Final update: It took seven months, but my credit card was finally credited for the amount that I had to front for the replacement tire. I am still out ~$180 for mounting and road force balancing, but at least I got the $204 back that I had to front for the replacement tire.
I will not be buying Pirelli tires for quite some time because of this experience.
Updated timeline:
2/15 - Had to get new tires while on a road trip.
2/16 - Detected an issue on the way home to Virginia.
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 the replacement tire was found to be just as out of round as the original. 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 - Dealer 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.
9/17 - Received letter in the mail regarding the refund and observed the credit on my account.
I still think that there was (or is) something wrong with the P205/50R17 line of the Pirelli P7 A/S+ production line. The probability of getting one bad tire is already extremely low but somehow I managed to get three. Please use caution if you are shopping around for these tires in this size.
I will not be buying Pirelli tires for quite some time because of this experience.
Updated timeline:
2/15 - Had to get new tires while on a road trip.
2/16 - Detected an issue on the way home to Virginia.
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 the replacement tire was found to be just as out of round as the original. 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 - Dealer 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.
9/17 - Received letter in the mail regarding the refund and observed the credit on my account.
I still think that there was (or is) something wrong with the P205/50R17 line of the Pirelli P7 A/S+ production line. The probability of getting one bad tire is already extremely low but somehow I managed to get three. Please use caution if you are shopping around for these tires in this size.
