[VeyronSuperSprt]

Originally Posted by R2D2

A correction there: for tyres sold 3 years after date of manufacture, I quote:

"Where the tyres are sold 3 years after the manufacturing date, the warranty shall be for the life of the original usable tread pattern or 6 years from the date of manufacture, whichever comes first."

If it is a genuine manufacturing defect that indicates a serious manufacturing problem, Michelin will replace the tyre regardless of the warranty clause indicated above.

The operative word here is "genuine".

My assessment of the above tyres is that the cracks have been caused either on account of under inflation and or on account of improper storage for 3 years by the dealer. In both cases Michelin will not honour warranty.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by VeyronSuperSprt

If it is a genuine manufacturing defect that indicates a serious manufacturing problem, Michelin will replace the tyre regardless of the warranty clause indicated above.

The operative word here is "genuine".

Believe it or not, Michelin is known to turn down warranty claims if they are against their replacement policies. So, I don't believe they will honour a claim made on 5-6 year old tyres no matter how serious the defect.

My assessment of the above tyres is that the cracks have been caused either on account of under inflation and or on account of improper storage for 3 years by the dealer. In both cases Michelin will not honour warranty.

That's my assessment too based on my personal experience. 2 of the Primacy LCs on my car developed very small cracks near the tread on the sidewall. I could have used them for several months more. But a tyre guy I know (not the one I bought the new set from) advised me to replace them knowing I use this car on high speed highway trips with the family. Regardless, spending ~30-31K for 5 tyres is worth the peace of mind. I never compromise on safety.

The Primacy 3 STs are made of an ever so slightly harder compound than the Primacy 3 LCs which makes me believe the STs will be more prone to developing cracks.

[supertinu]

Since you mentioned that the car is used regularly and not left parked for long periods of time, i would suspect that this is manufacturing quality related issue cause ideally this shouldn't happen to a high quality tire from Michelin. I am not an expert but I have 3 data points that might help.

• I have used Xm1+ on my old Ikon for about 3-4 yrs and did only 17K km in that period. Car had limited running but again would not be left standing for more than a week ever. End of it tires did look like new and no issues

• My Bil got XM1+ on his honda city along with me same time. Hes still got those running fine even after 70K km usage

• My father Santro had good years and were sparingly used. the car was stationery 6 months of the year. Those tires showed very similar damage as what you show in yours

I doubt Michelin will honor any warranty claims give the life but doesnt hurt to raise it to them

[prithm]

Originally Posted by parsh

The only reasoning would be weather effect, aging, standing still, even if for a 2-4 days at a stretch and a sudden burst of 30 kms on 5th day would still qualify for the same.

Are you sure this is the case with all tyres Parsh ?

Cause if it is, then its a serious opportunity to rethink keeping cars for weekend drives only.

[saket77]

I am not pushing for a warranty claim.
I am more concerned about the reason for a high quality set of tires failing before their expected life. What is haunting me is that the sidewalls of all 4 tires are in perfect condition- no cuts, no cracks at all. And I surely need to discuss this with Michelin to get their take on it. This is esp. important so as to decide my next set of wheels. Don't get me wrong, XM1+ were a great set of rubbers and I whole heartedly admire its performance on every aspect but life expectancy. If I don't get a satisfactory answer or a resolution, I may move to Bridgestones albeit with a heavy heart because much inferior and cheaper JK tires held better for longer under similar usage conditions (not talking of performance of course).

Here I must say that I'm totally calm and expecting only reasonable and realistic solutions.
Let us see what Michelin has to say about this when I meet the authorised dealer in the evening.

Regards.

[AbhiJ]

Your thread made me take a long hard look at my XM1+ of similar vintage. (I bought them March 2012.

They have run 55000 kms so far. No cracks at all.

Very strange.

[saket77]

Leaving the dealers place. He says there is nothing he can do. What disappoints me is that it is a 'chance' that some tires run 6+ years while some do not. One of his points implies that Michelin or any other tire are good enough for only 3 years. That turned me off.

[saket77]

To add to it, he says that these tires are safe enough and if I'm too much concerned then I can change front 2 tires. Obviously I do not buy his argument.

[littlebrother]

We have the habit of upgrading stock tyres to Michelin for most of our cars primarily for superior comfort and increasing the width hence getting better handling.

With my Nissan Micra which was upgraded to Michelin Primacy LC, probably one of the most expensive choice of the lot. The cars behaviour did improve a lot in terms of handling braking and comfort.

Michelin tyres seems to have a softer sidewall and with Micra its just run 40k kms over 4.5yrs and the treads looked like it could easily do another 20k kms but again just like here the sidewall started developing micro cracks. Got it checked at a tyre shop and they said nothing to worry. But recently while driving through a ghat section front right tyre failed randomly! When checked after removal there were cuts on inside sidewall with one tyre only. But I got all the tyre replaced even though I was advised to change just one.got 3500 Rs for the remaining three tyres and selected an option apart from the Michelins available . FALKEN Sincere 835

I'm finding every single penny spent on Falken(4300/- each) worth it over the softer side wall Primacy 3St which was quoted at 5900/- for the corresponding size.

Falken have improved braking and handling to a good extent and even the comfort. Felt much more sensible than investing a premium on top brands if you're primarily using your vehicle within city and occasional highway runs.

Falken also provide 2yr replacement warranty even for tyre cut damage!

[saket77]

I did not expect any replacement or warranty claim here but arguments and the attitude of the dealer has turned me off. His Top arguments are:
1. life of tires is 3 years, if any tire lasts for over 3 years then it is a 'chance'.
2. That these tires about which I am worried about are safe for driving.
3. XM1+ and XM2 are imported tires; and hence much superior. I believe XM2 are India manufactured and incidentally have better reputation than XM1+.

And how concerned is he about the issue can be judged by the fact that he personally did not even took a look at the car himself!! He sent a staff and the verdict of the staff was that it is a damage due to low running of the car. The major disappointment is that the dealer said that the tires are safe without even having a look at them despite my repeated requests.
Now the thing is that despite Michelin being a very good brand, I do not have the confidence to go for XM2. I am looking at other good tyres like Bridgestone Turanza AR20. Some tires from Apollo and Goodyear are offering unconditional warranty for 5 years.

For the time being, I would be needing inputs from all and would do some research to select my next set of tires.

[RGK]

Hi Saket

Generally these type of foreign brands come with 5 year warranty and all have soft rubbers (Conti, Bridgestone, Michellin etc.,). Developing deep fissures is a real question mark. JK served very well in my maruti for more than 5 years and my present Figo is on Good Year for the past 6 years and now I am planning to fit Conti this time.

Unfortunately the tyre age is not in your favour to take it up, but I personally feel there was some defect in the rubber.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by RGK

Unfortunately the tyre age is not in your favour to take it up, but I personally feel there was some defect in the rubber.

Incidentally BHPian Leoshashi, who accompanied me despite his own busy schedule also had the same feeling. Also what is strange that the sidewall of all tires are absolutely perfect. Not a single crack anywhere.
But now I've no option except to shift to other brands in market. The dealer experience has not helped at all.

[smarth.katyal]

I went through the entire thread. There is a particular trend i observed. The cars which have high odometer readings have had good experience with tyres(irrespective of the manufacturer). Cars having a lower mileage have pointed out some or the other problem with their tyres. I myself have noticed this on our cars. We got JK as stock tyres on my 2004 WagonR. Dad used to drive it everyday for around 90kms. Tyres lasted around 65k kms 4 years. We changed over to Bridgestones and then the car was sparingly used. Sometimes it used to sit for 2-4 days. In less than three years we had the rubber cracking on the threaded area and also parts of sidewalls. Warranty claim was rejected stating that it was because we hit some sharp object. We had a very bad experience, ended up replacing two of the tyres because of the same defect.
So what i mean to say is, the more you use it, the more long lasting the rubber becomes. The moment it starts to sit for more than 2 days at a stretch, the rubber becomes hard.

[dass]

Have you contacted the Manufacturer directly? Dealers WILL wash their hands off once the sale is made, there is no money to be made on inquiries. I suggest you send a mail to Michelin India with pictures and a link to this thread as well.

[Sree73]

If tyres are not used for longer duration, aging happens faster and compound becomes more hard and develop cracks. Also, the tyres are more than 5 years old. Nothing un natural in this case.