Tread Life Warranty are Next to Useless ?

[HTSS_TR]

According to Consumer Report Tread Life Warranty are Next to Useless.

From my experience with local AT in Orange County, Southern California, all points in this article are inaccurate/wrong.

I had tread life prorated for Continental DWS toward purchasing Kumho 4X 2-3 years ago, tread life prorated for Kumho 4X toward purchasing Cooper CS5 last month.

I didn't have/keep receipts of rotation, tread wear were uneven with 1 tire at 2/32 while other 3 at 3/32.

At the very least, AT(DT outside So Cal) was very easy in tread life warranty claim. I will stay with AT as long as they have stores in my area.

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/why-tread-life-warranties-are-next-to-useless-220442995.html

Quote:
Moreover, if the tire doesn’t live up to the wear promise, you may find that the so-called warranty imposes so many restrictions and conditions that it’s nearly impossible to collect on. It may even be pointless to try, although a diligent and truly determined consumer can sometimes manage it.

With tires, that credit is usually good only toward the purchase of an` essentially identical tire from the same manufacturer. If you didn’t especially like those tires, and maybe wanted to upgrade to something better, tough luck. Then you get nothing.

Your credit, though, is applied to the standard retail price, not any discounted price you may find. And tire discounts are very, very common. So, as a practical matter, your credit may be worth nothing.

Before a retailer will even consider granting a mileage-warranty credit, you have to fulfill some pretty exacting requirements. These may vary, so read the fine print.

You have to have kept your original receipt, with your car’s odometer reading at the time of purchase, and whatever warranty papers came with the tires.
If there was a recommended tire-rotation interval, say every 5,000 miles, be ready to supply written documentation for each of those services.
The wear must also be absolutely even across the tread. If your tires ever got misaligned, or were under- or over-inflated so the wear isn’t quite uniform, there goes the warranty.
All this has to happen within a specified time frame, say four or five years.

 

[stephen9666]

DT is not the norm. They're really good about customer service. If you Google you'll find lots of complaints from people who have had issues using the tread wear warranty.

 

[GiveMeAVowel]

Originally Posted By: stephen9666
DT is not the norm. They're really good about customer service. If you Google you'll find lots of complaints from people who have had issues using the tread wear warranty.


They must be an exception, I have used numerous tire shops and NONE of them were ever easy to deal with for tire warranty issues. Many of the shops I used (not hole in the wall places either) look at you like you are nuts when asking about actually using that warranty.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: stephen9666
DT is not the norm. They're really good about customer service. If you Google you'll find lots of complaints from people who have had issues using the tread wear warranty.


Yup, DT is great.

 

[SatinSilver]

I had Firestone honor their warranty for me, however after the proration the tire cost more than when I had them installed. Since I bought them under a sale, buy 3 get one free. After all the fees and tax etc. a new tire was $93 installed for a 15 incher on an Accord.

 

[Rust_Belt_Pete]

Originally Posted By: stephen9666
DT is not the norm. They're really good about customer service. If you Google you'll find lots of complaints from people who have had issues using the tread wear warranty.


My local dunn tire is run by questionable characters. Sold me pirelli P4's on sale. When I was checking tire pressure and noticed that the whole sidewall was dry rotted and full of cracks. The tread didnt look too good either.
They refused to make it right.

 

[krzyss]

CR matches my experience with Goodyear Eagle GT and independent dealer. The prorated price of the full retail replacement was more than I would pay for the tires of my liking at sale.

Marketing gimmick in my opinion the treadwear warranty is.

Krzys

 

[spavel6]

Have always had bad experiences when attempting to get warranty on auto parts. I am sure tires are no different.

 

[PandaBear]

They used to cover all applications, then they half it on the rear tires of a staggered setup, then they half it on all tires of a staggered setup.

It is pretty useless now.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: stephen9666
DT is not the norm. They're really good about customer service. If you Google you'll find lots of complaints from people who have had issues using the tread wear warranty.

You're probably right. I didn't try to claim mileage warranty before with online purchases or local indy stores, I only started to claim mileage warranty when I bought tires from AT/DT.

CR is probably correct for mileage warranty with most chains/stores.

My experienced with AT made me think that every chains/stores would be the same.

Well, I'm stay with AT and all my future tire purchases will be with them only. Free flat repair, easy and quick rotation(and balance if needed), easy to fill mileage warranty, good sale/rebate several times a year, price match with online ...

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
They used to cover all applications, then they half it on the rear tires of a staggered setup, then they half it on all tires of a staggered setup.

It is pretty useless now.

Kumho half tread life warranty for most tire models of a staggered setup, but I still got some prorate when my 4X on the rear of S2000 went down to 2-3/32" after a little more than 11k. Many tire companies half warranty on the rear of a staggered setup, not only Kumho.

The same Kumho 4X on my E430 only lasted 20k miles out of 40k miles warranty, I got 50% back to buy Cooper CS5.

In my case(buying tire from AT), mileage warranty was and is useful.

Note: If you have a nail on your worn out tire(at 2/32 or less), AT will not repair the flat and no mileage warranty is allowed for damaged tire. You need to take that tire to another tire shop(preferably Mexican shop) to have it repaired(without balance) for few bucks, then you can fill mileage warranty.

 

[azjake]

Here's another reason why. Most warranties require the tread to be at 2/32 an inch or less. Now suppose you notice your tires wearing at a fast pace. Are you going to keep those tires on your vehicle until they get to 2/32 so you can get them replaced under warranty? At 2/32 your stopping distance is greatly increased, and driving in any rain, snow, or less than ideal weather conditions is risky.

 

[Traction]

Tread wear warranties are nothing more than a loose guide. I really do not consider it much when it comes to picking a tire. When they wear out, I replace them. Sometimes, the sooner they wear out, the better. I would never try to make a warranty claim on tread wear. Too many variables. The best summer tire I ever had was a Yokohama autocross tire, worn out at 3000 miles.

 

[JHZR2]

I wish we had DT here. I've never had to make a treadwear claim though. Our tires usually age out even with high mileage.

 

[HerrStig]

I've not been to Sam's Club in a while (since they closed the store to "expand" it), but their warranty was once very good and one didn't end up with a new tire which cost more than the one replaced.

 

[skyactiv]

I belonged to Sams Club back in the 90's. I bought a set of 4 BFG's from them for a Nissan Stanza. Being a young and aggressive driver, I wore those tires out quick. Paid the pro-rated price plus like $8 a tire for tire install and road hazard package.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: azjake
Here's another reason why. Most warranties require the tread to be at 2/32 an inch or less. Now suppose you notice your tires wearing at a fast pace. Are you going to keep those tires on your vehicle until they get to 2/32 so you can get them replaced under warranty? At 2/32 your stopping distance is greatly increased, and driving in any rain, snow, or less than ideal weather conditions is risky.

I had Falken FK452 on the rear of my S2000 all the way down to bald, no tread what so ever across the tire. The performance/handling and braking was better than full tread on dry surface.

It was around 4/32" at the start of winter rain, down to around 2/32" at the beginning of dry summer, and zero tread before next winter rain.

Remember, slick tire is the norm for F1 and Indy racing on dry surface.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Problems with Sams Club, Costco and other membership outlets is you must be a paying member at the time you fill for mileage warranty. If after you bought your tires at one of those membership warehouses and decided discontinue paying annual fees, you're out of luck.

Another problem as I see it is membership warehouses have very limited tire choice and they do not order anything not on their list.

 

[itguy08]

Costco is the best for mileage warranty. Wife wore out an 80k set of Bridgestones we bought at Costco in 50k. They had all the receipts for tire rotations and such as we always had Costco do it all. Got store credit for all 4 and put on 4 Michelins for $300 or so.

I always check Costco 1st for tires - they are that good.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: azjake
Here's another reason why. Most warranties require the tread to be at 2/32 an inch or less. Now suppose you notice your tires wearing at a fast pace. Are you going to keep those tires on your vehicle until they get to 2/32 so you can get them replaced under warranty? At 2/32 your stopping distance is greatly increased, and driving in any rain, snow, or less than ideal weather conditions is risky.



And if you run snow tires in the winter you're "giving away" that odometer mileage on your summer tires. (noone warranties snow tires for obvious reasons.)

Some tires wear non-linearly and slow down at 4/32. I have a uniroyal tiger paw that just won't die.

I had a road hazard warranty honored by sams club when I was no longer a member. Took some flirting but they got it through.

It seems like the best (and possibly only) proof your alignment was good when the tires were mounted is to needlessly purchase one (of possibly questionable quality) through the tire shop when your tires are installed. This reeks of "protection" money.