Bad Michelin Defenders ?

[Rand]

I have a set of 185/65r14 on the other car in the driveway a 2010 accent.

I recently checked the tread depth and was astonished it was already down to 5/32 (starts at 10/32)
All tires are worn even within .5/32

These are a 90000mile rated tire. At the time I thought they had aprox 25000 miles on them.

I recently checked paperwork and subtracted the snow tire mileage and they have about 15000 miles on them

math below
current mileage 55600 - 35300(mileage tires were installed)
-snow tire mileage(2 winters totaling about 6000miles) = about 15000 miles

They also have very slight distortion showing up on the tread blocks like you sometimes see on tires that were overheated in Arizona or Texas.

Tire use is extremely easy. Commuting 13miles one way at a max of 55mph. Ohio weather is moderate

If wear continues these 90000mile tires will be down to 2/32 in only 24000 miles.

Apparently I'm not the only one with this issue. The first couple reviews on tirerack have people ranting about the tires being "done" in under 30000 miles.

Will probably go see discount tire this fall about prorated credit and replacing them with some General altimax rt43's

Good news is the 70-73% Credit should pay for the replacement tires and hopefully I can stack with a rebate that will mostly cover install.

 

[Errtt]

Using Defenders on my daily driver and have 40k on the tires. 10k rotations, and have a lot of tread life left. Miles are over 90% highway and wearing great, even across the tread pattern. I run a few psi's over the placard. No regrets.

 

[HangFire]

Disappointing!

I would expect wear to slow down at the halfway point, at least on my MVX4's it did. However after the first half of the tread was gone, wet and snow traction was gone as well, and the tires were loud. I got 64K out of those 60K rated tires but the last 30K was really lame.

I wonder if the treadware warranty money is only good against another set of Michelins... but Discount Tire takes good care of their customers.

Altimax R43's have really good reviews here on BITOG. Also consider the Continental PureContacts (with EcoPlus! lol).

 

[4wheeldog]

I have Costco Defenders on my Outback. They currently have about 52k miles on them, and look to be about half way to worn out. I may change them early, if they are too worn for a winter......But they seem to legitimately be 90k tires.

 

[ramammoth]

Sorry about your experience.

But I love my Michelins and I try to buy Michelin every chance I get at Costco.

 

[mrsilv04]

I have a set of Defenders on a newly acquired Town and Country van. I just measured all four at 8/32" at this point.

I'll be tracking the long term treadwear on my spreadsheet, and we'll see how it goes.

 

[geeman789]

Have a set of Defenders on a heavy Honda Odyssey ... about 40 000 miles so far, rotated a couple of times, and about 50+ % tread left... no complaints.

Seems strange that a small lightweight car would chew thru tires so quick, especially a harder compound tire like a Defender...???

Are the regular roads really coarse, or does the driver go full throttle / full brake ALL THE TIME...?

Or maybe that batch of Defenders was flawed... who knows.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Could be a bad batch of rubber perhaps. I'd be interested in seeing close/detailed pictures of each tire to see any wear patterns.

My in-laws have the Defenders on their 2011 CR-V and they're wearing like iron so far. I have to say, they ride a bit like iron, too (FIRM), but I guess you can't have it all.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Could the alignment be out on the car?

 

[nthach]

I'd check alignment, tire pressure - but roads do play a part here. My parents have Defenders installed by a body shop and we got a pair from Costco(Defender XT) to match them and except for one replaced under road hazard and a small MPG hit(Prii love Michelin Energy Saver AS/Bridgestone Ecopias for that reason alone) they seem to be doing good.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: geeman789
Have a set of Defenders on a heavy Honda Odyssey ... about 40 000 miles so far, rotated a couple of times, and about 50+ % tread left... no complaints.

Seems strange that a small lightweight car would chew thru tires so quick, especially a harder compound tire like a Defender...???

Are the regular roads really coarse, or does the driver go full throttle / full brake ALL THE TIME...?

Or maybe that batch of Defenders was flawed... who knows.

Honda S2000 is 2850 lbs and its rear tires didn't lasted more than 10-15k miles, while front tires lasted about 25-30k miles.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: geeman789
Have a set of Defenders on a heavy Honda Odyssey ... about 40 000 miles so far, rotated a couple of times, and about 50+ % tread left... no complaints.

Seems strange that a small lightweight car would chew thru tires so quick, especially a harder compound tire like a Defender...???

Are the regular roads really coarse, or does the driver go full throttle / full brake ALL THE TIME...?

Or maybe that batch of Defenders was flawed... who knows.

Honda S2000 is 2850 lbs and its rear tires didn't lasted more than 10-15k miles, while front tires lasted about 25-30k miles.


I bet your S2000 doesn't wear 90,000 mile rated tires in the back...

 

[ccap41]

Originally Posted By: HangFire
Disappointing!

I would expect wear to slow down at the halfway point, at least on my MVX4's it did. However after the first half of the tread was gone, wet and snow traction was gone as well, and the tires were loud. I got 64K out of those 60K rated tires but the last 30K was really lame.

I wonder if the treadware warranty money is only good against another set of Michelins... but Discount Tire takes good care of their customers.

Altimax R43's have really good reviews here on BITOG. Also consider the Continental PureContacts (with EcoPlus! lol).


The way tire warranties work they are supposed to go towards another set of the same tire. Kind of like any other warranty works..lol

Yes quality of road can effect tire wear, maintaining the tires like anything else also.. Do you keep up on our pressures? Rotations? alignments? I know where I used to work if you didn't have your tires rotated within 5000 miles(intervals) we wouldn't prorate your tires based on wear(we weren't strict on going over 5000 exactly). And most places will do this for free if you bought your tires there.

 

[901Memphis]

I wouldn't expect credit for winter mileage, they will go by instalation odometer readings vs current odometer reading I suspect.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: ccap41
The way tire warranties work they are supposed to go towards another set of the same tire.


This may be the case sometimes, but I wouldn't say that it's always true. If the tire lasted half as long as it should have, for example, you would be credited a pro-rated amount on a new tire, generally from that same brand (Michelin, Goodyear, etc). It doesn't necessarily have to be the same tire model, so you're not, for example, locked into buying Defenders from here on out.

Too, some retailers may offer credit that they absorb themselves on a different brand of tire. For example, if the customer doesn't want another set of Michelins, Michelin, the corporation, may not do anything. But Discount Tire, the retailer, might offer some credit on a different brand in the name of customer service.

Bottom line: it never hurts to ask!

I would say, though, that they're going to be looking at things like vehicle alignment and suspension condition closely on a 90,000 mile tire that only lasted a third of its nominally-rated life. And Defenders aren't even OE tires, so it can't be blamed on that.

I'd still love to see pictures of the tires.

 

[RISUPERCREWMAN]

I Have a set of 225x60R17's Defenders on my 2011 Crown Vic. At 30K miles on the tires they are wearing like Iron Clad Gloves!

 

[ccap41]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: ccap41
The way tire warranties work they are supposed to go towards another set of the same tire.


This may be the case sometimes, but I wouldn't say that it's always true. If the tire lasted half as long as it should have, for example, you would be credited a pro-rated amount on a new tire, generally from that same brand (Michelin, Goodyear, etc). It doesn't necessarily have to be the same tire model, so you're not, for example, locked into buying Defenders from here on out.

Too, some retailers may offer credit that they absorb themselves on a different brand of tire. For example, if the customer doesn't want another set of Michelins, Michelin, the corporation, may not do anything. But Discount Tire, the retailer, might offer some credit on a different brand in the name of customer service.

Bottom line: it never hurts to ask!

I would say, though, that they're going to be looking at things like vehicle alignment and suspension condition closely on a 90,000 mile tire that only lasted a third of its nominally-rated life. And Defenders aren't even OE tires, so it can't be blamed on that.

I'd still love to see pictures of the tires.


Yes you are correct. The shop can always help you out. Most places will try and help out returning and loyal customers. And you are right about prorating for the same brand, it doesn't necesarily have to be the same exact tire although I think it is supposed to be.. Whether places or people enforce that is another story. Like you said. it never hurts to ask!

I too would love to see the tires.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
I bet your S2000 doesn't wear 90,000 mile rated tires in the back...

True. There is no 90k mile tire available at W speed rated with 40-45 aspect ratio. The tires I had/have on my S2000 were 30-40k miles at most.

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Too, some retailers may offer credit that they absorb themselves on a different brand of tire. For example, if the customer doesn't want another set of Michelins, Michelin, the corporation, may not do anything. But Discount Tire, the retailer, might offer some credit on a different brand in the name of customer service.

America's Tire/Discount Tire gives prorate credit toward purchase of any brand.

The Kumho 4X has 40k miles tread life warranty, 1/2 mileage for stagger tires. The rear of my S2000 lasted 11.xxx miles and AT gave 40% credit of original purchase price toward Falken Ziex ZE612+.

Note:
Net cost: Purchase price + tax + installation - rebate

Credit: Percentage of (Purchase price + tax)

 

[Rand]

First off let me say if it was anything obvious I would have mentioned it in the original post.

The oem tires which are known to be short lived and terrible made it 30000 miles before a combination of low tread, bad wet performance, and 6 plugs did them in. They were replaced at 4/32 tread.

All tires have worn even. The michelin xice xi2 are also wearing even and slower than the defenders.

Tires are rotated 1-2x a year which is every 5000-9000miles.

Nothing wrong with the car they are just wearing like they are made out of warm butter. Tires still perform ok.

I'd expect DT to at least give me full credit on the odo reading..
I have a full log of when tires were put on and taken off and both sets of tires were bought from DT.

DT is known for their superior customer service so who knows.

Worst case scenario I'll get around a 68% credit. for going
I've also bought 6 sets of tires from DT/DTD so may count for something.

These were purchased in march 2013 and they are also showing some minor "overheating" type markings on the edges of the outside tread block. Which is odd for OHIO.

So, I'm leaning towards bad batch of rubber.

 

[SLCraig]

That is strange indeed. My folks have the Defenders on their EX35 and they are wearing incredibly well. They have only put maybe 10-15K miles on them since they got the vehicle but I can't even see any difference in tread depth and they ride quite well too.

I would buy these tires again for a regular duty passenger car..