[R2D2]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

People who know how to take care of tyres will never have a problem with Michelin.

Unfortunately most people tend to ignore the tyres (inflation pressure, balancing, regular inspection) till some problem manifests itself. Low tyre pressures are one of the main reasons why tyres and rims/alloy wheels get damaged when travelling over less than ideal roads so prevalent in India.
I experienced Michelin Certis on my Esteem and never had a problem for over 20k kms that I had the car post fitting the Michelins.

I also interacted with this dealer (Darshan tyres) in the past. Darshan tyres was helpful as was the BS rep in Pune in determining if one of my previous car's tyre, a BS Potenza RE88, could be replaced under warranty. It wasnt. I just had to go in for a new one.

I understand that Michelin are particularly stingy when it comes to warranty replacements? Is that true?

Cheers!

[WasavaTyres]

Originally Posted by starter

C'mon! Those tyres are just 2 months old !!

They could have been 2 days old and still got damaged if you didn't care for them. Look after your tyres and they'll look after you simple.

Originally Posted by starter

Is there a replacement only if there is a manufacturing defect ?

That's like asking will I get a new car only if I pay for it. Nobody's going to give you stuff for free my friend. The company will not replace a tyre just 'coz you think it's a manufacturing defect. But if there is a defect due to the company's fault they will replace your tyre after measuring the NSD (Non Skid Depth) which essentially is how much the tyre has been used/driven.


@ Zappo : There's no such thing as a 'bad lot' that comes into the retail market through the official route. All tyres that fail quality tests are shredded at the factory end itself. The 'company seconds' thing was limited to MRF / Ceat and IIRC only to thier nylon tyre range. That too they used to sell the tyres to dealers after the Company / Brand name had been buffed out by a hand grinder. Since I do not deal with either company I cannot say if the practice continues. The coincidence with Darshan tyres can only be attributed to the fact that he is a large volume dealer and sells more michelins than any other dealer in pune. He is a MPP ( Michelin Priority Partner) too if i rem well, so it's natural for most sales queries to be routed to him than to a regular dealer.

[starter]

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres

That's like asking will I get a new car only if I pay for it. Nobody's going to give you stuff for free my friend. The company will not replace a tyre just 'coz you think it's a manufacturing defect. But if there is a defect due to the company's fault they will replace your tyre after measuring the NSD (Non Skid Depth) which essentially is how much the tyre has been used/driven.

Dear WasavaTyres,
I really wanted to know when would one be able to claim a replacement under warranty. Thanks a lot for the information.
Cheers,
Deepak

[gemithomas]

Common Guys. What does "you should take care of your tyre" mean in this particular case. If i understand right these tyres are just 2 months old and should have done not more than 1.5k km in total before both tyres got damaged. I dont believe that the thread starter has taken this car for an off-road errand or jumped over dividers to evade traffic or run the tyre on ridiculously low air pressure (let him comment if he has).

Now if these brands expect that we need to get out and move every small stone on the indian roads before we can run these comfort oriented tyres i would rather buy a cheaper brand and do this (that way enjoy comfort at a much lesser price). Loosing TWO tyres out of FOUR in just under 1500km is just not acceptable. Dont really understand how anyone could think otherwise in this particular case.

I think this is a warning to people to stay away from mich's comfort range atleast. Else you be ready with someone to sweep the roads on front before you reach!!!


I would also like to know "what" exactly passes the "manufacturing Defect" Criteria for these brands? I thought budges and cracks were outcomes of some kind of defect in manufacturing / designing. If you guys say this is not considered as a defect then "what exactly is?" Hope its not something like the tyre would have to blast causing damage/death to driver/passenger/car and then you would have to prove that you you were at less than a particular speed, and that your speedo is accurate, and that the person/car is really dead/damaged and that there were no stones on the roads and that the tyres were "taken care of" and that the guy did not haveany intentions to burst the tyre and that...well seeing some comments here i wont be surprised if i am right!!!

[shuvc]

Don't tyres become harder over time?

When I switched to GSD2 F1's , I got a cut in the front right in the first week when it went sharply into a pothole at max 40kmph. Had to buy a replacement. (Dealer was somewhat sympathetic and gave me a discount). After that incident I used the GSD2's for 35k+ kms and I would not say I was easy on them. No issues whatsoever.

After that I switched to GSD3 F1s. I was careful for the first 1000 odd kms. This set has now covered 10k kms and has gone through numerous suspension-jarring potholes. No cuts/bulges.

My Q is : Are these tyres more susceptible to damage in the first couple of months?

[Sn1p3r]

I heard that Primacy LC was out of stock in India? Maybe I am wrong, but I think Michelin should have a transparent system of telling the end client what went wrong.

In my car too the sidewall got two cuts that Michelins did not honor the warranty. I was not too keen to pursue as it was monsoon and I thought I might have clipped the craters.

The only thing that bothered me was that no real test is available.

As others mentioned Michs are good tires and I like them. However, if they issue warranty cards least they should do is to test the tire at other places in vicinity to see what was wrong. Here the dealer just calls the shot and we pay for the new one :(

[WasavaTyres]

Originally Posted by shuvc

My Q is : Are these tyres more susceptible to damage in the first couple of months?

Nothing of the sort shuvc, they're as susceptible on the first day as they are through their life cycle. But with the F1's you don't have to lose sleep, they come with Goodyear's WFW (worry free warranty) which basically is an unconditional warranty on your tyres, cuts / bulges / run-flats. whatever the reason,you get a new tyre.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by gemithomas

Common Guys. What does "you should take care of your tyre" mean in this particular case. If i understand right these tyres are just 2 months old and should have done not more than 1.5k km in total before both tyres got damaged. I dont believe that the thread starter has taken this car for an off-road errand or jumped over dividers to evade traffic or run the tyre on ridiculously low air pressure (let him comment if he has).

I think this is a warning to people to stay away from mich's comfort range atleast. Else you be ready with someone to sweep the roads on front before you reach!!!!!!

Dude, you're holding the wrong end of the stick. Age of the tyre has nothing to do with the sidewall being more or less prone to damage.

Fact is, Michelins ARE prone to sidewall damage. Simply speaking - caveat emptor. If you dont want to take a risk or if you drive on rough roads go in for another brands, especially MRF which are perfectly suited to Indian conditions and can quite literally take anything you throw at them. And they last a long time.

Personally I would never use MRF because of the rolling noise. I have had good experiences with Michelins and would certainly consider them again as replacements for my OE tyres.

Cheers!

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres

But with the F1's you don't have to lose sleep, they come with Goodyear's WFW (worry free warranty) which basically is an unconditional warranty on your tyres, cuts / bulges / run-flats. whatever the reason,you get a new tyre.

This is for the GSD3's right? I did not get warranty replacement for the sidewall cut GSD2 in Feb 07.

[raul]

Originally Posted by gemithomas

I think this is a warning to people to stay away from mich's comfort range atleast. Else you be ready with someone to sweep the roads on front before you reach!!!

haha, that was funny.

There are 2 sides to this, one because of road condition here tyres do get damaged and companies cannot be expected to replace these cases. I am sure everyone agrees with this.

However as a customer the problem is how does one know whether its manufacturing defect or road problems?

Given the general poor consumer rights culture here even if its a manufacturing defect the dealers and people at companies can be expected to fobb off genuine issues just to avoid the hassle. Helpful folks exist but are more an exception.

So Michelin and others should come up with a transparent way to tell tyre damage due to manufacturing defects or road damage and make this be known rather then leave it to arbitrary dealer or some individual at michelin's opinion, this is the only way to protect consumer rights.

[WasavaTyres]

Originally Posted by shuvc

This is for the GSD3's right? I did not get warranty replacement for the sidewall cut GSD2 in Feb 07.

Correcto. The unconditional warranty scheme came into effect post april'09

[akas_chauhan]

Privin, I understand it's not a good michelin experience.
However, i remember reading one post here from some Punto Owner and he had similar tyre issue. Is it something wrong with Punto Wheel?

[Nikhilb2008]

See, if a tyre has a minor cut or pinch on the inside of the tyre, it means it has been hit on a pothole, etc....

If there is no indication AT ALL, then you can still try for a replacement. You are well within your right to demand the engineer to explain WHY the claim is being rejected. If he shows you a small cut or a pinch on the inside of the tyre(where the tyre would have hit the rim), then you are screwed.

Sniper ---- The dealer DOES not call the shots. Michelin Primacy is NOT out of stock. You are grossly misinformed. If you were not keen to pursue it, it doesnt mean Michelin is not transparent.

R2D2 ---- Michelin is one of the few professional companies in India. They DO NOT give replacements just because the dealer is influential or the customer has spent a lot. Most other companies sometimes give replacements even when it is clearly obvious that it is NOT a manufacturing defect. Michelin does not do that, so the person who has blown his hard earned money on a tyre and then damages it due to the brilliance of our municipal corporations, will naturally tend to blame the tyre company.

[privin]

Originally Posted by akas_chauhan

Privin, I understand it's not a good michelin experience.
However, i remember reading one post here from some Punto Owner and he had similar tyre issue. Is it something wrong with Punto Wheel?

The ride quality is superb, and being Michelin, road noise is minimum as expected. No wheel balancing issues - in which case, one would have got some idea from the feel on steering wheel. No alignment issues as well. No clues from the overall vehicle experience.

[privin]

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres

That's like asking will I get a new car only if I pay for it. Nobody's going to give you stuff for free my friend. The company will not replace a tyre just 'coz you think it's a manufacturing defect. But if there is a defect due to the company's fault they will replace your tyre after measuring the NSD (Non Skid Depth) which essentially is how much the tyre has been used/driven.

What constitutes a manufacturing defect? We have no answers thus far. If you think about it, the company has already destroyed defective tyres - one presumes they would have latest techniques to identify any problem all round the tyre. The warranty has no meaning if you see from this angle.