The dealer nor their distributor had my tire in stock. Pirelli sent one in from their regional distribution center along with the preapproved paperwork. Customer service has been trying to help but at this point I cannot trust the quality control on these tires.
Pirelli dealers refusing to honor warranty.
- Thread starter IveBeenRued
- Start date
- Status
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Getting Pirelli to honor a tire warranty is like pulling teeth. It is no problem getting Michelin to cover a warranty, even on OEM tires.
Not always true. Michelin would not warranty an out of round OEM tire on a Ford I bought. Got it shaved at my cost and it lasted as long as the other three.
Getting Pirelli to honor a tire warranty is like pulling teeth. It is no problem getting Michelin to cover a warranty, even on OEM tires.
Not always true. Michelin would not warranty an out of round OEM tire on a Ford I bought. Got it shaved at my cost and it lasted as long as the other three.
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I wouldn't buy tire from anyone other than AT/DT. I think AT/DT has the best customer service in the tire retail industry.
Buying tire at the right time(during big holiday sale) from AT/DT is as low as can be, probably no more than $10-20 a set more than buying somewhere.
LOL, DT price gouged my wife, sold her a way too expensive tire to match up with 3 half worn ones. The money didn't bother me, the principle of taking advantage of her did.
I wouldn't buy tire from anyone other than AT/DT. I think AT/DT has the best customer service in the tire retail industry.
Buying tire at the right time(during big holiday sale) from AT/DT is as low as can be, probably no more than $10-20 a set more than buying somewhere.
LOL, DT price gouged my wife, sold her a way too expensive tire to match up with 3 half worn ones. The money didn't bother me, the principle of taking advantage of her did.
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I wouldn't buy tire from anyone other than AT/DT. I think AT/DT has the best customer service in the tire retail industry.
Buying tire at the right time(during big holiday sale) from AT/DT is as low as can be, probably no more than $10-20 a set more than buying somewhere.
LOL, DT price gouged my wife, sold her a way too expensive tire to match up with 3 half worn ones. The money didn't bother me, the principle of taking advantage of her did.
I'm sorry to hear that your wife had been a victim of price gouging at DT.
I always try to get the best price on internet, then had AT price matches it plus tax and installation.
Their after sale services are second to none in the tire retail industry.
This is my opinion(I may be wrong): Partially it was your fault, you should try to get the best tire for your money for what you need, then have local DT price matched it. You let your wife went there by herself without much knowledge about tire, then they would take advantage of her to make the most profit for their company.
The vast majority of women drivers don't anything about tire, as long as they are round they are okay.
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I wouldn't buy tire from anyone other than AT/DT. I think AT/DT has the best customer service in the tire retail industry.
Buying tire at the right time(during big holiday sale) from AT/DT is as low as can be, probably no more than $10-20 a set more than buying somewhere.
LOL, DT price gouged my wife, sold her a way too expensive tire to match up with 3 half worn ones. The money didn't bother me, the principle of taking advantage of her did.
I'm sorry to hear that your wife had been a victim of price gouging at DT.
I always try to get the best price on internet, then had AT price matches it plus tax and installation.
Their after sale services are second to none in the tire retail industry.
This is my opinion(I may be wrong): Partially it was your fault, you should try to get the best tire for your money for what you need, then have local DT price matched it. You let your wife went there by herself without much knowledge about tire, then they would take advantage of her to make the most profit for their company.
The vast majority of women drivers don't anything about tire, as long as they are round they are okay.
Another update: Pirelli sent out another replacement, this one was also found to have excessive run-out but is much better for the time being. Now I am driving around with a tire that has 14 lbs. of run-out compared to 31 and 27 lbs for the first two tires. I was told that 10 lbs is essentially the limit for when most people will start to detect a vibration on smaller cars.
I can still feel the vibration coming from the right rear corner and I can't have anything in the vehicle because if I do the rattling/tapping is just too annoying.
So, in short, this means that three out of the six tires that I have received have been found to have excessive run-out.
I can still feel the vibration coming from the right rear corner and I can't have anything in the vehicle because if I do the rattling/tapping is just too annoying.
So, in short, this means that three out of the six tires that I have received have been found to have excessive run-out.
Originally Posted By: IveBeenRued
Another update: Pirelli sent out another replacement, this one was also found to have excessive run-out but is much better for the time being. Now I am driving around with a tire that has 14 lbs. of run-out compared to 31 and 27 lbs for the first two tires. I was told that 10 lbs is essentially the limit for when most people will start to detect a vibration on smaller cars.
I can still feel the vibration coming from the right rear corner and I can't have anything in the vehicle because if I do the rattling/tapping is just too annoying.
So, in short, this means that three out of the six tires that I have received have been found to have excessive run-out.
Well, that is at least progress.
- BUT -
I am wondering if the wheel might be the source of the problem. Recall that all 3 "bad" tires have been on the same wheel!
Since the dealer you are working with has a Hunter GSP9700, have them do a BARE wheel measurement. Contrary to what the machine says, the wheel ought to be below 0.15".
- AND -
What's the next step? Is Pirelli going to replace that tire a third time? Are theu going to give up and do a complete refund?
Another update: Pirelli sent out another replacement, this one was also found to have excessive run-out but is much better for the time being. Now I am driving around with a tire that has 14 lbs. of run-out compared to 31 and 27 lbs for the first two tires. I was told that 10 lbs is essentially the limit for when most people will start to detect a vibration on smaller cars.
I can still feel the vibration coming from the right rear corner and I can't have anything in the vehicle because if I do the rattling/tapping is just too annoying.
So, in short, this means that three out of the six tires that I have received have been found to have excessive run-out.
Well, that is at least progress.
- BUT -
I am wondering if the wheel might be the source of the problem. Recall that all 3 "bad" tires have been on the same wheel!
Since the dealer you are working with has a Hunter GSP9700, have them do a BARE wheel measurement. Contrary to what the machine says, the wheel ought to be below 0.15".
- AND -
What's the next step? Is Pirelli going to replace that tire a third time? Are theu going to give up and do a complete refund?
AAA and the Pirelli dealer tested the wheel and found it to have 0.012" of run-out.
I have asked Pirelli to reimburse me for the tires.
I have asked Pirelli to reimburse me for the tires.
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Well, that is at least progress.
- BUT -
I am wondering if the wheel might be the source of the problem. Recall that all 3 "bad" tires have been on the same wheel!
Since the dealer you are working with has a Hunter GSP9700, have them do a BARE wheel measurement. Contrary to what the machine says, the wheel ought to be below 0.15".
- AND -
What's the next step? Is Pirelli going to replace that tire a third time? Are theu going to give up and do a complete refund?
I think what you're suspecting is probably correct.
Pirelli isn't a no name China tire manufacture, it seems very unlikely all the problems so far are with the tires.
Well, that is at least progress.
- BUT -
I am wondering if the wheel might be the source of the problem. Recall that all 3 "bad" tires have been on the same wheel!
Since the dealer you are working with has a Hunter GSP9700, have them do a BARE wheel measurement. Contrary to what the machine says, the wheel ought to be below 0.15".
- AND -
What's the next step? Is Pirelli going to replace that tire a third time? Are theu going to give up and do a complete refund?
I think what you're suspecting is probably correct.
Pirelli isn't a no name China tire manufacture, it seems very unlikely all the problems so far are with the tires.
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Well, that is at least progress.
- BUT -
I am wondering if the wheel might be the source of the problem. Recall that all 3 "bad" tires have been on the same wheel!
Since the dealer you are working with has a Hunter GSP9700, have them do a BARE wheel measurement. Contrary to what the machine says, the wheel ought to be below 0.15".
- AND -
What's the next step? Is Pirelli going to replace that tire a third time? Are theu going to give up and do a complete refund?
I think what you're suspecting is probably correct.
Pirelli isn't a no name China tire manufacture, it seems very unlikely all the problems so far are with the tires.
Please see my previous post. As indicated, my wheel is less than 1/10 of the threshold that would be indicative of having a wheel issue and 1/42 of the reject threshold for Ford's wheel manufacturing. I have also had two independent dealers determine that this is a tire issue and not a wheel issue. In addition, a wheel issue would not explain the wandering tread that the tech witnessed on both replacement tires and the original.
Prior to this issue, this car had the smoothest ride I had felt since my uncle's Cadillac which was a big driver for buying the vehicle.
The Pirelli dealer themselves say that they have not stocked nor have they recommended Pirelli within the last 5 years due to manufacture defects coming out of their Mexican plant and because of how much of a pain the warranty claims are for them.
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Well, that is at least progress.
- BUT -
I am wondering if the wheel might be the source of the problem. Recall that all 3 "bad" tires have been on the same wheel!
Since the dealer you are working with has a Hunter GSP9700, have them do a BARE wheel measurement. Contrary to what the machine says, the wheel ought to be below 0.15".
- AND -
What's the next step? Is Pirelli going to replace that tire a third time? Are theu going to give up and do a complete refund?
I think what you're suspecting is probably correct.
Pirelli isn't a no name China tire manufacture, it seems very unlikely all the problems so far are with the tires.
Please see my previous post. As indicated, my wheel is less than 1/10 of the threshold that would be indicative of having a wheel issue and 1/42 of the reject threshold for Ford's wheel manufacturing. I have also had two independent dealers determine that this is a tire issue and not a wheel issue. In addition, a wheel issue would not explain the wandering tread that the tech witnessed on both replacement tires and the original.
Prior to this issue, this car had the smoothest ride I had felt since my uncle's Cadillac which was a big driver for buying the vehicle.
The Pirelli dealer themselves say that they have not stocked nor have they recommended Pirelli within the last 5 years due to manufacture defects coming out of their Mexican plant and because of how much of a pain the warranty claims are for them.
Originally Posted By: IveBeenRued
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Well, that is at least progress.
- BUT -
I am wondering if the wheel might be the source of the problem. Recall that all 3 "bad" tires have been on the same wheel!
Since the dealer you are working with has a Hunter GSP9700, have them do a BARE wheel measurement. Contrary to what the machine says, the wheel ought to be below 0.15".
- AND -
What's the next step? Is Pirelli going to replace that tire a third time? Are they going to give up and do a complete refund?
I think what you're suspecting is probably correct.
Pirelli isn't a no name China tire manufacture, it seems very unlikely all the problems so far are with the tires.
Please see my previous post. As indicated, my wheel is less than 1/10 of the threshold that would be indicative of having a wheel issue and 1/42 of the reject threshold for Ford's wheel manufacturing. I have also had two independent dealers determine that this is a tire issue and not a wheel issue. In addition, a wheel issue would not explain the wandering tread that the tech witnessed on both replacement tires and the original.
Prior to this issue, this car had the smoothest ride I had felt since my uncle's Cadillac which was a big driver for buying the vehicle.
The Pirelli dealer themselves say that they have not stocked nor have they recommended Pirelli within the last 5 years due to manufacture defects coming out of their Mexican plant and because of how much of a pain the warranty claims are for them.
Opps! I forgot a zero in my post. The value I wanted to post was 0.015", not 0.15".
So 0.012" is close to the upper limit.
Plus, the Hunter GSP9700 has a built in upper limit for wheels at 0.026", which I think is way, way too high!
Further, the Ford upper limit is somewhere in the 0.010" range (or lower!)
Oh, and I am using the first harmonic as the value, not the peak to peak (aka composite). And just for reference, 0.001" (yes, that's a thousandth!) = 1# Road Force, so your 14# tire should have been completely offset by the 12# wheel.
So I still kind of think your wheel is part of the problem. And I wonder if your current dealer really understands what is needed to fix this problem - given that a 14# tire + a 12# wheel = a 2# assembly!
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Well, that is at least progress.
- BUT -
I am wondering if the wheel might be the source of the problem. Recall that all 3 "bad" tires have been on the same wheel!
Since the dealer you are working with has a Hunter GSP9700, have them do a BARE wheel measurement. Contrary to what the machine says, the wheel ought to be below 0.15".
- AND -
What's the next step? Is Pirelli going to replace that tire a third time? Are they going to give up and do a complete refund?
I think what you're suspecting is probably correct.
Pirelli isn't a no name China tire manufacture, it seems very unlikely all the problems so far are with the tires.
Please see my previous post. As indicated, my wheel is less than 1/10 of the threshold that would be indicative of having a wheel issue and 1/42 of the reject threshold for Ford's wheel manufacturing. I have also had two independent dealers determine that this is a tire issue and not a wheel issue. In addition, a wheel issue would not explain the wandering tread that the tech witnessed on both replacement tires and the original.
Prior to this issue, this car had the smoothest ride I had felt since my uncle's Cadillac which was a big driver for buying the vehicle.
The Pirelli dealer themselves say that they have not stocked nor have they recommended Pirelli within the last 5 years due to manufacture defects coming out of their Mexican plant and because of how much of a pain the warranty claims are for them.
Opps! I forgot a zero in my post. The value I wanted to post was 0.015", not 0.15".
So 0.012" is close to the upper limit.
Plus, the Hunter GSP9700 has a built in upper limit for wheels at 0.026", which I think is way, way too high!
Further, the Ford upper limit is somewhere in the 0.010" range (or lower!)
Oh, and I am using the first harmonic as the value, not the peak to peak (aka composite). And just for reference, 0.001" (yes, that's a thousandth!) = 1# Road Force, so your 14# tire should have been completely offset by the 12# wheel.
So I still kind of think your wheel is part of the problem. And I wonder if your current dealer really understands what is needed to fix this problem - given that a 14# tire + a 12# wheel = a 2# assembly!
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Originally Posted By: IveBeenRued
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Well, that is at least progress.
- BUT -
I am wondering if the wheel might be the source of the problem. Recall that all 3 "bad" tires have been on the same wheel!
Since the dealer you are working with has a Hunter GSP9700, have them do a BARE wheel measurement. Contrary to what the machine says, the wheel ought to be below 0.15".
- AND -
What's the next step? Is Pirelli going to replace that tire a third time? Are they going to give up and do a complete refund?
I think what you're suspecting is probably correct.
Pirelli isn't a no name China tire manufacture, it seems very unlikely all the problems so far are with the tires.
Please see my previous post. As indicated, my wheel is less than 1/10 of the threshold that would be indicative of having a wheel issue and 1/42 of the reject threshold for Ford's wheel manufacturing. I have also had two independent dealers determine that this is a tire issue and not a wheel issue. In addition, a wheel issue would not explain the wandering tread that the tech witnessed on both replacement tires and the original.
Prior to this issue, this car had the smoothest ride I had felt since my uncle's Cadillac which was a big driver for buying the vehicle.
The Pirelli dealer themselves say that they have not stocked nor have they recommended Pirelli within the last 5 years due to manufacture defects coming out of their Mexican plant and because of how much of a pain the warranty claims are for them.
Opps! I forgot a zero in my post. The value I wanted to post was 0.015", not 0.15".
So 0.012" is close to the upper limit.
Plus, the Hunter GSP9700 has a built in upper limit for wheels at 0.026", which I think is way, way too high!
Further, the Ford upper limit is somewhere in the 0.010" range (or lower!)
Oh, and I am using the first harmonic as the value, not the peak to peak (aka composite). And just for reference, 0.001" (yes, that's a thousandth!) = 1# Road Force, so your 14# tire should have been completely offset by the 12# wheel.
So I still kind of think your wheel is part of the problem. And I wonder if your current dealer really understands what is needed to fix this problem - given that a 14# tire + a 12# wheel = a 2# assembly!
The current assembly is 14 lbs. Meaning my 12 lbs wheel offset a 26 lbs tire down to 14 lbs according to the dealer. My original tire was 44 lbs offset to 32 lbs. According to the Ford tech manual the runout limit for 17" rims is .050" my bad.
Originally Posted By: IveBeenRued
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Well, that is at least progress.
- BUT -
I am wondering if the wheel might be the source of the problem. Recall that all 3 "bad" tires have been on the same wheel!
Since the dealer you are working with has a Hunter GSP9700, have them do a BARE wheel measurement. Contrary to what the machine says, the wheel ought to be below 0.15".
- AND -
What's the next step? Is Pirelli going to replace that tire a third time? Are they going to give up and do a complete refund?
I think what you're suspecting is probably correct.
Pirelli isn't a no name China tire manufacture, it seems very unlikely all the problems so far are with the tires.
Please see my previous post. As indicated, my wheel is less than 1/10 of the threshold that would be indicative of having a wheel issue and 1/42 of the reject threshold for Ford's wheel manufacturing. I have also had two independent dealers determine that this is a tire issue and not a wheel issue. In addition, a wheel issue would not explain the wandering tread that the tech witnessed on both replacement tires and the original.
Prior to this issue, this car had the smoothest ride I had felt since my uncle's Cadillac which was a big driver for buying the vehicle.
The Pirelli dealer themselves say that they have not stocked nor have they recommended Pirelli within the last 5 years due to manufacture defects coming out of their Mexican plant and because of how much of a pain the warranty claims are for them.
Opps! I forgot a zero in my post. The value I wanted to post was 0.015", not 0.15".
So 0.012" is close to the upper limit.
Plus, the Hunter GSP9700 has a built in upper limit for wheels at 0.026", which I think is way, way too high!
Further, the Ford upper limit is somewhere in the 0.010" range (or lower!)
Oh, and I am using the first harmonic as the value, not the peak to peak (aka composite). And just for reference, 0.001" (yes, that's a thousandth!) = 1# Road Force, so your 14# tire should have been completely offset by the 12# wheel.
So I still kind of think your wheel is part of the problem. And I wonder if your current dealer really understands what is needed to fix this problem - given that a 14# tire + a 12# wheel = a 2# assembly!
The current assembly is 14 lbs. Meaning my 12 lbs wheel offset a 26 lbs tire down to 14 lbs according to the dealer. My original tire was 44 lbs offset to 32 lbs. According to the Ford tech manual the runout limit for 17" rims is .050" my bad.
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
LOL, DT price gouged my wife, sold her a way too expensive tire to match up with 3 half worn ones. The money didn't bother me, the principle of taking advantage of her did.
I'm sorry to hear that your wife had been a victim of price gouging at DT.
I always try to get the best price on internet, then had AT price matches it plus tax and installation.
Their after sale services are second to none in the tire retail industry.
This is my opinion(I may be wrong): Partially it was your fault, you should try to get the best tire for your money for what you need, then have local DT price matched it. You let your wife went there by herself without much knowledge about tire, then they would take advantage of her .
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3922077/1
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
LOL, DT price gouged my wife, sold her a way too expensive tire to match up with 3 half worn ones. The money didn't bother me, the principle of taking advantage of her did.
I'm sorry to hear that your wife had been a victim of price gouging at DT.
I always try to get the best price on internet, then had AT price matches it plus tax and installation.
Their after sale services are second to none in the tire retail industry.
This is my opinion(I may be wrong): Partially it was your fault, you should try to get the best tire for your money for what you need, then have local DT price matched it. You let your wife went there by herself without much knowledge about tire, then they would take advantage of her .
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3922077/1
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
HTSS_TR said:
Update on my situation: After several more weeks of complaining, Pirelli authorized one more replacement. Yesterday I got the new tire mounted and the shaking is completely gone. I am still waiting on getting my money back for the original warranty replacement. In short, received a total of three Pirelli Cinturato P7 A/S Plus P225/50R17 tires that resulted in a poor ride quality. They all exhibited the same issues, excessive run-out and visibly wandering tread when on a road force balancer which resulted in shaking at highway speeds.
So to summarize my whole ordeal:
2/15 - Had to get new tires while on a road trip.
2/16 - Detected an issue on the way home.
2/17 - Got tires road force balanced and an out of round tire was detected.
2/17 through 3/12 - Was refused service by 6 Pirelli dealers and had to fight with Pirelli corporate in order to obtain service for the defective tire.
3/13 - Finally got service but received another out of round tire. This tire was immediately dismounted and sent back to Pirelli.
3/15 - Second tire was mounted and also found to have wandering tread and a moderate-to-high amount run-out. It was significantly better than the previous two so it remained mounted.
3/15 through 4/9 - Had to fight again with Pirelli in order to obtain service for the second replacement tire.
4/14 - Third replacement tire is installed and the car drives perfectly now.
4/15 through present - Awaiting reimbursement for the $204 paid out for the warranty work conducted on 3/15.
But what was worse than my shaking car -which was violent enough to shake several trim pieces loose- was Pirelli's horrible customer service and lack of a supportive dealer network. I ended up having to make a total of 8 trips to a total of 7 dealers, 3+ hours of total phone calls, 16 emails, and had to submit a Better Business Bureau complaint before I was able to get a satisfactory ride. They tried blaming my brakes, they tried blaming my wheels, they tried blaming the roads, they even told me that they have a multimillion dollar machine that checks every tire before it goes out the door so there is no way that it could be their tires.
But for as horrible as this experience has been for me, my real concern is for other consumers. Approximately 43% (3 out of 7) of the tires that I received were deemed defective or otherwise resulted in a poor ride, which to me is indicative of an issue with the manufacturing line that is producing this tire in this size (which I have pointed out several times to Pirelli). How many other consumers are having an issue but do not know how to get corrective action from Pirelli or are not being believed by Pirelli? How many other consumers are going to get turned away because "it is probably just their wheel" or "new tires always ride a little funny for a while"?
In the end, I have three total cars with P7 A/S Plus tires and I've always been happy with their ride and performance but Pirelli has lost a good repeat customer because of this experience. I will be looking to other companies for my next set of tires.
So to summarize my whole ordeal:
2/15 - Had to get new tires while on a road trip.
2/16 - Detected an issue on the way home.
2/17 - Got tires road force balanced and an out of round tire was detected.
2/17 through 3/12 - Was refused service by 6 Pirelli dealers and had to fight with Pirelli corporate in order to obtain service for the defective tire.
3/13 - Finally got service but received another out of round tire. This tire was immediately dismounted and sent back to Pirelli.
3/15 - Second tire was mounted and also found to have wandering tread and a moderate-to-high amount run-out. It was significantly better than the previous two so it remained mounted.
3/15 through 4/9 - Had to fight again with Pirelli in order to obtain service for the second replacement tire.
4/14 - Third replacement tire is installed and the car drives perfectly now.
4/15 through present - Awaiting reimbursement for the $204 paid out for the warranty work conducted on 3/15.
But what was worse than my shaking car -which was violent enough to shake several trim pieces loose- was Pirelli's horrible customer service and lack of a supportive dealer network. I ended up having to make a total of 8 trips to a total of 7 dealers, 3+ hours of total phone calls, 16 emails, and had to submit a Better Business Bureau complaint before I was able to get a satisfactory ride. They tried blaming my brakes, they tried blaming my wheels, they tried blaming the roads, they even told me that they have a multimillion dollar machine that checks every tire before it goes out the door so there is no way that it could be their tires.
But for as horrible as this experience has been for me, my real concern is for other consumers. Approximately 43% (3 out of 7) of the tires that I received were deemed defective or otherwise resulted in a poor ride, which to me is indicative of an issue with the manufacturing line that is producing this tire in this size (which I have pointed out several times to Pirelli). How many other consumers are having an issue but do not know how to get corrective action from Pirelli or are not being believed by Pirelli? How many other consumers are going to get turned away because "it is probably just their wheel" or "new tires always ride a little funny for a while"?
In the end, I have three total cars with P7 A/S Plus tires and I've always been happy with their ride and performance but Pirelli has lost a good repeat customer because of this experience. I will be looking to other companies for my next set of tires.
One more thing that I thought of this morning. I already paid $152 for the original tire, $89 for road force balancing to find the issue(regular balancer didn't find the issue), $205 for the first warranty replacement tire, and $60 for the mounting and balancing fees for the two replacements. So I am out of pocket $506 currently for one tire and even if I get back the $205 for the replacement I will still have paid $311 for that single usable tire. I only paid $486 total for the other 3 tires. I will give you guys an update on if I ever do get my money back for the "warranty" work but at the rate that this is going I doubt I will ever be made whole again.
Quick update:
2/15 - Had to get new tires while on a road trip.
2/16 - Detected an issue on the way home.
2/17 - Got tires road force balanced and an out of round tire was detected.
2/17 through 3/12 - Was refused service by 6 Pirelli dealers and had to fight with Pirelli corporate in order to obtain service for the defective tire.
3/13 - Finally got service but received another out of round tire. This tire was immediately dismounted and sent back to Pirelli.
3/15 - Second tire was mounted and also found to have wandering tread and a moderate-to-high amount run-out. It was significantly better than the previous two so it remained mounted.
3/15 through 4/9 - Had to fight again with Pirelli in order to obtain service for the second replacement tire.
4/14 - Third replacement tire is installed and the car drives perfectly now. Dealer could not get in contact with Pirelli so they asked me to pay for the tire upfront and was assured that I should be reimbursed for it. Paid $204 not including mounting/balancing for the tire.
4/15 - Tire sent the THIRD DEFECTIVE TIRE back to Pirelli for analysis and began the process for reimbursement for the $204.
5/31 - Email sent to Pirelli asking for a status update - no response.
6/9 - Another email sent regarding status - Response received 6/16 asking me for the internal Pirelli warranty claim tracking number.
6/16 - Sent an email to Pirelli stating that I was never given a tracking number from Pirelli.
6/24 - Email sent to Pirelli asking for a status update.
7/7 - Email received from the Market Quality Manager apologizing for how the warranty process has been. He stated that the three defective tires had just made it to the warehouse and said that he was going to be personally following this claim and would get back to me in a few weeks.
8/12 - Email sent to Pirelli asking for a status update.
8/16 - Email from Market Quality Manager stating that the credit for the tire appears to have been screwed up somewhere between the Pirelli account manager, distributor, or the dealer. Manager stated that he was going to get it straightened out.
8/24 - Called dealer, was told that Pirelli hasn't sent them any credit for the tire. Dealer was going to contact their Pirelli corporate contact. Contacted Pirelli Market Quality Manager, was told that the credit has been issued but was missing somewhere between the distributor and the dealer. Manager claims that he is going to run this down today.
2/15 - Had to get new tires while on a road trip.
2/16 - Detected an issue on the way home.
2/17 - Got tires road force balanced and an out of round tire was detected.
2/17 through 3/12 - Was refused service by 6 Pirelli dealers and had to fight with Pirelli corporate in order to obtain service for the defective tire.
3/13 - Finally got service but received another out of round tire. This tire was immediately dismounted and sent back to Pirelli.
3/15 - Second tire was mounted and also found to have wandering tread and a moderate-to-high amount run-out. It was significantly better than the previous two so it remained mounted.
3/15 through 4/9 - Had to fight again with Pirelli in order to obtain service for the second replacement tire.
4/14 - Third replacement tire is installed and the car drives perfectly now. Dealer could not get in contact with Pirelli so they asked me to pay for the tire upfront and was assured that I should be reimbursed for it. Paid $204 not including mounting/balancing for the tire.
4/15 - Tire sent the THIRD DEFECTIVE TIRE back to Pirelli for analysis and began the process for reimbursement for the $204.
5/31 - Email sent to Pirelli asking for a status update - no response.
6/9 - Another email sent regarding status - Response received 6/16 asking me for the internal Pirelli warranty claim tracking number.
6/16 - Sent an email to Pirelli stating that I was never given a tracking number from Pirelli.
6/24 - Email sent to Pirelli asking for a status update.
7/7 - Email received from the Market Quality Manager apologizing for how the warranty process has been. He stated that the three defective tires had just made it to the warehouse and said that he was going to be personally following this claim and would get back to me in a few weeks.
8/12 - Email sent to Pirelli asking for a status update.
8/16 - Email from Market Quality Manager stating that the credit for the tire appears to have been screwed up somewhere between the Pirelli account manager, distributor, or the dealer. Manager stated that he was going to get it straightened out.
8/24 - Called dealer, was told that Pirelli hasn't sent them any credit for the tire. Dealer was going to contact their Pirelli corporate contact. Contacted Pirelli Market Quality Manager, was told that the credit has been issued but was missing somewhere between the distributor and the dealer. Manager claims that he is going to run this down today.
That sounds about right for how we get reimbursed for tire warranties. Usually takes 6-9 months for us to get paid back from any of the tire companies. Even then they usually find some reason to kick the claim. It has come to the point where we have the customer pay retail and reimburse them when we get reimbursed from the tire company.
Most consumers, including myself, would have dismissed the tire problems after the first replacement to be something else and would have just lived with this problem. Perhaps a bad CV axle joint, tire rod end, brake rotor, etc. That would be easy to do since these Pirelli tires have such great reviews on many sites - so "it must just be my car" and why spend more money trying to prove it's really their problem?
After learning of this example back in February, I started focusing on other options besides the Pirelli's and have indeed purchased two sets of tires within the past month. This type of documented problem points to an internal quality control issue at Pirelli so I decided not to chance it myself and just went with another brand instead. I appreciate the OP sharing about this experience.
After learning of this example back in February, I started focusing on other options besides the Pirelli's and have indeed purchased two sets of tires within the past month. This type of documented problem points to an internal quality control issue at Pirelli so I decided not to chance it myself and just went with another brand instead. I appreciate the OP sharing about this experience.
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Well, that is at least progress.
- BUT -
I am wondering if the wheel might be the source of the problem. Recall that all 3 "bad" tires have been on the same wheel!
Since the dealer you are working with has a Hunter GSP9700, have them do a BARE wheel measurement. Contrary to what the machine says, the wheel ought to be below 0.15".
- AND -
What's the next step? Is Pirelli going to replace that tire a third time? Are theu going to give up and do a complete refund?
I think what you're suspecting is probably correct.
Pirelli isn't a no name China tire manufacture, it seems very unlikely all the problems so far are with the tires.
Technicaly they are a Chinese tire manufacturer now. bought by ChemChina. Its probably too soon to tell how or if this affects their quality (this thread isn'ta good sign though). I personally wouldn't consider them a premium tire anymore.
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
Well, that is at least progress.
- BUT -
I am wondering if the wheel might be the source of the problem. Recall that all 3 "bad" tires have been on the same wheel!
Since the dealer you are working with has a Hunter GSP9700, have them do a BARE wheel measurement. Contrary to what the machine says, the wheel ought to be below 0.15".
- AND -
What's the next step? Is Pirelli going to replace that tire a third time? Are theu going to give up and do a complete refund?
I think what you're suspecting is probably correct.
Pirelli isn't a no name China tire manufacture, it seems very unlikely all the problems so far are with the tires.
Technicaly they are a Chinese tire manufacturer now. bought by ChemChina. Its probably too soon to tell how or if this affects their quality (this thread isn'ta good sign though). I personally wouldn't consider them a premium tire anymore.
- Status
