Frustratred with Bubbling Michelins

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I have a 2 year old set of Michelin Primacy MXM4s on my MKZ. They have about 20K miles on them.

A few months back, I noticed two bubbles in the side wall of my right rear tire. I took it back and had it replaced under road hazard. Last week, I noticed the right front had bubbled up also, and in looking it over I spotted one on the left front. I have an appointment Wednesday evening to replace those two-they'll be under pro-rated road hazard, so I'm just going to do the 4th one also-I hate throwing away a good tire, but I also don't want to have one mis-matched one.

In any case, I'm wondering if I have a case for asking them to take a closer look for a defect in the tires. I know bubbles are USUALLY a product of sidewall impact, but I'm extremely careful about making sure they're properly inflated(32psi all around per the door sticker) and about avoiding potholes/etc. These are a 245/45/17, which is not something I'd consider overly low profile.

Any thoughts on this?
 
Originally Posted by bunnspecial
Any thoughts on this?


A 45 aspect ratio is low profile. If you know you didn't hit stuff, keep them aired up, and nobody else drives the car without you present... what else could it be but defects?
 
I guess my "not low profile" comment is relative to a lot of sedans you see now with 19"+ tires that look like rubber bands. A 245/45 still has over 4" of sidewall-it's not the 185/70s on the MG, but still more than you see on a lot of cars. I know, though, that once you get into the ~50 range you are getting into "low profile" territory.

In any case, of the 20K miles on this set of tires, my dad could probably claim about 50 miles total in the two years(he's made a few short trips when I was at my parents house and it was parked in front of his spot in the garage), but I know he's even more particular about avoiding things on the road than I am(and I'm careful). I doubt he's driven it in 6 months, though-the last time anyone else drove it without me in the car was when I had the last bubbled one changed and the tire shop pulled it in and out of the garage.
 
I gave up on Michelin tires years ago due to cord separation. I think they're over rated and over hyped.
 
I would be thrilled to get a brand new set of tires after 20k. You should let the company know if you believe they're defective. I did that with Yokohama and they had the tire shipped to them for inspection.

Is your car AWD?
 
Originally Posted by Gasbuggy
I would be thrilled to get a brand new set of tires after 20k. You should let the company know if you believe they're defective. I did that with Yokohama and they had the tire shipped to them for inspection.

Is your car AWD?


"Pro-rated road hazard" - I'm guessing he's paying something, not getting them for free...
 
Just an FYI:

If these bulges were defects, then they would be present on brand new tires. If not, then they are occurring in service and likely the result of impact damage.

Are these tires particularly sensitive to impact damage? Perhaps, but one must also consider that all it takes is one particular incident.
 
Originally Posted by bunnspecial
I guess my "not low profile" comment is relative to a lot of sedans you see now with 19"+ tires that look like rubber bands. A 245/45 still has over 4" of sidewall-it's not the 185/70s on the MG, but still more than you see on a lot of cars. I know, though, that once you get into the ~50 range you are getting into "low profile" territory.

In any case, of the 20K miles on this set of tires, my dad could probably claim about 50 miles total in the two years(he's made a few short trips when I was at my parents house and it was parked in front of his spot in the garage), but I know he's even more particular about avoiding things on the road than I am(and I'm careful). I doubt he's driven it in 6 months, though-the last time anyone else drove it without me in the car was when I had the last bubbled one changed and the tire shop pulled it in and out of the garage.

They are low profile tire.
 
They are only considered to be "low profile" only due to the aspect ratio, but 4.34" of sidewall is still plenty of sidewall.

But, a 205/55r16 is a common size, and the 55 aspect ratio isn't really considered to be low profile anymore, especially considering the 4.43" of sidewall.

Back in the 80's a 60 aspect ratio was considered to be low profile.
 
Originally Posted by UG_Passat
They are only considered to be "low profile" only due to the aspect ratio, but 4.34" of sidewall is still plenty of sidewall ...




Apparently not !

I have damaged 205/55's ( 4.43 inch sidewall) and 185/55's (4.1 inch sidewall). But never once in 9 years did I damage a 225 / 70 tire. The sidewall on those is over 6 inches, and I think those extra inches make a HUGE difference in tire durability.
 
Originally Posted by geeman789
Originally Posted by UG_Passat
They are only considered to be "low profile" only due to the aspect ratio, but 4.34" of sidewall is still plenty of sidewall ...




Apparently not !

I have damaged 205/55's ( 4.43 inch sidewall) and 185/55's (4.1 inch sidewall). But never once in 9 years did I damage a 225 / 70 tire. The sidewall on those is over 6 inches, and I think those extra inches make a HUGE difference in tire durability.


I have only bubbled a 235/45 Pirelli P6 4-seasons. I have hit worse at higher speeds with 235/40 Kumho ECSTA Platinum LX without any sidewall damage.

On the cute-ute… the next tire will be Nokian Entyre C/S with the Aramid reinforced sidewalls.... so tire construction makes big difference, but that's 235/50r18... while the winter setup is a 215/65r16 Nokian WR G4 SUV, with again, the Aramid reinforced sidewalls.
 
I wanted to follow up on this-the shop looked at them and claimed "impact damage", but agreed that it was fishy that 3 out 4 in a set had done the same thing.

The end result was they replaced the two additional bubbled ones at no charge for the tire(just mounting/balancing and road hazard) then knocked $80 off the price of the one remaining undamaged tire since they thought it showed evidence of "premature aging" also.

I can't complain too much about that-at the end of the day Tire Discounters(a different chain from Discount Tire that seems to be contained mostly to Kentucky and Ohio) did me right like they always have.
 
Hmm, I never bought or owned Michelins in my life, ever since mid '80s. What am I doing wrong?
lol.gif
 
Definitely agree they're not low profile.

They have a big enough sidewall that you can SEE if they're low on air.

Heck, your sidewalls are BIGGER than my old Honda Civic with 215/50R17 tires and those were not considered low profile... my new Civic Si with 235/40R18 is considered low profile.
 
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