Howdy. I'm new to the forum. My factory Michelin LTX A/S tires have cracks around the bead area. It's on all 4 tires but the right side is worse. Truck has 2700 miles on it but I figure they were like that when they were new and I missed it during my walk around at purchase. Anybody else had issues with this?

 

Welcome to the forum BC. It would help if you filled out your signature section so we know what year truck and any other paticulars.

I have the factory Mich's on mine. They have 51K miles on them and my truck is 1.5 years old. No troubles from mine. They hold pressure fine ride ok and generally have performed to my expectations. I am getting close to needing new tires but that is just normal wear.

 

I had them origanally... the sidewalls looked like they had little cracks but they drove fine...

 

I had the same problem on all 4 of them. I took the truck to NTB as they are a michelin dealer and showed it to them. The manager said yes they are dry rot around the bead area. I took my warranty card out for the tires (you have one too, it's in the glove box) and he called Michelin. They agreed to replace all 4 tires mounted and balanced for free. I had 5000 miles on the truck at the time. This was just a few months ago too.
Funny thing is He had to order them and would take a few days so I went and bought custom wheels and tires while I waited. I showed up and dropped off the stock wheels and picked them up the next day with NEW tires on them. They are sitting in my Garage and never even touched the road or been on the truck.

There is apperently a known problem with them because he told me he has seen several of those tires with the same problem.
But I did have to stand my ground, They tried to cover 75% at first. Then I argued and showed the warranty again. They agreed to pay 100% then tried to get me for mounting and balance. I bitched again and whipped out the warranty card again. It clearly states in there that it is 100% replacement including all mounting and balancing charges.

 

My stock michelins lasted over 60,000 miles. I even purchaseda new set, because I travel way to much to get off road tires that I will have to replace in 6 months.

 

some off raod tires have extensive warranties these days... if you wanted an off road tire that is....

 

I take it this is a brand new truck? What do the "cracks" look like?
I think you are talking about weather checking, and is normal for a truck parked outside all the time. It seems to happen faster on vehicles that don't get driven every day, since the flexing of the tire when driving works the natural lubricants through the rubber and keeps them from weathering as fast.

I have noticed that over the last 15 years or so, tires just don't seem to last as long as they used to.
They keep getting higher and higher mileage out of them, but they weather check and dry rot much much faster than the older tires.
You are now seeing tires that will run 80K miles, but they must be replaced if they are more than 5 years old--WTF??
For those of us that don't drive that much, our tires rot and blow out long before the tread is worn out.
Off the soap box now....

 

Welcome to the forum. I also had the same issue with my Michelin LTX A/S tires. I had them replaced 100% under warranty, but I paid the mount and balance. Call Michelin to start a claim. They will then send you to a Michelin dealer such as Sears, NTB, or Merchant's Tire for replacement.

 

Yeah but 2700 miles? No tire should have cracking like that at such low milage. I don't know what his look like but at 5000 miles mine looked like it could separate of fail at any moment. And it's in a nice even circle all the way around the wheel about the bead area. We ain't talking just a few cracks here or there, it's like the rings around saturn.
Also need to look at it this way and this was my main gripe. I bought the best looking truck on the market and it is an awesome truck. I didn't pay for ugly weathered looking tires!

 

Thanks for the input. I'm learning how to set up my truck info. Hopefully it'll show up now. Bought 'er new and it's an 07 2500 5.9L that is a little over a month old. The tire cracks run radially around the entire tire/bead area. Some cracks are 1/8" and some are over 2" in length on all 4 tires. I've spoken with the dealer and they said they should be replaced but I'd need to go to a Michelin retailer to obtain the warranty. I went to one place and they filled out paperwork with the tire/truck info and said they would send it in but I called the other day to check and they lost the paperwork. Won't go back there again. I think the truck sat for a lengthy period (close to a year) on the dealer lot and that probably didn't help.