Vicman17

I mounted my winter use tires (03 Accord 16" rims with stock Michelins) on my Type-S. The Stock 17s were a bit dirty so I washed them after mounting the 16s.

I noted a bulge on the sidewall of the RF tire and called the dealer service ASAP to ask if there was any warranty covering the tire. He was very helpful but indicated that I'm SOL because Michelin does not warranty any damage to sidewalls, only the treaded area.

The stock tires have 10,000 kms (7,000 miles) and since I baby the car and watch where I park, I could not recall any event where I may have damaged that tire. Haven't hit any curbs or potholes either. Might this be a defective tire?

The stock 17s were quoted at $273.00 Canadian per tire and not necessarily cheap. I won't be using the 17s until spring but I was wondering if anybody had any ideas or experiences with such.

r10apple

99 times out of 100 it is indeed from smacking a curb--especially from a quality maker like Michelin. It can be a defect, but that is really rare...

Southern

99 times out of 100 in Chicago it is from hitting a pothole. The stock 17" tires have a narrower side wall which makes them more prone to damage from potholes. I had a similar experience on 16" tires from another car and the tire dealer said it was most likely from hitting a sharp object (pothole or curb). It is not safe to drive with a bulge in the sidewall nor can it be repaired. I buy my tires from Discount Tire which offers a tire replacement certificate which covers bulges in sidewalls (but not rims).

njtls

pull the tire form the rim and have someone look at it

Lawaia

Do a search. Others have had the same problem.

tdent1138

My dad had the same issue (bulge in the side of the tire) on his Cherokee and when he took it in to have it looked at (they were newish tires) he was told that - No, that it was fine... In fact that's the highest strength part of the tire!

Funny stuff!

Tad

shimbo519

perfect time to ditch the crappy michelins and get a different brand

Vicman17

The Service tech right on the phone said "Michelin doesn't warranty sidewall damage because you hit a curb or a pothole" He didn't even listen to my explanation(never said I hit a curb/ pothole) and was "no, no, no you have to buy a new tire, that one is no longer usable".

I e-mailed Michelin and stated my case. I had a reply back :

"Thank you for visiting our Web site and sending us your e-mail.

The Michelin Limited Warranty covers defects in workmanship or material for the
life of the tread or six years whichever comes first.

We would recommend taking your 2003 Acura TL S to an authorized Michelin dealer
to inspect your tire for warranty eligibility.

You can locate an authorized Michelin dealer in the yellow pages of your
telephone book under tire dealers.

If you have additional questions, please respond to this email
or you may call us at 1-800-847-3435 (toll-free) between
8:30AM and 6:00PM Eastern Time Monday through Friday to allow
one of our Consumer Relations Representatives to assist you.

Michelin North America
Consumer Relations Department"

Went to 4 different Michelin tire dealers (Active Green and Ross) showed them the e-mail and all said that according to their experience, Acura should have been extending warranty on the tire since the car has only 10,500 kms, didn't eben want to look at the tire.

I went to an Acura dealer close to my residence (Terrace Gate) and a service tech simply looked at the tire, asked me if I wanted a new one and arranged an appointment for me to have it done. This one stated that I had to pay the $280.00 for the tire but he will fill out a warranty claim form so I can get my money back.

Maybe Michelin should consider improving their product to have it ssuitable for city driving and Acura should know better than to deal with an inferior tire company.

Maybe we should start a petition on these defective factory stock Michelins, I know a lot of TL-S owners in this forum had a problem with the quality.

tdent1138

What is the average life everyone has been getting out of the stock Michelins? I got under 20,000 with no real hard driving for what its worth.

Tad