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Premature tire wear - original equipment (OE) Michelin Premier LTX

53K views 67 replies 31 participants last post by  Grantv  
#1 ·
I have a 2017 Acadia that I bought new 10 months ago. Had the oil changed three times, the tires rotated twice, and the last time my tread depth was shown at 3's and 4's, relatively even, but very close to worn out and likely won't pass my one year inspection- and I've driven 16k miles with no hard driving at all. Local dealer says they can't help, dealer I bought it from says they can't help but to call Michelin, GM's new vehicle tire warranty group said they issued a 'Bulletin' making dealers aware of the premature wear and tear problem with Michelins on '17 and '18 Acadias, but with no required action. Tried calling Michelin for two days now, but their 800 # lists a recording that they're having technical difficulties and to call back. Called GMC customer service and they said it's not their problem, despite the bulletin which they acknowledge.

Anyone else having a similar problem? Were you able to resolve this effectively?

There must be others if they issued such a bulletin. Every contact I've had with GMC to date has been great, except for this. But everyone I talk to at GMC is pointing me to someone else.
 
#2 ·
If you do a search you should find another owner that recently posted about premature tire wear on their '17. Michelin offered 50% off a new set of tires. As I recall that owner was still upset because they didn't want another set of Michelin tires.

The set of manuals you received with your vehicle should have one from Michelin for the tires. That will be your point of contact.
 
#3 ·
Here is the link: https://www.acadiaforum.net/8-gmc-acadia/18281-worn-tires-14k.html

Other Michelin tire models should be perfectly fine. Yes, it is a big disappointment with premature tire wear. A manufacturing error somewhere. Michelin might have a specific range of tire date codes, that they claim are defective?

I had problems with replacement Cooper tires back on our 07, which they gave me full refund and let me buy another manufactures tire from the same shop. It took several e-mails back and forth with Cooper. Long story short. I like to do things in writing, if at all possible.
 
#4 ·
Hi dafbpool, member divitdug might be referring to me in his response since I have been fairly persistent about my complaints with these tires Michelin tires on some of the 2107 and 2018 GM vehicles. I had these tires on 2 GM vehicles, a 2017 Buick Envision and a 2017 GMC Acadia. Theses tire wore out to the point that they would not pass inspection after approx. 14K to 16K miles respectively. Unacceptable. My GM dealer informed me that Michelin recognized that there was a premature wear problem with these tires (you can read more poor reviews about these tires on Tire Rack and on Consumer Reports). These tires are generally well rated, however they receive abysmal reviews for winter traction and especially for premature wear. My dealer offered me a 50% prorate which, as divitdug correctly pointed out, is a rather generous offer. However, the problem is that these vehicles are leases and I am not even half way through the lease, which means that I would very likely wear through another set of these tires before the leases are up. The combined cost of having to replace 4 sets of tires between the 2 cars even at the 50% prorate is kind of ridiculous. I must advise that the dealer informed me that in response to the recognized premature wear (soft rubber compound) concerns, Michelin has reformulated the tire composition such that the new versions have a better tread life. Personally, I was not comfortable enough with this assessment so I ended up purchasing different brand tires from Tire Rack , at my cost, for both of the cars and I got tires that are more appropriate to my winter climate. So far I am very happy with them as they handle well in the snow unlike the Michelins. The lesson I learned is to pay attention to the tires when buying or leasing vehicles and/or be prepared to add in the cost of buying snow tires in my climate (as divitdug also correctly pointed out). Sorry to be so long-winded but I saw that there were many entries in this forum regarding these tires so I thought I would share my experience. Basically you are screwed with these tires so plan on buying something else.
 
#6 ·
No need to apologize. I'm not bothered by such things.

I will add that I currently have an '18 with those tires. I'm at 7k miles and the tires are at 8/32" tread depth. Based on that I doubt they will last to the end of my lease but do expect they will make it past 16k miles.

Not a very aggressive tread pattern so I can see where they might not fair well in the snow. Fortunately I'm retired so I don't need to find out how well they work.
 
#9 · (Edited)
I believe the Michelin specific tire this thread is intended for is the: Michelin LTX M/S2.

Correct me if I am wrong.
Everyone has been discussing the Michelin Premier LTX which comes on the new Acadias - different tire than the LTX M/S2. (I don't know if there's a tire option from the factory.)
 
#11 ·
I'm curious. Is your vehicle AWD or FWD? I wonder if wear rates are different for the two systems?
Mine is AWD, which I use full time. (I like the handling and stability it AWD provides) I have a theory that AWD eats tires faster than FWD. Mine tires are only going to make about half of the 60k wear guarantee.
 
#12 ·
The tires on my 2017 (20 inch rims ) are rated at treadwear 650, traction A and temperature 4. Indeed they are labeled Premier LTX. I just had them rotated because I found the right front to near the treadwear crossbar. That wheel likes to spin too easily. I guess that I had better check all four.
 
#13 ·
#15 ·
I have a 2017 Acadia SLT that came with the Michelin Premier LTX 235/65 R18 tires. See Pictures attached, but they are down to the warning ribs are 29K miles. My father has called for the same tissue and they offered him a discount on new tires. I will be calling today. I will keep you posted. Meantime what has everyone used as replacement tires?
 

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#18 · (Edited)
New vehicles DO NOT come with bad tires. I have not had a new vehicle in the last 30 years that did not have the tires were at least 40 to 50 K miles. The problem with many people and their view of tire wear is that they do not have the experience of tires 50 years ago. In those days 25,000 to 30,000 was considered good.


George
 
#19 ·
I bought General Tire Altimax RT43's They ride nice and the only complaint is when driving on grooved pavement they will wander a little but that's it. My wife drives 80 miles round trip per day, now through snowy conditions and she likes them just fine. We have 6K miles on them now.

https://generaltire.com/tires/passenger/altimax-rt43

https://www.consumerreports.org/products/all-season-tire/general-altimax-rt43-t-296735/overview/

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...=AltiMAX+RT43+(T-Speed+Rated)&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=365TR8AMRT43&tab=Sizes

Only other concern is that it's not an SUV tire but a passenger car tire. They're still SL load rated at 106 just like original OEM Michelins which are also 106 load rated at 2094 lbs per tire. I don't plan on off-roading with my Acadia, I would have bought a Highlander or 4Runner if I had. Tire tread on the RT43's is 11 vs the OEM which are 8.5 (in 1/32")
 
#21 ·
I bought General Tire Altimax RT43's They ride nice and the only complaint is when driving on grooved pavement they will wander a little but that's it.
Good luck with the Generals. It was a set of OE Ameritechs on a Lumina APV that got >100K miles for me. Wouldn't worry too much about minor wandering if the grooves are a bit wavy - many times they are.
 
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#20 ·
It appears that Michelin Premier LTX treadwear, needs to be watched, and if premature wear, see a Michelin dealer for compensation/replacement. Find out what the good tire date code from the mfg, begins. Did they make a reformulation change for longer treadwear?
 
#23 ·
I bet you could find them if you looked hard enough. Might have to get a bit creative with sizing, though. Why would you want those noisy things on your car any way?
 
#24 ·
This thread convinced me to go look at the tires on my '17 Denali, and they looked in pretty decent condition after 13K miles. Half of that mileage is 2 trips from FL to NH, so pretty easy highway miles. The rest is a mix of every kind of road condition you can imagine. They are reading right around 7/32". The Discount Tire site says they come with 9/32", so if I assume replacement at 2/32", that means calling them 30% worn is close enough. That would extrapolate to around 43K miles, and definitely not 60K.

Since I put less than 7K/yr on this particular vehicle, and that combined with my history of trading vehicles means any tire replacement will almost certainly be the next owner's problem. I think the last time I had to buy tires for a car was back in the early 90's. ;D
 
#27 ·
I’m noticing more than the usual wear on the tires of my wife’s 2017 Acadia SLT as well. It has a little over 10k miles and we bought it 6 months ago as a demo with 3500 miles on it. I really want to get more All Terrain type tires on it since it has the All Terrain package on it. I really like the Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain tires that are on my Colorado. That was an option on the prior gen Acadia as well.
 
#28 ·
Here is the deal on tires.

Some OE tires are good and are designed for the car. But some are just sold at a cheap price to MFGs to get the vehicle out the door.

A friend of mine used to be in charge of OE tire sales to the automakers for one of the large tire makers. He told me in some applications the auto makers are willing to pay more for a specific tire like on the Corvette or the. Lot due to specific needs.

On the other hand tires like the Hankooks on my Terrain and someof the other models they will only use older or cheaper tires.

Like on my HHR SS it came with Pilots but they were an older style GM could get cheaper. They were horrible in the rain even as listed as all season.

The other factor that hurts OE tires are things like tire noise. MFGs have drive by noise standards and that can compromise design in some applications. Same on grip but many of today’s compounds are much improved and still can provide better wear.

The bottom line is most of the best tires out there are not OE.

In this case it appears Michelin messed up on the compounding.

I plan to up grade to another brand anyway. It just may be sooner than I had expected.

Note when we went from the OE Handkooks to the Goodyear’s I put on the Terrsin went from being a handful in snow to a real snow and rain machine. The Handkooks were really not a great tire. They were a great example of saving a buck.

Note all tire MFGs have older and cheaper tires the offer OE. I am not going to single just one out. They all do it.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Car buyers are not bound to accept a car with 'factory' rubber on it. They have an option to negotiate the tire of their choice into the purchase of the car. The same thing applies to custom wheels. Only thing the customer must be concerned about is warranty implications for 'dealer-installed' options.
 
#30 ·
The facts: My Michelin Premiere LTX on 2017 Acadia All Terrain. 11,765 miles. Rears 4/32, RF 5/32, LF 7/32. Measured at 8/32 with 5 miles when vehicle purchased. LF had nail removed and replaced at 5k, nail on corner of tread. LF measured 9/32 new. RR had screw removed from center of tread and patched at 8k. LR had screw removed from Center of tread, no penetration - got lucky.
My opinion: Factory tires way way way softer than replacement tire. I will replace all 4 in the Spring - with another tire. I guarantee the replacement tire will get double the mileage easy of the factory tires.
Performance: wet and dry, handling and braking are superb. Ice and snow - OMG, put snow tires on the vehicle. I would not call this an All Season TIre. This is a Summer tire.
 
#32 ·
Data point: '15 Denali with 255/55-20s. Original tires lasted 37k, so bought Michelin Defender LTX M/S2, a 70k mile tire. Just had them replaced yesterday at 34,800 miles, wore dead even with rotations every 5 - 8k miles. Michelin picking up tab for 1/2 of new tires. Nuisance to have to change them so often, but at least they stood behind them. The are excellent on the road, touch of noise but not bad, and snow/ice traction is quite good (know what real snows are like too, I use dedicated Nokian snows on kids' MKX and Sumitomo Ice Edge on my LS460; Nokians are best).
 
#33 ·
You folks getting 60 or 90k miles out of a set of tires, move to Pgh and drive over cobblestones, potholes, bridges, up and down hills etc. Tell me if you ever get 30k in Pittsburgh. I just replaced my 2017 Acadia OEMs - Michelin Premier LTX’s, thank you for 3 flats, 11k miles and worn to 3.5 32nds in 1.5 years. I noticed the Jeep SUVs running with Firestone Destination LEs. We’ll see how they run. They look like a Pittsburgh tire. 8/32nds at Brand New on the Premiers, those are slicks.
 
#34 ·
... move to Pgh and drive over cobblestones, potholes, bridges, up and down hills etc. ...
Some things never change. LOL Trolley tracks in the roads always made things interesting, too. (South Hills born and raised. ;) )
 
#35 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have a 2017 Acadia that I bought new 10 months ago. Had the oil changed three times, the tires rotated twice, and the last time my tread depth was shown at 3's and 4's, relatively even, but very close to worn out and likely won't pass my one year inspection- and I've driven 16k miles with no hard driving at all. Local dealer says they can't help, dealer I bought it from says they can't help but to call Michelin, GM's new vehicle tire warranty group said they issued a 'Bulletin' making dealers aware of the premature wear and tear problem with Michelins on '17 and '18 Acadias, but with no required action. Tried calling Michelin for two days now, but their 800 # lists a recording that they're having technical difficulties and to call back. Called GMC customer service and they said it's not their problem, despite the bulletin which they acknowledge.

Anyone else having a similar problem? Were you able to resolve this effectively?

There must be others if they issued such a bulletin. Every contact I've had with GMC to date has been great, except for this. But everyone I talk to at GMC is pointing me to someone else.
Same issue here. Tires are toast at 30k miles. I am very disappointed. I contacted Michelin but they just want me to jump through a bunch of hoops. I have to prove my tires were rotated on schedule. I actually missed a tire rotation because I made an appointment at GMC for an oil change and tire rotatation. When I picked up my 2017 Acadia, I did not see the rotation on the paperwork. I asked them about it and they said it didn't need it and they would do it next time. Unfortunately, that was the last oil change I was getting from the GMC near me because I had the prepurchased oil changes and had to do that through a Lithia dealership. Long story short... I think that missed rotation will give Michelin the out they are looking for to honor the warranty.

I have reached out to Beaverton GMC, twice and have still not received a call back. But I have a feeling, based on what others are saying, that won't be worthwhile anyway. So frustrating! Michelin should do the right thing and replace these tires for folks who are only getting half the life they should. It seems apparent that there is a defect. That is their responsibility regardless of how many tire rotations I have had.
 
#37 ·
Same issue here. Tires are toast at 30k miles. I am very disappointed. I contacted Michelin but they just want me to jump through a bunch of hoops. I have to prove my tires were rotated on schedule. I actually missed a tire rotation because I made an appointment at GMC for an oil change and tire rotatation. When I picked up my 2017 Acadia, I did not see the rotation on the paperwork. I asked them about it and they said it didn't need it and they would do it next time. Unfortunately, that was the last oil change I was getting from the GMC near me because I had the prepurchased oil changes and had to do that through a Lithia dealership. Long story short... I think that missed rotation will give Michelin the out they are looking for to honor the warranty.

I have reached out to Beaverton GMC, twice and have still not received a call back. But I have a feeling, based on what others are saying, that won't be worthwhile anyway. So frustrating! Michelin should do the right thing and replace these tires for folks who are only getting half the life they should. It seems apparent that there is a defect. That is their responsibility regardless of how many tire rotations I have had.
So what exactly are you wanting GMC to do for you? The tires are warranted by Michelin. Any warranty claim is with them.

The tread wear warranty is very specific. The owner needs to prove the tires were rotated every 6000-8000 miles. Failure to do so voids the warranty.

By your own admission you missed a rotation, thus voiding your warranty. Why is this anyone's fault but your own?