# Factory tire B2B question



## neile300c (Jul 8, 2014)

Technically, they are not. But depending on how many miles you have on the car, and who your dealer is, they may help you out. Are all 4 doing this, or just 1?


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

The factory tires are covered under a separate warranty that should have been provided when you purchased the car. What you're seeing on that tread can be caused by any number of things - improper balancing (doesn't take much), lots of very hard cornering (not likely but I've seen tires do this when inflated past the sidewall PSI and cornered hard), and really rough roads on seriously under inflated tires. The fact that the chips are on both sides makes me think balance is the most likely culprit. Based on the apparent tread depth those tires look like they're about two thirds of the way through their life span.

Now for the good news, other than making the tires really noisy you're not looking at an immediate safety hazard. Just keep an eye on them to ensure the chipping doesn't get down past the tread depth.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

Looks like gravel road damage. 

20 years ago I had a very expensive set of Goodyear Eagles go like this after the rubber had aged about five years and I drove about three miles on a gravel road. 

I have strenuously avoided gravel roads ever since.


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## Hump66 (Mar 31, 2016)

neile300c said:


> Technically, they are not. But depending on how many miles you have on the car, and who your dealer is, they may help you out. Are all 4 doing this, or just 1?


Almost 29 miles, 3 of the 4 are but blew one today on road debris.



obermd said:


> The factory tires are covered under a separate warranty that should have been provided when you purchased the car. What you're seeing on that tread can be caused by any number of things - improper balancing (doesn't take much), lots of very hard cornering (not likely but I've seen tires do this when inflated past the sidewall PSI and cornered hard), and really rough roads on seriously under inflated tires. The fact that the chips are on both sides makes me think balance is the most likely culprit. Based on the apparent tread depth those tires look like they're about two thirds of the way through their life span.
> 
> Now for the good news, other than making the tires really noisy you're not looking at an immediate safety hazard. Just keep an eye on them to ensure the chipping doesn't get down past the tread depth.


Inflation is good, 34psi, but OK roads are horrible in general. I'll check into the separate warranty you mentioned.



Tomko said:


> Looks like gravel road damage.
> 
> 20 years ago I had a very expensive set of Goodyear Eagles go like this after the rubber had aged about five years and I drove about three miles on a gravel road.
> 
> I have strenuously avoided gravel roads ever since.


I've never taken it down a gravel road, mostly all highway and some city streets. I can't speak for the previous owner, and I only noticed it since I had the flat today.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

It may be in your best interest to just bite the bullet and put a new set of quality tires on the car. The fact that you had a flat on one tire and the tread on three of them is damaged like this makes me wonder just what type of roads the previous owner was driving on. Which trim do you have?


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## SMKS (Jun 15, 2015)

I would also guess gravel damage.

I don't think the tires are covered under the B2B warranty, but I think they have some kind of warranty.

However, that's generally not going to be something covered under a tire warranty. In general, the things that would be covered under warranty would be broken belts or the like. That is something that generally will be caused by the use of the tire, not a problem with the tire.

Source of this info: I worked in a tire shop for four years.


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

SMKS said:


> I would also guess gravel damage.
> 
> I don't think the tires are covered under the B2B warranty, but I think they have some kind of warranty.
> 
> ...


That would be road hazard warranty and I don't think the OEM tires on the Cruze came with this - just a tread-wear warranty.


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## Hump66 (Mar 31, 2016)

obermd said:


> It may be in your best interest to just bite the bullet and put a new set of quality tires on the car. The fact that you had a flat on one tire and the tread on three of them is damaged like this makes me wonder just what type of roads the previous owner was driving on. Which trim do you have?


I have a 2015 LTZ RS.


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## Chris Tobin (Feb 23, 2016)

To me those tires look like they have experienced some off road abuse, including spinning/sliding a lot...


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

I just took a closer look at the image OP posted. I'd replace the tires. They have been driven hard while seriously under-inflated. If you look closely you'll see that all the damage is on the outer sets of tread lugs with none in the middle, which is sure sign of under-inflation. This puts more stress on the sidewalls weakening them as well. Also, note the crack dead center in the bottom channel at the base of the tread lug - the rubber is starting to deteriorate on at least this tire.


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## Eddy Cruze (Jan 10, 2014)

If we are speaking about the G.M. B2B Warranty then no, tread wear is not covered, only if the tire is deemed defective. However you might have separate applicable pro rated wear coverage through the manufacturer of the tire in question. 

I posted the GM fine print but it was too cumbersome. Refer to the handout with your owner warranty & manual or just Google it again!


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## SMKS (Jun 15, 2015)

obermd said:


> That would be road hazard warranty and I don't think the OEM tires on the Cruze came with this - just a tread-wear warranty.


No, I'm not talking about road hazard coverage, I'm talking about an out-of-round condition or other problem covered under the tire warranty due to a tire defect.

If anyone can tell me the brand of the OP's tire, I can link to the warranty info from that company. OE tire warranties are complicated because the tire is also warrantied by the tire company. See below for more info. 

It's a moot point in this discussion, though, because that's not what we are taking about with the OP's tire.

Anyway, here's the language on GM's warranty page for 2016 models:


> *Tires
> **The tires supplied with your vehicle are covered by General Motors against defects in material or workmanship under the Bumper-to-Bumper Limited Warranty coverage. Wear-out is not considered a defect, and it may occur before the vehicle warranty expires. In this case, the owner is responsible for purchasing replacement tires, or seeking coverage solely from the tire manufacturer. For vehicles within the Bumper-to-Bumper Limited Warranty coverage, defective tires will be replaced on a prorated adjustment basis according to the mileage-based schedule in your Warranty and Owner Assistance Information booklet. After your New-Vehicle Limited Warranty expires, you may still have prorated warranty coverage on your original equipment tires by the tire manufacturer.*


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## Hump66 (Mar 31, 2016)

Chris Tobin said:


> To me those tires look like they have experienced some off road abuse, including spinning/sliding a lot...


Someone had more fun in it than I've had a chance to so far.



SMKS said:


> No, I'm not talking about road hazard coverage, I'm talking about an out-of-round condition or other problem covered under the tire warranty due to a tire defect.
> 
> If anyone can tell me the brand of the OP's tire, I can link to the warranty info from that company. OE tire warranties are complicated because the tire is also warrantied by the tire company. See below for more info.
> 
> ...


They are Michelin Pilot MXM4, 225/45-18


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## SMKS (Jun 15, 2015)

Hump66 said:


> They are Michelin Pilot MXM4, 225/45-18


If those are the original equipment tires, then here's the Michelin book on OE tire warranties:
http://media.michelinman.com/conten...lin_PassengerLightTruck_Warranty_REV_3-11.pdf


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