OK I have them on my truck (bought last year) and was sold on them because they gave me $480 off do to the sidewall cracking on my BF Goodrich tires. They (Discount Tire) told me this would not be an issue with the Michelin"s. Well the DD's Volvo had to go into the body shop and while it was in there I decided to pull the headlamps and replace the seals and clean the reflectors. After getting permission from the shop manager I was removing the lamp and the painter comes to me and asks if I own this car? I said well yes but it's my daughters car. He tells me "well I wouldn't let me daughter drive on those tires"! So I look at them and you can almost see the sidewall cords through the cracks!!! The date on the tires were 2009 and the car was bought (used) on 2-2010 and that was when the tires were put on the car. Discount Tire said the rears had 6/32 and the front had 5/32 of tread left. New they had 11/32 and Michelin said they would give me 35% credit towards a new set. There reasoning is because at 3/32 your tires are to be replaced. OK then if new they have 11/32 but you loss 3/32 of tread wear then you really only get 8/32 of useable tread, seams like a rip off to me. I have never owned import tires before but I might just have to look at them the next time I need tires.Don

You got about 63% of the wear out of the tire. They gave you 35% credit adjustment that equals 98% seems pretty fair to me. You may could have fought for a bit more but not much

A bald tire is a hazard on wet pavementThere is a min tread depth and once that is reached...mandated by law to be illegal for street useWhy there are molded in wear bars.If 'ANY' portion of the wear bar is even with the the tread surface, it is illegal to use

Three years of use on the tires. At 15000 per year, thats 45000 miles. If they were a 50000 mile tire, she did pretty good. If they were a 90000 mile tire, not so good.I'm not really sure what you are trying to tell us. All tires start with a certian tread depth, and can be used until a minimum is left (3/32, or until the top of Lincolns head shows if you use the penny test). Without knowing the mileage put on the tires, and the expected life of them, its hard to draw conclucions. As they gave you a 35% credit, I assume they wore out early, but that is not always the tires fault. Alignment, driveing style and many other factors can effect the life of a tire.I once burned through a tire in 20000 miles by not noticing that I, or my wife had clipped a curb, and jacked up the alignment. Car still drove and braked in a straight line, but it ate up the inner tread. At 15000 mile rotation all appeared fine, at 20000, one was unserviceable.

How is Michelin at fault in any way? Their warranty covered nearly the exact % it should have. Sidewalls cracked in approx 3 years??? Tells you aging was not the cause but rather underinflated operaton caused extreme flexing and rubber fatigue and/or a lot of hard cornering or both. Even some of the tire shine coating products on the market causes tire rubber compound to prematurely harden which creates premature cracking. Research it! Of course, the OP will deny "anything" was ever done to or happened with the tires and they just simply cracked for no reason at all. He was even the driver as it was his daughyer's car. He lives in the same geographical area of the country as I do and I've never had any of the more than 2 dozen Michelins on our vehicles developed any cracks in even 7+ years of daily use including our HD pickup trucks. The front tires on our 2004.5 Chevy D/A were put on in 2006 and are still on with over 90K on them with an average of 4-5/32 tread left as of last week and not a single crack is on the sidewalls. They will be replaced this summer due to tread wear. The same tire rears were replaced last late fall before our Florida trip as they were down nearly to the wear bars and had no sidewall cracks either.I also do not see what the OP is trying to tell us!!!Could it be Freddy Kruger slashing tires on L_gan?

There is a reason that I don't spend the money on Michelins any more, out of the four sets I have had two sets developed extensive sidewall cracking. Another set would not balance correctly, my current set will not hold air in two of the tires. It loses 20 psi over two weeks. No apparent issues with the tires they just leak. No punctures etc. They are the most inconsistent brand of tires I have ever owned. Coopers on the other hand have served me well for a long time. Firestone have also served me well. Next set will be anything but Michelins.

Michelin Tires | Good Sam Community

Huntindog
Explorer
Jun 03, 2013
jerem0621 wrote:
I keep seeing the reports on this thread and those with the checking/cracking seem to come from the south or very hot climates. Those with no reports seem to come from colder climates seem to not experience the sidewall issues.

Very very small sample size but I would love to see something like this sample on a larger scale.

I'm in Phoenix AZ. I replaced mine at 5 years. They had some very fine cracks/checking on the sidewalls. It didn't look serious, but I figured that 6 years of AZ Sun was enough. Great tires. Tow at any speed I want, many rough roads some severe overloading on one tire when a bearing spun, and not a single tire issue. Great tires.:B
Perrysburg_Dodg
Explorer
May 28, 2013
I don't add any of the shine products on my tires. I have grown out of that. That does not mean I don't take care of my vehicles I do. They get washed and vacuumed once an week, waxed twice a year and the inside professionally cleaned once a year.

The tires, they get cleaned with bleach white and then washed.

Don
Hannibal
Explorer
May 28, 2013
Perrysburg Dodgeboy wrote:
LINK
Nothing makes a car look sweeter than a shiny set of tires. But don’t put your investment at risk by using just any cleaner. Make sure to only use non-petroleum based products to clean the tires. A number of wheel cleaners may contain harsh acids, alkalis and/or detergents that can damage wheels and paint. However, there are products out there that are safe for all brands of tires as well as environmentally responsible. You can find them at an auto parts dealer near you.

Don

Good point Don. I don't like the Ghetto Cruiser look of shiny tires so mine get washed with car wash suds after all else has been washed and nothing else. Maybe that's partly why mine seem to last longer. A co-worker used to use dish soap on the paint and bleach on the white letter tires and swore up and down that it didn't contribute to his paint going to * and the tires drying out.
Perrysburg_Dodg
Explorer
May 27, 2013
LINK
Nothing makes a car look sweeter than a shiny set of tires. But don’t put your investment at risk by using just any cleaner. Make sure to only use non-petroleum based products to clean the tires. A number of wheel cleaners may contain harsh acids, alkalis and/or detergents that can damage wheels and paint. However, there are products out there that are safe for all brands of tires as well as environmentally responsible. You can find them at an auto parts dealer near you.

Don
hone_eagle
Explorer
May 27, 2013
jerem0621 wrote:
I keep seeing the reports on this thread and those with the checking/cracking seem to come from the south or very hot climates. Those with no reports seem to come from colder climates seem to not experience the sidewall issues.

Very very small sample size but I would love to see something like this sample on a larger scale.

Ran into a chart not long ago on the Mich web site ,they actually rate 'sun wear/damage ' by how far north the tires are.
4-5 years deep south
5-6 mid west
6-7 northern states and Canada.
Iam going from memory ,I'll try and find it again.
BenK
Explorer
May 27, 2013
Sun and temp begets mainly Ozone and UV damaged

Then the cycling of extreme temps

Then chemicals. From self inflicted damage to road stuff

Of course running in excess of it's ratings (temp, PSI, load, MPH, etc)

Suppose there are others that affect or play in the fray
Perrysburg_Dodg
Explorer
May 27, 2013
jerem0621 wrote:
I keep seeing the reports on this thread and those with the checking/cracking seem to come from the south or very hot climates. Those with no reports seem to come from colder climates seem to not experience the sidewall issues.

Very very small sample size but I would love to see something like this sample on a larger scale.

:h I'm in NW Ohio a bit north of the equator. :B

Don
jerem0621
Explorer II
May 27, 2013
I keep seeing the reports on this thread and those with the checking/cracking seem to come from the south or very hot climates. Those with no reports seem to come from colder climates seem to not experience the sidewall issues.

Very very small sample size but I would love to see something like this sample on a larger scale.
crosscheck
Explorer II
May 27, 2013
Bought my first set of Michelin medium truck tires on recomendation from this forum and put 70,000 miles on them, many on rough roads with a heavy TC. Was very satisfied and replaced with a similar Michelin tire. Also very satisfied. Repaced the first set because they were down to the wear bars but had a look at the carcass when being replaced and they looked brand new.

None of the Michelins have shown any issues regarding cracking of the side walls.

I will replace with another set of Michelins when the time comes,even if I have to pay a bit of a premium.

Dave
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
May 27, 2013
4X4ord

I think we have all noticed "loads can be a little on the heavy side" is an understatement with you!

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