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Old 10-17-2012, 10:17 PM   #1
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My michelin tires (disgusted)

I purchased 6 new Michelin xza 295 80 22.5 about 3.5 years ago for my Monaco Motorhome. These tires where not cheap and are pretty close to around 800.00 a piece, 4800.00 total. I am up in the north east and I wouldn't consider my motorhome to have been in any extreme conditions over that period of time. The issue I am having is that the tires have lengthy cracking throughout the sidewalls and my concern is safety related.

I brought this up to the attention of Michelin customer care (the department which handles truck, rv, ect...) and expressed my concerns of how odd I felt this was for a set of tires of which a company hangs it's hat on safety and quality in the industry. I was told to bring my rv to an authorized dealer, and I did as they asked. That dealer was dave Stern Tires in Patterson NJ. This authorized dealer is a fairly large truck tire dealer/installer for many brands as well as Michelin. They where to look at the tires, inspect them, measure tread depth and descibe the issue in question. We where both in agreance that the tread depth was ample for a given rv over a 3.5 year period. I will also mention that the date code was 4 years on the tire and within Michelins warranty. What occured next pretty much blew me away. Dave Stern Inc. expressed to Michelin that the tires had "checking" and Michelin's decision was expressed to me by them saying that "we do not cover weather related issues that have caused the checking". I expressed to them that cracks that run 10-14 inches long without interuption seems quite a bit more than "checking". They where eager to discard/stonewall the issue and where not interested in listening to the truth of the matter, and closed the file. Disturbing and upsettng to say the least by a company such as this. I then wrote a letter to them which required a signature of acceptance. The letter expressed my concerns about safety and concerns about the short limited use of thier product which I would consider failed on all 6 tires. I have heard nothing back from them and expressed in the letter, in a nice way that I would express my story openly.
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Old 10-17-2012, 10:22 PM   #2
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Michelin goes by the depth of the cracks, not the number or length.

From Michelin:
Quote:
"If the cracks are less than 1/32" deep the tire is fine to run. Between 1/32" and 2/32" the tire is suspect and should be examined by your Michelin dealer. If the cracks are any deeper than 2/32" (1/16") the tire should be replaced immediately"
You didn't state any depth so we have no way to determine if they are bad or not.
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Old 10-17-2012, 10:29 PM   #3
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Mr_D no one here can determine good or bad...only opinions can be given....right?

so the depth of the cracks are a non issue with the OP's post

the OP's post was not a "help" for a judgement call of good or bad....it was a post showing his disgust with the tire manufacturer
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Old 10-17-2012, 11:10 PM   #4
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If you are a Good Sam Member, you might ask their Good Sam Action Line to get involved. I see in the Highways Mag that they do have some success on issues like this and I think it is because the companies do not want the bad press.
Just a thought.
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Old 10-17-2012, 11:14 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sc3283 View Post
so the depth of the cracks are a non issue with the OP's post
Actually the depth is THE issue!! The OP claims they are bad, the manufacturer asked him to have them inspected, he did and Michelin says they OK. Michelin goes by the depth of the cracks, not the number or length of them. Since the OP doesn't state the depth of the cracks we have no way of determining if his post is just "sour grapes" that they didn't see it his way and give him new tires or he actually has a valid complaint.
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Old 10-17-2012, 11:38 PM   #6
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Quote:
.it was a post showing his disgust with the tire manufacturer
so it is quite valid to express concern that the OP is refusing to accept an objective analysis of the problem and bagging a company and their products without good reason. If Michelin publish criteria for warranty issues that impinge on safety and the tyre condition doesn't fall outside those criteria, then where is the problem. If the customer is still not satisfied, I guess the next step would be to get an independant check of the cracks to see if the assessor agrees or not.
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Old 10-17-2012, 11:39 PM   #7
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sour grapes or sweet grapes...what does it matter????...it was a post of disgust...not a post asking for anyone's opinion or judgements.
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Old 10-18-2012, 01:37 AM   #8
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If it was Janet Stevens, she is a bean counter who said the tire that destroyed the right rear of my truck bed, claimed my tire was "Run Flat". Well of course is looked like that. I couldn't stop instantly. The second time, I had an accident reconstruction firm evaluate the tire and they said it was the tires fault. I used to buy nothing but Michelin tires, but never will again.



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Old 10-18-2012, 01:58 AM   #9
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i love to screw with jerks. 1) i'd get the east coast rep for michelon on audio explaining how they aren't going to help you and honor their waranty. ( use your cell phone) 2) find out who the east coast rep for goodyear is and explain that you have some junk tires, michelon, that the manufacture won't waranty and you would like to talk to him about why he thinks the tires went bad and what can goodyear can do for you. (again record on cell phone ) 3)find out who the east coast michelon reps. boss is and contact him. play him your recordings. calmly explain to him that you would like a brand new set of tires installed at no charge. (hope you didn't buy the rv tires, but the truck seris) if he laughs tell him you are going to contact ( here in so. calif we have elmer dill on chanel 9 news, i think that's how you spell his name, he loves to go after companies that screw customers over on tv) and that you are working with goodyear, drop reps name, offering your michelons for them to use if they want in a comerical or advertising along with your story. and you intend to get the tv reporter to do a follow up on how goodyear treats their customers. his choise
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Old 10-18-2012, 04:34 AM   #10
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I agree with TonyLee and Mr D, need to get someone not associated with Michelin to check the tires. If the "checking" exceeds their warranty standards, then there is ample reason to follow up with the Good Sam line, the BBB, or anyone else who will listen, including upper echelons of Michelin. Until that happens, while it feels to slam a company for not treating us nice, it is really a pissing contest between the owner and the company. Need to verify the complaint is valid. Just my opinion.
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Old 10-18-2012, 04:39 AM   #11
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Also, wonder if Andy had his tires covered for the 4 years he has had them. With a $5K investment, when it is known that sunlight will deteriorate a tire, I hope he has taken care of the investment with tire covers. After only 4 years, if they have been covered, I would be angry to if they were checked. My last set were almost 7 years old and looked brand new but had been covered almost all the time they were not rolling down the road.
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Old 10-18-2012, 05:01 AM   #12
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Michelin has a good reputation and they rely on that revenue to off-set the small loss of revenue from poor customer service. The 8 year old Goodyear G670 tires I took off did not have any checking at all.



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Old 10-18-2012, 05:38 AM   #13
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well a picture of a 10" weather crack on a tire would be appropriate right now.
I have 7yr old michelins and there are absolutely no flaws. I also store them with 110psi and keep them covered.
If I paid $800/tire... I would be sour too.
Also the tire shop is not your friend. If you made some calls and beat feet... you can find a shop in North Jersey that will be your advocate from a michelin warranty standpoint.
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Old 10-18-2012, 07:28 AM   #14
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My experience with my Michelin tires is different. I paid $ 3000.00 to put 6 LR-G tires on my F-450 pickup. I couldn't drive my truck in any kind of wet environment. I would be sliding all over the road. i remember at one occaision a traffic light turned red and I pressed the brakes a little harder than normal (not panic braking at all) and I went sideways. Multiple calls to Michelin resulted in "those are the recommended tires for your vehicle". Well $ 2500 later, I changed back to Continental Tires (which were original brand from Ford) and all was good again.

I will never own a set of Michelintires again.
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