Hi Guys,

Has anyone had any experience of a tyre written off so quickly due to a small sidewall bulge?

No kerbing, speedbump or any significant or remotely memorable pothole damage. Small bulge on Front Offside appeared and I noticed while I was washing the car. Tyres put on just days before Christmas ( thought I was doing well getting away from the crappy Dunlops which I got 18700 from so I dont drive the car hard! ) Tyre replaced with new one and offending tyre sent off to Michelin for testing. Told that may take 1 to 3 months. I have heard from other sites it may be damage from the fitting place putting the tyre on but I dont know the ins and outs of that one. Obviously being £144 out of pocket on top of £560 isnt good at this time of year.

Anybody got any experience of this happening and what was the outcome in their situation?

According to other sites its usually a report saying its pothole damage. Does anyone know if possible internal damage from the fitting of the tyre would show up in the report?

Thanks

Czechsmasher

Bulges usually occur when there is delamination (i.e. the bonding between layers of the tyre fails, allowing air to enter and 'inflate' the outer layer). This can occur due to a manufacturing defect or when the tyre is 'nipped' by a kerb or pothole.

Some years ago I had a similar situation with a Bridgestone tyre on a Subaru. It had only done about 2k miles and no obvious reason for the bulge. Bridgestone were very good and refunded me in about 2 weeks.

Bulges usually occur when there is delamination (i.e. the bonding between layers of the tyre fails, allowing air to enter and 'inflate' the outer layer). This can occur due to a manufacturing defect or when the tyre is 'nipped' by a kerb or pothole.

Some years ago I had a similar situation with a Bridgestone tyre on a Subaru. It had only done about 2k miles and no obvious reason for the bulge. Bridgestone were very good and refunded me in about 2 weeks.

Thanks, thats the sort of result I am hoping Michelin will come back with. When the fitter took it off and expected the inside of the tyre the bulge had occured in one of two joining sections of the tyre. The fitters also confirmed no visible pothole damage ( scuffs or mark on alloys etc ) Would avoid Michelin in the future if they do come back with anything else than a refund though as my faith in the product is a bit shaken. Google searches on the subject has only made it worse!

just to update for reference purposes, tyre being examined now in france after 2 chase up calls to michelin. will post outcome expected next week.

Edited 9 February, 201115 yr by czechsmasher

I only managed to get 10k miles out of my front Dunlop SPAXX, you did well !

And I've been told I drive like a pensioner !

Good luck chasing up the Michelins.

Thanks, thats the sort of result I am hoping Michelin will come back with. When the fitter took it off and expected the inside of the tyre the bulge had occured in one of two joining sections of the tyre. The fitters also confirmed no visible pothole damage ( scuffs or mark on alloys etc ) Would avoid Michelin in the future if they do come back with anything else than a refund though as my faith in the product is a bit shaken. Google searches on the subject has only made it worse!

Czechsmasher,

I had exactly the same on a Michelin PS3. I noticed it when washing although the tyre had done a few thousand miles by then.

I don't remember any pothole or kerb damage - it was the front o/s.

When the tyre was removed there was no visible damage on the inside.

I put it down to experience and replaced the tyre.

Michelin replaced the tyre after 4 months of fighting my corner. Recorded delivery letter to Eric le Corre , CEO of Michelin UK was IGNORED for 3 weeks till I chased them AGAIN. Eventually mentioned Auto Express had been contacted over the case and I got a replacement in the post. It should not have to be this way guys! I will NEVER consider michelin, bf goodrich or uniroyal again. Shocking attitude and shocking customer service and they have the cheek to advertise their tyres on tv lasting 6000 miles more than others while showing them driving through potholes! They obviously have never heard of the Advertising Standards Agency or the words "customer service" Shocking Experience.

Could have been worse, they could have not sent you the replacement and fobbed you off instead.

If they knew you would never buy from them again even after sending you a replacement, they could have saved themselves the cost of a tyre and delivery

Precisely why i would never buy Michelin.

Just had two PS3 fronts fitted... :p

Very impressed to date, fingers crossed!

I've never had any problems with my Pilot Sport 3's other than a burst tyre when I drove over a nail or something by accident! Very happy with my PS3's Next thing to buy is a set of winter tyres & steel alloys before we all get snow and ice again!

Michelin replaced the tyre after 4 months of fighting my corner. Recorded delivery letter to Eric le Corre , CEO of Michelin UK was IGNORED for 3 weeks till I chased them AGAIN. Eventually mentioned Auto Express had been contacted over the case and I got a replacement in the post. It should not have to be this way guys! I will NEVER consider michelin, bf goodrich or uniroyal again. Shocking attitude and shocking customer service and they have the cheek to advertise their tyres on tv lasting 6000 miles more than others while showing them driving through potholes! They obviously have never heard of the Advertising Standards Agency or the words "customer service" Shocking Experience.

Your doing exactly the right thing by voting with your feet and a post on a car enthusiast forum. That kind of service is bad and shows a lack of respect for the customer. Nevery buy Michelin myself, and never will.

This is an interesting site to check out tread wear, traction and temperature ratings - will be checking this from now on for my next replacements. I wonder why this site is not more publicised, can only think because it relates to american standards. Still, worth a look.

http://www.safercar.gov/Vehicle+Shoppers/Tires/Tires+Rating#wear

Had an issue with a Pirelli PZero Nero on my Fabia which was eventually sorted after I had part-exed it. Took a few weeks for the dealer to resolve.

I was also really unlucky running over a key and ruining a £150+ PS2 in under 1000 miles. Costco had bought the last of the PS2s and had no more stock so had to replace with a more expensive PS3 which didn't quite match.

What's the beef with Uniroyal? They're part of Conti and nothing to do with Mich who's brands are Michelin, BFG, Kleber and Kormoran.

Always had Energy Savers on mine and been very impressed

Had an issue with a Pirelli PZero Nero on my Fabia which was eventually sorted after I had part-exed it. Took a few weeks for the dealer to resolve.

I was also really unlucky running over a key and ruining a £150+ PS2 in under 1000 miles. Costco had bought the last of the PS2s and had no more stock so had to replace with a more expensive PS3 which didn't quite match.

What's the beef with Uniroyal? They're part of Conti and nothing to do with Mich who's brands are Michelin, BFG, Kleber and Kormoran.

Uniroyal is owned by Michelin in the States, that fact alone would make me stay clear.

Glad you got it sorted, but 4 months is shocking

I feel your pain as I caught a hole on the edge of a roundabout and took a chunk out of my unmarked alloy and put a bug hole in the sidewall. Tyre is only 5000 miles old so hardly used, gutted doesn't cut it but hey ho

I'm a tyre dealer and this sort of thing happens all the time. If I get a customer in with a faulty tyre and it's an obvious manufacturing fault I'll just replace the tyre for them there and then and chase the replacement up myself.

Michelin probably make some of the best tyres on the market but as with anything mass produced faults happen. I don't know why it takes so long for tyre company's to examine the tyre and get back to you but I've had the same problem loads of times. The customer is pressuring you to get it sorted, I pressure the wholesaler and who knows what the wholesaler does after that.

You should give Vredesteins a shot, the new UltracCento's look the business!

Thanks for info on the Vredesteins, always fancied them, will look into their test results more and consider them renewal time ( usually round xmas: ) Need something good in wet but also hard wearing as car does a lot of motorway miles. Nearly 9000 miles on the clock since the Michelins were put on and they are sitting at 6mm all round other than the front nearside ( 5mm ) - the replacement to the damaged tyre was fitted on the front offside ) Extremely happy with the Michelin wear rate and the good rolling resistance is very noticeable too. At 9000 miles on the Dunlops I had to rotate the tyres in a bid to get shot off them all at once and as quickly as possible. Performance ok but I have noticed the Pilot Sport 3 slide sideways a bit driving through some standing water which surprised me but the thing I do not like about them is due to their compound you get little stones embedded into your thick tread. Dont get me wrong Michelin wear rates are fantastic but their attitude towards Customer Service IF anything goes wrong is pitiful. Lost any future business from me over it and I have since fitted 3 Contis to my works van ( tyres on contract so god knows how much that cost my hire company:) which racks up a fairly high mileage as well. Doubt they will last anything like the Original Michelin Agilis which was replaced on it at 66500 ( year of manufacture confirmed on tyre wall ) and was still quite legal but I thought it had done its job. Guys at Kwik Fit couldnt quite get their heads round that one! Guy who fitted the tyres and runs the shop I take my Octy to said he had worked for ATS ( Michelin Owned Company ) for 15 years and he had personally never seen a successful claim go through against Michelin for a defective tyre. Looking at the threads on Google and the cases in the US it makes you wonder.