Tires: worn tires., michelin tires, hyundai entourage

Question
Hi Barry,  
 I purchased a 2007 Hyundai Entourage which had Michelin tires on it.  I went to get the vehicle inspected 12 months later and was told the vehicle could not pass because I needed 4 new tires.  I only had 19,000 miles on the car.  I went back to Hyundai and they told me it was not their problem and I had to go to Michelin.  I did that.  Michelin told me they could not help.  I argued with Hyundai and they said they would buy 1 tire and I had to buy 3, which I did.  I told them I wanted a tire that was going to last.  They gave me a Bridgestone Dula.  These tires had a warrantee for 60,000 miles.  It is now 10 months later and I need again 4 new tires.  These tires have been rotated and I again only went 19,000 miles on them.  Hyundai said they are not responsible for the tires and Bridgestone said that Hyundai is responsible because they were bought after market.  Barry could you tell me if you know who is responsible and what could be wrong with these tires.  In 2 years I have to put 8 tires on this car.  This does not seen right or fair.  Thanks for your help.  Rich.

Answer
Rich,

There are a couple of things you need to be aware of:

1)  When a vehicle manufacturer specifies a tire for a vehicle, he also specifies what the tire is supposed to do.  He specifies things like dry traction, wet traction, snow traction, ride quality, cornering power, and rolling resistance.  Rolling resistance, traction and wear are 3 properties that are mutually exclusive.  In other words, to get good values for one, the other values have to be sacrificed (or both).  This is why Original Equipment (OE tires) have frequent complaints about wear or traction.

2) The vehicle manufacturer purchases the tires from the tire manufacturer with a bare bones warranty.  In other words, the tires are NOT purchased with the added warranty for mileage.

However, in order to sell tires in the replacement market (through a tire dealer), the tire manufacturer is almost required to provide a mileage warranty to get the retailer to sell them.  This becomes a matter of statistics - a certain percentage of the tires will not make the mileage warranty and that is built into the price the the tires sell for by the tire dealer.

So the Hyundai dealer did something outside the warranty for the first set of tires - and that's a done deal.

However, you purchased 3 different tires - and these would be covered by the mileage warranty. (Keep in mind, the 4th tire was purchased by the vehicle dealer.)

But it appears there is either something in the vehicle that is causing the tires to wear rapidly - OR - there is something about the way you drive or where you drive or the routes you take , that is causing the wear.

In either event, the 2nd set of tires would be covered by a mileage warranty.  But get the mileage warranty enforce, you need to 1)  have a receipt showing you purchased the tires (in this case the receipt should show 4 tires purchased with perhaps a discount on the 4th),  2)  a receipt showing the odometer reading when the tires were applied,  3)  the tires have to be worn evenly  (no alignment wear, irregular wear etc.), and the tires have to be worn down to the wear bars (2/32nds of an inch)

#1 and #2 are pretty straight forward.  Without that bit of documentation, it's hard to pinpoint what happened when - and anyone doing a mileage warranty on a tire is going to need this documentation to be reimbursed by the tire manufacturer.

#3 is a bit more tricky.  Uneven wear points to an alignment condition of some sort.  The tricky part is that while there are alignment specs, tolerances are pretty wide - too wide to insure good tire wear.  This is one of those things involving the amount the vehicle is off the target value - a little isn't great, but a lot is bad!.  But a vehicle can have its alignment knocked out by simply hitting a pothole, so it's difficult to argue with either the tire dealer or the vehicle dealer if you have unevenly worn tires.

#4 is just a matter of when the warranty comes into effect.  Normally tires that are close to being worn out (3 or 4 /32nds as opposed the fully worn 2/32nds) can be adjusted for mileage.  But if the tires are 5 or 6/32nds, the tire manufacturer is within his rights to say the tires are not yet worn enough to qualify for the provisions of the mileage warranty.

So you need to get a copy of the warranty on the tires (B/S might have a copy on line) and call B/S's 800 number.  Explain your situation to them.  They will probably send you to a tire dealer - where you should present the purchase receipts.  Be aware that the tire dealer may point to items #3 and #4.  If he points to item #3 - uneven wear - then you are out of luck.  If he points to #4, then continue to drive on the tires until you get to 3 or 4/32nds (or whatever he says the number should be for the warranty to kick in.

Also be aware that they may say that only 3 out of the 4 tires are covered by the warranty (because YOU only purchased 3 out of the 4 tires).  That is reasonable and you shouldn't argue that point.  Be factual and firm.  The more calm and matter of fact you are, the more likely your arguments will be heard.

Good Luck.