Michelin Sidewalls Cracking - Updated

[gcloss]

I was just checking the pressure in my Michelin LTX LT265/70R17E tires and noticed all four are starting to crack. The cracking covers a band about one inch wide starting about one inch from the rims around the entire tire.

The date code is 0712 making the mfg date February 2012. I purchased the truck new in April 2103.

Going back to the dealer tomorrow. Anyone have a similar experience?

[Fast_Mopar]

Every time someone at Discount Tire talks me into Michelins, I regret it two years later when the cracking starts. You would think I would have learned my lesson by now.

[maxwell11]

thomasmnile,
did you use tire cleaners on your new set of Michelins?

I am fighting for my Michelins, no other tire I have had makes the old dodge drive or ride the same. so on this set I have used nothing on them but soap and water.

I may go out there and they may have cracking at 30k, sure hope not.

my dealer sold me a set of coopers: out of round, one side of tire bigger than the other so you have radial tire pull to that side all the tire, he changed tires them side to side and replaced them, I changed them front to back, then I changed them for good, I sold the vehicle.

no set of tires should make you want to get rid of your vehicle.
crap tires and made I the US, that is what really made me mad, can we not make a set of tires in the US.

[Cummins12V98]

I have owned several sets of Michelin tires and have ran all sets to over 100k with no cracking/splitting. Same with BFG's.

[Cummins12V98]

I have owned several sets of Michelin tires and have ran all sets to over 100k with no cracking/splitting. Same with BFG's.

[thomasmnile]

Be prepared for Michelin dealer to do nothing, tell you it's 'surface crazing' and not a concern, suggest it was caused because you used a tire dressing containing petroleum distillates, or you failed to clean and maintain them, whatever that entails. I heard all of these 'reasons' from the local dealer when I questioned the cracking, especially near the rim/bead 'interface'. And, they did nothing.

Why the current set of Michelins on my Ram 3500 will be my last, not to mention they are nearly $300 each in the required size now.

[maxwell11]

I have had two sets on my 2000 model chevy do that, but was told the problem was now solved.
I bought a set for my 2500 dodge 2x4 diesel, so far no cracking, about 30K miles,

they sure do drive nice, that is why I when back.

I have also had a set of valve stems go bad on my travel trailer and my chevy truck, cracking just like the tires, they may have been cheap china stuff, who knows. if you buy Michelin tires, do you get Michelin made valve stems????

so when these last Michelin's were installed I had the med duty steel valve stem's installed, so far no problem. 80 psi working load range

you do not always get what you pay for,

I also stopped cleaning the tires with that tire cleaner and polish, my tire dealer told me to used nothing but soap and water, no chemicals of any kind. they can dry out the thin outer surface of the tire and could cause cracking????????

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

The dealer will send you to the nearest Michelin store/dealer. Ram does not provide tire coverage, open the glove box and find the tire warranty information.

Don

[Charlie_D_]

No surprise to a lot of people and their BFGoodrich Commercial T/A-once an outstanding tire-has become a problem for many of us. No help and refusal of any warranty when used on RV's.

[BenK]

Common topic and just did a quick search to find this:


Michelin LTX M/S

BenK wrote:
Looks just like my last set of Michelin LTX-MS LT265/75R16E's that were
just a few years old. Ditto many other sets of LTX-MS and LTX-AT
LT class on both the Suburban and Silverado listed in my sig

Currently have Bridgestone Dueler Revo LT265/75R16E's on the same Sub
and ZERO cracks. Same house, same outside conditions, etc, etc on the
same rims, etc, etc. They are about 2-3 years old to boot.

The Silverado has Yokahama Geolander AT 33/12.5R15LT load range C and
ditto same house, outside conditions, same rims, etc, etc

Here is a clicky to the thread the below quote is from...mine were
both LTX-MS and LTX-AT's...even my road bike tires...:E

Craised side walls

BenK wrote:
quote from thread: Tire age

BenK wrote:
This topic comes up often and enough from varying folks that to me
confirmation that I'm not the only one out there that went through
about a dozen sets of LTX's (MS & AT) that initially were fine
but around the late 90's Michelin changed their formulation to have
them crack...






below quote from: Unsafe at any speed....

BenK wrote:
Thought to post the Timberline crack








michelin Tire splitting

BenK wrote:
Posted: 03/03/13 11:04pm

Used to be a fan of Michelin's, but no more...here is a link to why
below

Currently have Bridgestone Dueler Revo LT265/75R16E's on Alcoa alloy 16x10's
and are about 5 years old and don't drive my Sub but on weekends
to keep things lubed and tires worked. About 12K miles on them
and they look very close to new.

Best tires and the below quote
from that thread

Nit, but bought a new bike work stand ($350) and it has a digital
scale...my old alu frame bike is NOT as light as thought...it is
17.3 lbs...even with that $350 seat and carbon fiber fork...that old
'precision' fish scale was a bit off... :E

Moved that seat to the new Madone 6.5 and IT IS 15.7 lbs, based on
that nifty new scale... :B

BenK wrote:
Used to tell everyone who asked to consider Michelin LTX series...fine till Michelin
changed their rubber formulation. Quote below shows pics of many sets of Michelin
LTX (MS & AT) and my bicycle tires...they all cracked whereas they did not before
that reformulation

Currently have a set of Bridgestone Dueler Revo's that are about 5 years old. Same
Suburban. Same house, same driveway (not garaged), same city, same ambient, etc and
they are 'fine' with no signs of cracking whatsoever

Coopers are on the mini van and looking good. The Michelin's started to crack and
do not know how long they were on there, as bought the Odyssey used



http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/post/forum/41/thread/26414210/quote/26420168.cfm

BenK wrote:
Also depends on how long you plan to keep your TV

I plan to keep mine till the wheels fall off, then fix it or decide not to

I rotate tires on all 4 of my vehicles and even dismount to remount the tires on
my single speed bicycles to even out the wear

If you change vehicles every 2-3-4-5 years, then moot point. Do whatever

If you do keep them longer to need a new set of tires, then decide on what you
wish to do with the spare.

Dad didn't believe in rotating the spare and when he gave me the Silverado listed
in my sig, it had a spare tire that was over 12 years old. It looked 'fine', but
it had indications of rot all over it. The on the road tires had been replaced
a few times to boot.

Here is a thread and pictures of my experience on tires. From spares to on
the road sets. Also why I no longer recommend my old favorite...Michelin.

Since I no longer own the boat, I do not tow as much these days. Both my trucks
had tire rot and the thread linked below shows what happens to tires that do NOT
get enough usage.


This image is of a Michelin LTX-MS LT265/75R16E's which list $250/each



The clicky to that old thread which might help folks decide on their usage of
their spare tires

1/3 of tire strength gone after 3 years

BenK wrote:
All things age and part of that is degradation of it's strength

Like all metal will degrade over time. Steel will actually increase in hardness
and become brittle.

Organic based materials will degrade faster than coated metal, unless it has been some
how altered or enhanced. There are reasons for paint, plating, coatings, waxing,
etc, etc...

Do not delude thinking that seat belts last forever. There is a lot more safety
margin dialed in that it may seem to last forever...but how do you truly know
unless you either crash test it or have it tested in a lab...OBTW...
a childs seat belts are how wide/thick compared to the OEM seat belts
that hold it to the vehicle seat? Anyone ever look closely at any
child seat to see if there are juice spills, milk/poo-pee/spit/etc that
has an acidic component to it? Yes poo n pee, as diapers do leak, or
at least my kids did...

My bicycle helmet is only good for a few years. My car and bicycle tires are
also only good for so long. The tire on my wheel barrows and hand carts are
way old, has cracks on them and know they need replacement...but their service
is at how many MPH ? Life and death duty placed on them? Nope, so they are okay
for my usage, but have purchased several new ones recently as I'm tired of having
to pump them up each time I use them...they lose PSI quickly

Okay, can see some self serving opportunistic marketing, but why
test it with a potential condition that might/will harm your child
or yourself? How much would be saved by not updating it vs the
potential of harm to your child?

Of the three classes of tires in this discussion, which is the cheapest? Which
costs more? Why do you think they have such a cost difference?

Check out this thread on tires...
http://forums.woodalls.com/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25105483/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1

And a quote on my opinions and experience on that topic...

BenK wrote:
Update on another set that replaced the Silverado's Michelin shown
below...Think ALL of the tire OEM's have changed their formulation
on 'P' and 'LT' tires

Timberline 33/12.5R15LT load range C on the same alloy wheels as
the Michelin's. They have now cracked on the tread area. Here are
some pic's. Only drive the Silverado weekends and errands. Don't
tow anything other than an occasional utility trailer. Haul tons
of stuff...gravel, dirt, fertilizer, wood pellets, wood, etc They
are aired up to 30 PSI. Max sidewall PSI is 35
















Ancillary...my road bicycle tires...Michelin 700C/23 $79/ea. Less than
a year old and about 500 miles (have 4.5 bicycles, so the mileage
is spread out over them all). Air them up to 110 PSI. Sidewall
says 119PSI max. Do run up to 50MPH-60MPH going downhill, but
after checking and finding this...am going to check the more often

Got doored last week and after the EMT's, Ambulance, and cops
were through with me (not hurt bad, just a bruise about 8" dia
on the chest)...destroyed the road bike (got it down to just a hair
above 15lbs)....min $700 estimate from the bike shop...going to fix
as my daily and buy a new road bike...jinxed it...last month finished
some mod's, weighed it in at 15.7lbs and said out loud...this is almost perfect

BenK wrote:
I'm very loyal to what I've checked out, tested (empirical) and low on my list...what
buddies/friends/etc recommend (really factored by how much they know, or what
I think they know)

Was a huge Michelin fan, till about 6-10 years ago when my sets started to crack
on the sidewalls

Took them in and the Michelin rep accused me of using ArmorAll. Told him no way
as the previous rep told me not to and would void the warranty. Named him and
described the discussion at Costco. He retracted and said they were out of warranty (time)

Used to recommend Michelin truck tires to anyone asking. NO more. This
is "MY" experience and know some who still have no problems, but again
this is MY experience and recommendation on Michelin 'TRUCK' tires. I
still recommend their 'car' tires for 'cars'...not trucks.

Here are some pictures of several sets of LTX-AT (LT265R16C) and LTX-MS (LT265R16E...$250 ea list)
4 sets of 5 tires for my 1980 Silverado and 1996 Suburban















Woke up one morning to find this on my Suburban









Aired them back up several times and they leaked down in less than 10 minutes
from the sidewall cracks.


Here are some more of different sets...yes, "WAS" very loyal on Michelin till
this experience








And this LT265/75R16E's (first set, second set above pics). Too many sipes for
my type of driving...HARD braking testing buddies proto brake pads on one +80
mile session. The tread blocks folded over to feather the sipe edges.