility.

Good Luck either way. . .

Eneg

 

Not possible. He specifically said they were having problems with the bridgestones, also that they were good tires but because of their low profile they are not the right tires for this car. He mentioned that the Michelins were tested. I dont know where he got his info. Check the other thread about the 50mph vibration.

 

Thanks.

 

I was calling to the same number on 12/10, and got the similar answer and they made notes into my VIN numbers. If more ppl can call to them, Acura may really work at those issues quickly.

 

I've already replaced my Turanzas with Pzero Nero M+S. I am still going to call Acura and complain so they have it on record and when they decide to officially replace tires, I will either ask them to swap the new ones for my Turanzas sitting in the garage or to reimburse me for what I have already spent. No doubt about it - the Turanzas SUCK!

Ryan

 

I insisted they replace the Turanzas with Blizzaks for the winter and they are also giving me another set of 17s with the HPTs or $500 off of cost for the 18s w/Yoko ES 100s (my likely choice).

Of course, that was related to my transmission replacement issues so others should not expect the same deal, but I thought I would mention it here in the context of the tire discussion for those who haven't been following the early build 6MT problems (do a search if that is news to you).

 

Ok the tires are in and the car is at the dealer. Apparently someone else is getting their tires replaced also. It is a Dealer decision not Acura to replace the tires. They are indeed going to be the Pilot sport A/S. They look great. I saw then sitting there just waiting to be installed.

 

Errr, dealer's decision... why our dealers won't do the similar stuff to us...

 

The dealer is going to give you $900 worth of tires?

It doesn't sound right.

Anyway those are great tires, enjoy.

 

Congrats, you are one of the lucky ones!

Acura customer care today said their "position" is that these are "high performance, low profile tires and that under certian conditions, the tires will flat spot"

Wow, they need to get their act together, different reps say different things, plus they need to take ownership of their tire selection that was specifically designed for the car.

 

That is such crap. A 45 aspect ratio, particularly with a 235 width is not all that low profile of a tire.

Not only that, there are a multitude of higher peformance, lower profile tires that don't flat spot under reasonable conditions (if you leave your car sitting long enough, such as putting a car away for the winter, just about any tire will flat spot).

 

Thus, everybody should call...

Acura Client services

(800) 382-2238

Calls from half of ppl here would make Acura consider their decision faster & better...

 

I agree it is crap, I never said I agreed with Acura.

The overall diameter of the 235/45-17's on the 04TL are the same as the OEM TL-S Tires from last year (215/50-17) both at 25.5" per bridgestone and micheln sites.

This means the side wall heights are exactly the same:

25.5 - 17 = 8.5" above and below the wheel, /2 = 4.25" between the road and the wheel. The only differnce is the extra 20mm (less than an inch) for the distance from rim lip to rim lip (235 vs 215mm) which creates a slightly wider tire (not quite an inch)

My point is that if the TL-s tires do not have this issue, why would a tire with the same sidewall hieght on the TL has this problem, it must be the tire construction.

Per the tirerack, they indicated that the cords used in the tires are what cause this, and the bridgestones use Nylon, where Mich uses polyamid cords which resist this flat spot issue.

So NO it is not the low profile, it is the tire!

 

I didn't mean to imply that you did. Glad we finally have a technical explanation for the poor performance of the Turanzas.

 

sorry, did not mean to get hot under the collar, the more I thought about it the madder I got at Acura

 

I agree with Chitown.

The dealer shelled out $900 twice to swap out EL42's.

Something smells fishy to me.

I'll bet they got district approval and told to keep it on the sly.

There is no way they are going to replace our EL42's nationwide with Michelin Pilot Sports (I could live to regret these words)

And if Bridgestone swaps us out I see the only alternative is the LS-Z's. Now is Bridgestone going to offer up their premium tire in this free of charge (I doubt it).

By the way Tirerack sales told me the LS-Z's are awesome. They are a completly different tire than the EL42. Even though it is the same name.

So I think what we are waiting for is the Bridgestone replacement tire whatever that is. This also may never be solved and Acura just take the stance flat spots are acceptable.

I'm going to Bridgestone tommorrow and see how much they will offer for my EL42's in exhange for LS-Z's. I'll keep you posted.

 

I am going to call tomorrow to complain about memory seats, rattles and vibration.

 

I see you points. Sounds pretty convincing.

Got ideas any cars currently using LS-Z??

 

Bridgestone makes good tires. Ask for a recommendation of a high performance street tire, and SO3s will be at the top of many folks' lists. Ask for a snow tire and many will say Blizzak.

Unfortunately, the Turanza EL42 is not one of them.

Bridgestone is of course the parent of Firestone.

Firestone also makes good tires, despite their recent PR problems. :wow: