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Michelin Cross Terrain Tires


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Anyone else find these tires are wearing out WAY before the 65,000 mile warranty? I have the 18's, I'm at 30,000 miles and there's barely any tread left.

The warranty card says that, in order for the warranty to pro-rate the cost of new ones, I would have had to go to an authorized Michelin dealer to get them rotated every 7500 miles. Well, sorry I'm one of those guys who still likes to do that stuff for free at home. I'm probably going to call them up first, or should I start at the tire store?

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Anyone else find these tires are wearing out WAY before the 65,000 mile warranty? I have the 18's, I'm at 30,000 miles and there's barely any tread left.

The warranty card says that, in order for the warranty to pro-rate the cost of new ones, I would have had to go to an authorized Michelin dealer to get them rotated every 7500 miles. Well, sorry I'm one of those guys who still likes to do that stuff for free at home. I'm probably going to call them up first, or should I start at the tire store?

 

That probably won't be an issue unless you have uneven wear. There are way too many factors that dictate tire wear - heat, road surfaces, driving habits, etc. to say that any tire will last XX,XXX miles.

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Those warranties aren't for normal wear anyway. They just protect you for that many miles from the tire failure. Uneven wear could be caused by a poor alignment which is not Michelin's fault and I doubt they would replace them for you even then. Premature wear could be caused by the owner not keeping enough air in the tires among other factors, and again, I doubt Michelin would do anything about it. You probably have to prove something went seriously wrong for them to replace your tires for free.

 

Our Cross Terrains wore out at 22k miles on our '06 Explorer with the 16" wheels. I was hoping to get more out of them since it's a lease but we had to replace them with only 10 months left on the lease. Of course I did not replace them with the same tires as they cost too much. I got 4 Good Year Wrangler AT/D2 tires at Sam's Club for about $80 each. They aren't the greatest tires, but they won't be mine much longer either.

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The 04 Explorer my wife and I had had the same tires. By the time we turned it in at the end of the lease with 38,000 miles, the tread was low. Before the dealer sold it on their used lot, they put a brand new set of tires on it. So I would agree they are not the greatest tires.

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Those warranties aren't for normal wear anyway. They just protect you for that many miles from the tire failure.

 

Wrong. They're called "treadwear warranties" and they're exactly that. If the tread wears out prematurely they'll prorate the replacements - assuming no damage or wear caused by improper alignment or road damage.

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Wrong. They're called "treadwear warranties" and they're exactly that. If the tread wears out prematurely they'll prorate the replacements - assuming no damage or wear caused by improper alignment or road damage.

 

That makes no sense at all. If I were to go to a Michelin store and tell them that my Cross Terrains need replaced at 23k miles even though I rotated them regularly and did nothing to compromise them there is no way they would have replaced them for free under warranty. Our driving caused normal wear and those warranties only protect you from defects in the tires. These tires wear fast because they are essentially car tires put on a heavy SUV. No warranty covers that in full.

 

According to Michelin's warranty, which you can see on their site, they will replace your tires if they wear prematurely at a pro rated rate based on how many miles you have put on the old tires. Their terms state that the tires have to wear down to the minimum tread height and you have to have them rotated at a Michelin store as well as present them with all the documents proving that you purchased those tires and own the one and only vehicle they were mounted on when new. If you want free tires you have to prove a defect and since you still have to pay something for the new tires after submitting a claim for them after normal use of the old ones, it's not worth all of that to me just to save a few dollars on the new tires. There are better and cheaper tires out there. It also does not state anything about OEM tires so I'm not even sure their warranty applies to those.

 

I understand where you are coming from Allen but we should not lead folks to believe that they'll get new tires for free just because they were worn out before the warranty's max mileage.

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I understand where you are coming from Allen but we should not lead folks to believe that they'll get new tires for free just because they were worn out before the warranty's max mileage.

 

Who said Free? I said pro-rated replacements. They may have requirements but the fact remains that these are treadwear warranties and they are guaranteeing that your tires will last at least that long without reaching the minimum treadwear and if they don't last that long (subject to following the warranty requirements) then you'll get new ones and pay a pro-rated price. The tires do not have to be defective.

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I assumed one of the previous posters was looking for free tires which they weren't now that I look at it again. My bad. I've seen others expect free tires based on those warranties which is what I was trying to correct.

 

Ahh......yes, just like batteries. I don't want a tire that's built to last 65,000 miles (or worse - 80,000 miles). I'd rather pay more for a tire that performs well and rides comfortably for 30,000 miles.

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I think they are terrific relatively inexpensive highway tires for SUV's. They balance well and have little run out. They also are very quiet for SUV tires. I have used 3 sets of them (98 Explorer with 2Wd and 2002 with 4WD) and got over 60,000 on two sets and sold vehicle with 3rd set when they had 30,000 miles (4 WD) with little sign of wear. They are not good off road or snow tires. However....I am very picky about tire pressure, balancing, front end alignment, and rotation.

Edited by Ralph Greene
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Yeah I'm not looking for anything free, but damn if you list 65,000 on your tire it should at least be kind of close! I guess I should be happy that I atleast got 30,000 out of them, and they are a quiet and solid tire. But, I won't be buying these tires again unless they prorate a little. I'll trade a little noise for better wear and better traction in the snow.

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First set of Michelin Cross Terrains on my 02 Explorer XLT V8 lasted 33K, 2nd Set made it to 90K. Same Cross Terrains...or are they?

 

I remember my crown vic came new with Michelin XW4 that lasted 25K miles. The next set of XW4 lasted 58K.

 

I may be incorrect, but I suspect that sometimes the tires that are supplied to auto manufacturers may not be of the same durability as whats sold to consumers at the retail level.

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I may be incorrect, but I suspect that sometimes the tires that are supplied to auto manufacturers may not be of the same durability as whats sold to consumers at the retail level.

 

You may be right. It seems like everyone I talk to about this had better luck with the replacement set.

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Hi betaiota:

 

My name is Broadus and I am a member of the Michelin Tire Tech Team. I just wanted to clarify that all Michelin tires have a Standard Manufacturer’s Limited Warranty, which covers defects in workmanship and materials for the life of the original usable tread, or for 6 years from date of purchase, whichever occurs first. The Michelin Cross Terrain SUV tire does come with a 65,000 treadlife limited warranty in the replacement market. However, the Michelin Cross Terrain SUV does not come with a mileage warranty on original equipment vehicles.

 

To determine if any assistance can be extended to you, an inspection of your tires must be performed by a participating Michelin dealer. Once the dealer has had the opportunity to inspect your tires, inform him that you have been instructed by Michelin to request that he contact us at the number below to discuss his findings "while you are there".

 

The life of a tire cannot be measured by miles alone. Among factors that affect tire life are:

 

- tire maintenance (inflation and rotation)

- vehicle maintenance (alignment and suspension)

- driving styles and habits

- materials used in road surfaces

- topography of the area the vehicle is driven in.

 

Also, another replacement tire option for some of the more recent year-model Explorers is the Michelin LTX M/S—check with your tire dealer as to the exact fitment, though.

 

Again, if you have additional questions, please call our Consumer Care Group at 1-800-847-3435 M-F 8:00AM-8:00PM, Sat 8:30 AM-4:00PM

 

Thanks,

 

 

Broadus

Michelin Tire Tech Team

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The Michelin Cross Terrain SUV tire does come with a 65,000 treadlife limited warranty in the replacement market. However, the Michelin Cross Terrain SUV does not come with a mileage warranty on original equipment vehicles.

 

Of the 3 tire places I went to yesterday, only 1 told me that.

 

To determine if any assistance can be extended to you, an inspection of your tires must be performed by a participating Michelin dealer. Once the dealer has had the opportunity to inspect your tires, inform him that you have been instructed by Michelin to request that he contact us at the number below to discuss his findings "while you are there".

 

They weren't really interested in doing that. They all just want to move new tires, and I guess I can't blame them for that.

 

The Ford dealer parts guy was the most helpful, and even though the prices were a bit higher, I may go with them just because he took the time.

 

I don't know, I'm not sure how it makes me feel to know that the cheap version is supplied first, now I'm supposed to buy the replacements, but I'm told they are better. I'm the first one in the room to understand cost-cutting and price points, and I am very brand-loyal, but this kind of leaves me with a bad taste. I wouldn't feel that way if the good ones were supplied first.

 

I'll probably go with the Firestones- they are some of the best-rated on the web with a really great price at the local shop. Besides, that whole recall thing was what, 8 or 9 years ago??? Ah, the good old days.

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I've had good service from the cross terrains. This past summer I towed a 2200 lb. enclosed trailer

from N.J. to Alaska and back over hundreds of miles of gravel roads without a problem.

I had several flats on the trailer which started the trip with new tires, and saw many cars and trucks with flats from the sharp stones.

When I returned from AK there was a little over 39,000 miles total on the michelins and the tread

measured 5/32" on the rears and 6/32" on the fronts so they had some miles left in them.

I replaced them with the same since winter is coming and I wanted more tread than that for

driving in the snow. I hope the second set holds up as well.

 

 

06 explorer 4.0

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Hey betaiota: Just to clarify, the OE Cross Terrain and the replacement Cross Terrain for the same Ford Explorer fitment are the same exact tire built to the same Michelin standards and Ford OE specs. There is no quality difference. However, when purchased as a replacement, the Cross Terrain now comes with a 65,000 treadlife limited warranty. I'm not aware of any OE tire that comes with a treadlife warranty from any manufacturer.

 

Now, it is true that many of our tires are "tweaked" and upgraded through the manufacturing life of the product, so newer tires in the same line may perform better in certain areas than the same tire made a few years earlier due to advances in technology or manufacturing process improvements.

 

Glad to hear about your positive experience rusty spuds. That’s a lot of miles in one year!

 

Broadus

Michelin Tire Tech Team

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Beta, I would strongly suggest the Firestones or Bridgestones over ANY Michelins. Michelin tires USED to be a great tire, now they are mediocre at best, and yet still maintain the better-than-mediocre price. Just because they cost a lot, doesn't mean they are a good tire. Strongly suggest looking at BFG A/T's, ANY Uniroyal and Goodyear Wrangler ATS. The RTS's are hard and don't balance well.

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For what its worth, the wife's 04 Explorer hit 51,000 this fall and I replaced the original Goodrich All Terrains (255's, 17") . No complaint on the wear but I did not want her going through the winter with them. I bought a set of Good Year Frotera Triple Treads- in large measure due to the fact that on good Year's web site, they gave the tire a "10" on both wet and snow traction.

 

I have to say, I never liked the way the thing drove from the day it was new. With these new tires, it is a total different vehicle. Unbelievable improvement. With the old Goodrich's, it always felt like the auto FWD was engaging. Plus the ride was harsh. These Goodyears have transformed the vehicle- for the good, a great tire and I actually look forward to driving the thing now.

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These Goodyears have transformed the vehicle- for the good, a great tire and I actually look forward to driving the thing now.

 

 

I had those tires before I got the Pirelli's. Nice, quiet tire, but you won't get very many miles on them. Mine had about 20k miles on them when I got rid of them, and they were worn down to the wear bars.

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