Michelin tires with sidewall cracking...

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SHO U UP

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Has anyone had any problems or concerns with their Michelin Primacy tires on the new SHOs? I was looking at mine Saturday and the rear driver side is the worse of the bunch. In between the treads are surface cracks, some more prominent than others. The car rarely sees rain and stays in my garage. I could see if the tires had alot of miles on them but I only have 9,000 on the odo. I need to post pics up on here. My dealer said to just keep an eye on them as it passed inspection yesterday. Pics will be coming when I get some good shots.
 

cavalier

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I have had this issue. Didnt notice it until 12,500miles and 13 months. All 4 tires were cracked like spiderwebs from bead to tread big enough to stick my finger nail in. Took it to dealer and got run around for a week, kept wanting me to drive it to the dealer so someone else could look at it. Finally got fed up after the 3rd request when they told me on the phone that they had to see it again but even then the best they could do was 60% of the replacement cost, since it was over the 12k/12month full replacement warenty. Took it Discount Tire, got 65% and only had to show up once for them to figure that out. Still seemed like crap that best I could get was 65% proration on a 60k mile tire with only 13k. Anyway, replaced those and 3k miles later they were cracking where the sidewall meets the tread. I took it back to Discount. Michellin refused to put a differnet brand on it, so they ordered in another set and put them on the next day. Now 2500 miles later I notice cracks are starting again. Will keep eye on it for another 500 and go get another set. Discount said they were going to push to get a tire credit so we can try a different tire. Not sure what else to get. Yokohamas maybe. I am really starting to think that the SHO is just too heavy and corners too hard for these tires and they are just getting torn apart. I dont drive it that hard... but I dont baby it either.. Altho I am glad to see someone else reporting this issue. I notice your post was in Dec 2010? What have you experienced since then? Wishing I would ahve caught mine at 9k like you the first time... woudl ahve saved me $500.
 

sperold

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In all my years of driving, I have only had a "blow-out" on 2 tires: one was the notorious Firestone 500s, and the other was a Michelin.
Most people love the Michelins..... I avoid them.
 

mjhpadi

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In all my years of driving, I have only had a "blow-out" on 2 tires: one was the notorious Firestone 500s, and the other was a Michelin.
Most people love the Michelins..... I avoid them.

I'm with you, they refused to support their tires when I had a problem so I really try to avoid Michelins at all costs, they have terrible customer support. I have found that Michelin has so much business they really don't care about losing a customer or defective product.
 

sperold

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I don't care how many babies they show playing inside their tires, it won't sway my opinion on them.
As for their customer service: I think they hire retired French waiters who are used to sniffing at their customers, when they ask for service.
 
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I work for Discount tire company here in Charlotte, NC . Look on the Sidewall of the Tire, the number to pay attention to is the DOT number. If the tire is older than 5 years, Discount tire company will make you pay for new tires, if its less than that, we will certificate one out, which means we will basically give you a trade in value on the tires for new ones.

Sidewall cracking or separation is very unusual from Michelin's, pretty sure Discount Tire can help you out in getting something on them if your interested in something new.

If you have anymore questions contact me and I will attempt to help you out.
 

-DVP-

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Ive seen it a few times on Michelins. Call Michelin. At 9,000 miles, with a manufacturer defect I bet you can get them to take care of you. You can also try working with a local Michelin dealer and have them adjusted out for new ones. They get to move units, you get to save money. Win Win for both of you.

A week or two ago we had a customer call Goodyear after we told him he needed 2 new tires on the USED (2009-10) car he just bought. They worked out a deal with him because of the mileage "he" got out of them.

I hope Im not wasting my time again in here trying to help people save money...
 
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Showgun

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SHOstopper mentions this in his post above and it's so important:

Watch for what he calls the "DOT#".
No matter what tire you choose, one must buy the newest possible tire available and that date stamp will give you its production date.

That at least is a good place to start.

For those unfamiliar with this #: it's a 4 digit number denoting the week and year of its production.
 
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somedude_001

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yes the DOT number has 3 sets of 4 digit numbers. the last set of numbers is the week and year of production. so if the last 4 numbers reads 2310 that tire was made week 23 year 2010.
 

RonPorter

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Once you get the mfr date off the tires, I would compare that to the mfr date of your car.

If it were me, I would be paying the dealer another visit if the tires were more than a year older than the car........
 

Phoenix

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Its common for michelins , they get sunburned and they crack.

The compound on them is so hard , its not surprising.

They are only good in the LT truck size , for cars I try to stay the F away from them...My fusion '10 came with them as well , and they are noisy and hard as a brick.
 

-DVP-

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Its common for michelins , they get sunburned and they crack.

The compound on them is so hard , its not surprising.

They are only good in the LT truck size , for cars I try to stay the F away from them...My fusion '10 came with them as well , and they are noisy and hard as a brick.

People love the mileage they get out of them. I hate everything about the passenger tires.
 

RonPorter

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Its common for michelins , they get sunburned and they crack.

The compound on them is so hard , its not surprising.

They are only good in the LT truck size , for cars I try to stay the F away from them...My fusion '10 came with them as well , and they are noisy and hard as a brick.

I don't much care for Michelins, either.

The only decent ones are the Sport Cup-type tires.

And there are tires that cost $100 less that are better than those.
 

itguy08

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I've got them too on all 4's. At 27k I'm way out of any warranty period so I'll just keep an eye on them and run them until they pop or wear out.

I am surprised as I had Primacy's on my G35 and they held up quite well - I think I had about 30k or so on them when I got rid of the G.
 

SHO U UP

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Well, got the car back from the dealer Monday afternoon. I also had them note a few other small concerns that I'll mention in a sec. The guy who did my alignment said the tires were fine and it was caused by tire shine, not to worry. Only two of mine are really noticeably bad, one on each side of the car.

The tires were built in 2009 IIRC. Dealer wouldn't do anything about it. I've been in the tire business for over 10 years and can't believe the tires aren't covered. Even my Michelin dealer for my shop said Ford should cover it. Oh well, not going to buy them again.

My chrome on my window trim is peeling at the base of the window, passenger side worse than driver side. And the steering wheel is starting to peel in sections. The latter two I'm not too concerned about right now, but just wanted to make a note of it while I had a warranty. Guess I'll rock the tires for a little bit longer then look into replacements in the future.
 

Showgun

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Well, got the car back from the dealer Monday afternoon. I also had them note a few other small concerns that I'll mention in a sec. The guy who did my alignment said the tires were fine and it was caused by tire shine, not to worry. Only two of mine are really noticeably bad, one on each side of the car.

The tires were built in 2009 IIRC. Dealer wouldn't do anything about it. I've been in the tire business for over 10 years and can't believe the tires aren't covered. Even my Michelin dealer for my shop said Ford should cover it. Oh well, not going to buy them again.

My chrome on my window trim is peeling at the base of the window, passenger side worse than driver side. And the steering wheel is starting to peel in sections. The latter two I'm not too concerned about right now, but just wanted to make a note of it while I had a warranty. Guess I'll rock the tires for a little bit longer then look into replacements in the future.

Looks like Michelin has backed away from replacement because they don't think it's a safety thing.
Esthetically, tho, it looks like sh*t, and I wouldn't be happy either.:mad: (and I wouldn't be too sure about the safety factor either.)

I'm also a little bit surprised that the dealer/Ford doesn't go to bat more for the customer too.

Looks like what the guys are saying is true: Michelin isn't very helpful in this situation.
Makes them look bad and a brand to stay away from.

Sorry for your problems -- We've all benefited from this issue.

Mark (mjhpadi) -- you're right! --
I won't expect much out of mine --- and when it comes to replacement, I'll avoid Michelin like the plague.:frown:

cliffs: F-Michelin.
 
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nynd

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Just checked my tires and I came across what looks like a cut from on the top edge down a 1cm of the sidewall. Its the rear passenger tire.... damn!
 

Showgun

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Just checked my tires and I came across what looks like a cut from on the top edge down a 1cm of the sidewall. Its the rear passenger tire.... damn!

Yikes. Watch that one. It could be more of a safety issue. Better have Michelin look at it and hopefully you'll have better luck than **** altho that's probably road hazzard and unless you have coverage on the OEM's -- you'll be SOL too.

Good luck anyway. Go rattle Michelin's chain .

Tell 'em all your friends on SHOForum are watching the thread closely. Who knows, it might make a difference, tho I wouldn't hold your breath too long.

Keep us up on what they say.


BTW, where in ON are you?

C.
 
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