TIRES - why you'll never get them replaced under warranty

My Ecopia tires are looking pretty worn after 30k miles (<3 years) so I stopped by the local Tires Plus (a Bridgestone retailer) to see if I could make a warranty claim on them. The Nissan documentation says there is a 6-year warranty from the manufacturer and the Bridgestone website says "free tire replacement period extends up to (a) 3 years from the date of purchase" so I thought there was a possibility of a claim.

The guy there said that you need *documentation* showing: 1) you had them rotated and balanced every 7,000 miles, and 2) you had an alignment EVERY 6 MONTHS. Yeah, I didn't do that and doubt anyone does.

He also said (and this may be retail store propaganda) that there are 3 grades of tires (even of the same brand/model):
1) Dealer tires (the "bottom of the barrel") - he says you'll be lucky to get 30k-40k miles on them
2) Wholesaler tires (Costco, BJs, etc.) - in the middle
3) Tire retailers (Tires Plus, etc.) - get the best tires and they WILL last 60k miles, according to the guy at the place that charges the most for them

Anybody know if this is true?

Anybody try to make a warranty claim on their Ecopia tires?

The only thing I can tell you is that there are often two grades of the same tire: OEM grade (which is usually average or worse) and the retail grade, which performs as advertised, usually. It is suspected that all or most of the Ecopia blowouts that have happened were with the OEM version of the tire, which was upgraded in '13, IIRC.

I can believe the OEM tires being of a cheaper quality than you can get at retail. In addition to stories about the Ecopia, the Continentals that were supplied with my Audi were bald in less than 25k miles when others who bought the same tires at retail report getting much more life.

The Dunlops that came with my Maxima were also bald at merely 40k, but its Bridgestone replacements had plenty of life left when I sold that car 60k miles later. However the Bridgestone Turanzas that came with my Altima did last about 55k miles.

I am having a bit of a hard time believing that Costco specifies inferior quality tires. My Audi is currently on a set of Michelins that have 55k out of the warranted 60k miles on them, and it looks like they will last for another 5k, but not much longer. The Yokohamas that replaced the Turanzas also had plenty of life left by the time I sold the car many miles later.

I don't know about BJ's, but I can believe that about Sam's Club, as Walmart is known for forcing manufacturers to cut quality to meet a price point.

Definitely NOT true of Costco. They only sell the highest level of tires...

Grant said:

M2) Wholesaler tires (Costco, BJs, etc.) - in the middle?

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Grant said:

My Ecopia tires are looking pretty worn after 30k miles (<3 years) so I stopped by the local Tires Plus (a Bridgestone retailer) to see if I could make a warranty claim on them. The Nissan documentation says there is a 6-year warranty from the manufacturer and the Bridgestone website says "free tire replacement period extends up to (a) 3 years from the date of purchase" so I thought there was a possibility of a claim.

The guy there said that you need *documentation* showing: 1) you had them rotated and balanced every 7,000 miles, and 2) you had an alignment EVERY 6 MONTHS. Yeah, I didn't do that and doubt anyone does.

He also said (and this may be retail store propaganda) that there are 3 grades of tires (even of the same brand/model):
1) Dealer tires (the "bottom of the barrel") - he says you'll be lucky to get 30k-40k miles on them
2) Wholesaler tires (Costco, BJs, etc.) - in the middle
3) Tire retailers (Tires Plus, etc.) - get the best tires and they WILL last 60k miles, according to the guy at the place that charges the most for them

Anybody know if this is true?

Anybody try to make a warranty claim on their Ecopia tires?

Click to expand...

I use to work for a dealer and was the driver who picked up tires (BMW, Saab, GM). I went to the Bridgestone warehouse and Michelin warehouse many many times. There are 2 grades of tires. OEM and after. The OEM's demand rock bottom pricing to get a tire on a car. The tire companies are happy to give them the best deal possible even if it means a lower quality tire.

Read tire reviews on tire rack. Almost all bad reviews of an original specification tire will comment that the "tires came on the car" or the total millage will be low to suggest they were on from new. Find someone that bought the same tire as a replacement and put it on a car that it wasn't factory spec on and the review will be a lot different.

Grant said:

Anybody try to make a warranty claim on their Ecopia tires?

Click to expand...

IIRC, there was one person who posted here about getting a pro-rated replacement of OEM Ecopias because of accelerated wear. It was in one of the myriad tire threads.
TT

We had a discussion in another thread, but the Ecopias on my 2012 — which I am about to replace at 22,000 miles — do not have a mileage warranty. The tire part of the warranty booklet says to call Bridgestone, which I did, and they confirmed that they don't have a mileage warranty on OEM tires. But someone with the Michelins on his newer SL found that they do come with a mileage warranty.

Read the warranty booklet and see what it says for your car.

so what your saying is when I replace the tires get michelins?

are they same spec as the stock tires ie LLR and all that? what specific model do I need to get?

nerys said:

so what your saying is when I replace the tires get michelins?

are they same spec as the stock tires ie LLR and all that? what specific model do I need to get?

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If you care about range buy the Ecopia replacement. The best Michelins will still give you a hit on range so it's about compromise.

do aftermarket ecopia's have mileage warranty? or is it just the OEM's that lack mileage warranty?

Found them and Yep.

Treadlife Warranty: 5 Years / 65,000 Miles
Uniformity Warranty: First 1/32" of wear
Workmanship & Materials Warranty: 5 Years / Free replacement first 3 years, then prorated until 2/32" remaining depth.

not bad either. $102 a pop. I thought they cost a lot more than that.

I found an article where people disliked the LRR tires saying the savings in efficiency was not worth the longer stopping distance.

I guess I Just had really crap cars all my life because this leaf stops like it has retro rockets on it.

warp drive retro rockets compared to ANY car I have ever driven before in my life. seriously impressive braking power. I honestly did not know a car COULD stop that fast.

damn. I think I am going to buy my tires from tirerack.com from now on.

they include 24 months protection with the purchase of tires from them including protection against damage (pothole running over something that punctures the tire etc..) and will reimburse new tire and shipping (from them of course which is fine)

WOW. that is a pretty slick deal. Does anyone see any obvious gotcha's? I can't find any. considering I will put 35 to 40 thousand miles a year on the tires that seems like a pretty slick deal to me.

Just wondering if you guys see any issues with it? anything I am missing?

nerys said:

so what your saying is when I replace the tires get michelins?

are they same spec as the stock tires ie LLR and all that? what specific model do I need to get?

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No. Recent LEAF SL models come with 17 inch wheels and Michelin tires standard. Pretty much any tire you buy as a replacement for the original ones will come with a tread life warranty, including the Ecopias (65k miles).

There are a number of threads debating which tires to buy as replacements. Some people want better handling or better miles of wear. Others want Low Rolling Resistance (LRR) to get the best range possible. And some people who drive a lot of snow use snow tires in winter.

There isn't a lot of side-by-side comparison data about LRR of tires but, as near as I can tell, the Bridgestone Ecopias remain the best available in the 205/55/16 size for that characteristic. If you don't care about LRR, there are many other brands and models of tires available.

These tires car and brakes perform so much better than any car I have ever owned or driven in my life (by a huge margin) that I really do not care if some other tire performs fractionally better.

I will take the better range of lrr.

nerys said:

I think I am going to buy my tires from tirerack.com from now on.

they include 24 months protection with the purchase of tires from them including protection against damage (pothole running over something that punctures the tire etc..) and will reimburse new tire and shipping (from them of course which is fine)

WOW. that is a pretty slick deal. Does anyone see any obvious gotcha's? I can't find any. considering I will put 35 to 40 thousand miles a year on the tires that seems like a pretty slick deal to me.

Just wondering if you guys see any issues with it? anything I am missing?

Click to expand...

I can't speak for the replacement Ecopias, but I have bought from Tire Rack before and enjoyed the service they gave. Where I was let down was the installer (part of their "Recommended Installer Program") who could not seem to get the balancing right after several tries. I finally took the car to a dealer who got it right the first time.

I gave that shop a poor to middling review on the TR website and after they emailed me, TR did give me a nice electronic tire gauge as a sort of consolation gift. They also are no longer listed on the TR website so I guess I wasn't the only one who complained.

BTW if you are a Costco member, they have the Ecopias for only $3/tire more and that includes road hazard coverage as well. I've been quite satisfied with the quality of the work of their tire centers that I have visited. http://tires2.costco.com/product.aspx?ItemNo=580769&SearchID=9116cbd7-d9e3-4bc2-9a64-8325076b8c33" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

hmmm that $15 is pretty steep for install ($60 is a LOT more than I pay to get a set of 4 mounted and balanced)

although it is offset slightly by the $12 shipping per tire from tirerack.

I also like that its 60 month BUT its also pro rated. while tirerack is a flat 24 month. period. tire replaced 100% including shipping.

that is a tough call. probably not worth it if you don't have a costco membership and worth it if you already have a membership. something to think about for sure.

I have a feeling tirerack is a better option for high mileage drivers like me while costco is a bettery option for low mileage drivers.

Tire Rack is good IF you know of, or come across, a good installer. The one I used wasn't even though at the time it was one of TR's recommended local installers.

OTOH the various Costco tire centers I have used (for both installs and rotations) have been pretty good. When Costco rotates the tires they also rebalance them; a lot of places that offer "free tire rotation" won't unless you pay extra for the service.

Clearly you have owned some very marginal cars in the past! :lol:

nerys said:

These tires car and brakes perform so much better than any car I have ever owned or driven in my life

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I guess so.

I have two geo metro's I get 62mpg yearly average and easily hold and retain 65mpg on the highway in the summer.

I have an 89 geo tracker that I can get a solid 35mpg with the AC going.

all 3 above 5 speeds of course 1.0 3cyl and 4cyl in the tracker.

my minivan I can get 23-24mpg (2000 grand voyager)

and of course my 92 clubwagon.

I got rid of my 88 cherokee last year (my first car) with 497,000 miles on it (all but 92,000 by me) I hated to see it go. DROVE It to the guy who bought it. he was shocked I guess he did not think I meant it when I said it ran just fine original engine and transmission.

Jeep was the closest with stock tires I could do 0-60 in 9.7 seconds (and it had a quick throttle response too)

it also braked the best of all these cars but nothing like the Leaf. not even close.

2012 Leaf SL, bought new with 300 miles on it.

Had the tires rotated as required by the dealer. They were shot after 12,000 miles...

My dealer managed to get Bridgestone to pay half and Nissan to pay half. I got 4 new tires for free under warranty.

Shortly after the wife popped a sidewall somehow, so I got a new Ecopia from the dealer...$180 for one tire.

Now with 25,000 miles on the car, and ~12,000 on the new tires, the front 2 are shot again. Still had them rotated as required, and by the dealer.

I am VERY hesitant to buy any more Ecopias...I threw a couple of almost new used tires on for now...

But I DID get a set of tires under warranty.

This morning, I got the TPS warning (CHECK TIRE PRESSURE) when driving away from my home in my 2011 Leaf SL (22k miles).
I immediately returned home and found a nail embedded in the outer edge of the tire tread and the pressure down to 20 psi.
After contemplating whether to go to a tire dealer or the Nissan dealership (mainly due to the awful reviews online for my local tire dealers) I decided to go to the Nissan dealer (after re inflating the tire to 40 psi).
The nail was too near the sidewall to patch so a new tire was fitted (same Bridgestone Ecopia as OEM).
To my complete surprise, when the work was done, I found that there was NO CHARGE for the replacement tire or the labor.
The
When I questioned the service advisor, he just said "on the Nissan Leaf, they cover everything".
REALLY?!? My car is over 5 years old and out of the factory warranty period.
I DID buy the Nissan Security Plus Gold Preferred extended warranty for 72 months but tires are NOT included in that warranty.
(and I'm hoping to NOT use that extended warranty as I will get the FULL purchase price refunded to me in May 2017 if I never use it).
So, WHY would I get a free tire and labor for "road hazard" damage to the OEM tire?
I'm not COMPLAINING - just in total wonder!

Go buy a lottery ticket, and quick!