Did some homework on treadwear warranties

[The Critic]

Tonight, I did some research on treadwear warranties.

In summary, they have some very specific documentation requirements that you must follow. They often require rotations at intervals that are different than what your vehicle manufacturer requires. Some brands even require the rotations to be done by an authorized dealer.

Listed below, are the key warranty terms from a few different manufacturers:

Michelin:
- Rotations must be done every 7,500 miles
- Rotations must be performed by an authorized Michelin retailer, and the service record must be signed each time by dealer
- Tires must be worn down to 2/32" within 6 years from the original date of purchase.

http://www.michelinman.com/mediabin/Approved/Michelin/Visuals/Digital/Promise_Owners_Manual.pdf

Pirelli:
- Rotations must be done every 3,000 to 4,000 miles
- Rotations must be documented, and the service record must be completed by a Pirelli dealer
- Tires must be worn down to 2/32".

http://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-us/car-l...y/tire-warranty

Bridgestone:
- Tires must be worn down to 2/32" within 5 years from the original date of purchase.

http://www.bridgestonetire.com/content/dam/bst/pdf/tire-warranties/Replacement_Warranty_EN_2014.pdf

Continental:
- Rotations must be done every 6,000 miles to 8,000 miles
- Rotations must be documented in the supplied Continental Rotation Schedule
- Tires must be worn down to 2/32" within 6 years from the original date of purchase.

http://continentaltire.custhelp.com/ci/fattach/get/9648/0/filename/2014+Continental+Tire+Warranty

Yokohama:
- Tires must be worn down to 2/32" within 6 years from the original date of purchase.

http://www.yokohamatire.com/tires_101/warranty/standard_consumer/

Kumho:
- Rotations must be done every 5,000 miles
- Rotations must be documented in the supplied Rotation Schedule
- Tires must be worn down to 2/32" within 6 years from the original date of purchase.

http://www.kumhousa.com/owners/tire/replacement-and-original-equipment-warranty-policies

General:
- Rotations must be done every 6,000 to 8,000 miles
- Rotations must be documented in the supplied Rotation Schedule
- Tires must be worn down to 2/32" within 6 years from the original date of purchase.

http://generaltire.custhelp.com/ci/fattach/get/9867/0/filename/2014+Limited+Warranty

IMO, you're better off choosing a tire that has a good track record in the treadwear category. It's tough to collect on a lot of these warranties. Plus, they all require you to wear the tire down to 2/32", and many of us replace tires well before that.

 

[turtlevette]

They only warranty square setups? Many cars run wider on back.

 

[901Memphis]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
They only warranty square setups? Many cars run wider on back.


The ones that wear wider on the back are often performance oriented and are more likely to be abused IMHO.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
They only warranty square setups? Many cars run wider on back.


The ones that wear wider on the back are often performance oriented and are more likely to be abused IMHO.


Most of the tire makers offer a 50% mileage warranty on the rear tires if the car has a staggered setup. Check the individual documents in the original post - the info is all there.

 

[Shannow]

http://www.coopertires.com.au/about-us/up-to-100,000km-mileage-warranty/

Cooper have a warranty in Oz.

Quote:
Your tyres are guaranteed to last from 50,000 - 100,000km depending on size and tread pattern and subject to normal usage in on and off-road situations. The regular care and maintenance of your wheel alignment, brakes, suspension and wheels are crucial to the performance and wear of your Cooper tyres; for this reason, you must return your vehicle to an authorised Cooper retailer each 10,000km for an inspection of these items.


Stupid thing is that for an off road tyre, the Warranty only applies if your car is registered in a capital city...I live less than 100 miles away from Sydney, and can't get the warranty.

Which is fine by me, as they are over $300/paw, and handle like a dog on wet lino.

 

[ronbo]

Not sure if the following applies?

Do I have to use the dealer for repairs and maintenance to keep my warranty in effect?

No. An independent mechanic, a retail chain shop, or even you yourself can do routine maintenance and repairs on your vehicle. In fact, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which is enforced by the FTC, makes it illegal for manufacturers or dealers to claim that your warranty is void or to deny coverage under your warranty simply because someone other than the dealer did the work. That said, there may be certain

link: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0138-auto-warranties-routine-maintenance

 

[stephen9666]

Here's the Cooper warranty

Long story short:
-the original owner.
-rotate your tires in accordance with prescribed rotation patterns at least every 8,000 miles (13,000 km)and it must be recorded.
-present the tire for adjustment.
-present this warranty booklet when requesting an adjustment and your original purchase receipt, date of purchase, vehicle type, model, odometer reading and rotation record are properly recorded.

http://us.coopertire.com/Customer-Care/Warranty-Information.aspx
Quote:
The Tread Wear warranty is available provided that you:

are the original owner.
rotate your tires in accordance with prescribed rotation patterns at least every 8,000 miles (13,000 km)and it must be recorded.
present the tire for adjustment.
present this warranty booklet when requesting an adjustment and your original purchase receipt, date of purchase, vehicle type, model, odometer reading and rotation record are properly recorded.

If the tire wears to the tread wear indicators in less than the miles warranted, a pro-rated adjustment will be made according to actual mileage delivered. Your replacement cost will be determined by dividing the actual mileage delivered by the miles warranted and multiplying the result times the current selling price of an equivalent Cooper tire. You must pay for mounting and balancing and any other additional charges, such as taxes or the acceptance of a higher priced replacement tire.

Tread Life
When the tread becomes worn to 2/32" (1.6mm) anywhere on the tire (shown by tread wear indicators molded into the tread grooves), the tire is worn out. WARNING—for important safety information, you must read the section titled “Tire Service Life” and the Tire Safety Warnings section of this guide. Safety information is also located in our Tire Safety section and from your retailer.

How to Obtain an Adjustment
Tire adjustments must be presented to your local Cooper retailer. You must present this booklet, proof of purchase and be the original owner when requesting a replacement for your tire. See “WHERE TO GO FOR WARRANTY REPLACEMENT”.

 

[mrsilv04]

These are all pretty much worthless, if you drive less than 10,000 miles a year.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Just replaced 2 Kumho 4X on the rear of S2000 couple months ago. The warranty for 4X is 40k miles, but only 20k miles for stagger tires. Since stagger tires can't be rotated, tire manufactures don't require rotation.

The rear lasted only 11,xxx miles so I get 40% pro-rated of original purchase price 2 years ago from America's Tire.

Since we don't have much rain in So Cal, I normally have tires down to 2/32" of even less before raining season starting November/December. High performance tires actually improve on dry roads when tread is down to less than 2/32".

 

[CapriRacer]

So here are the things that are NOT written in the warranties:

1) Dealers have a lot of wiggle room. They can do a warranty for one brand and apply it to another brand 9something the written warranty says is not supposed to happen.)

2) Wear warranties typically also state that the tires can not have alignment wear - and any odd wear pattern would indicate an alignment issue. THIS is probably the single most disqualifier when tires are submitted for warranty - more than the rotation records, repairs, etc.

3) While pretty much all the warranties are written that you have to get to 2/32nds (1.6mm) tread depth remaining, if you get close (say 3 or 4/32nds), they will usually give it to you. But don't take this to mean that 5/32nds would get accepted.

And, yes, there is a bit of a conflict between the idea that tires ought to be removed at 4/32nds due to wet traction issues or 5/32nds due to snow traction issues and the 2/32nds wear out point. I don't think this is going to resolved anytime soon.