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Michelin Tire Trolls

3K views 21 replies 15 participants last post by  ericlw 
#1 ·
What say you?

Real thing? Or trolls looking for something silly to complain about?


I don't understand how this is a bigger deal than chipping paint or bad torque converters?

Makes no sense.
 
#3 ·
The cars come from the factory with 2 tire options, one of them crap, one of them ok, not great. Usually the story for most OEM tire choices.

Tires make a world of difference in how a car handles, drives, and noise levels inside the car. Switching to ANYTHING besides those EL400 will make the Camry SE a better feeling car to drive.

There are also other tire choices depending on the model Camry you get (Firestone, etc). NONE have generated as many complaints as the EL400 (and look around at tire reviews or any other car that comes standard with them - the Mazda 3 for instance, widely complained about for road noise and harsh ride).
 
#4 ·
I don't understand how this is a bigger deal than chipping paint or bad torque converters?

Makes no sense.
I don't recall anyone referring to the poor quality Bridgestones as being a bigger deal than either of those other problems. I imagine you read so many complaints about the tires because it affects many more owners. I'm not happy with mine but I intend to wear them out before buying replacements.
 
#6 · (Edited)
For me, the Bridgestone RE050A are even worse.

Given that they are max performance summer tires over "all-weather passenger" tires, the RE050A takes the lead in my overall "worse OE tires".

The tire barely lasted me 18K miles, horrible grip for sport tires, and very harsh compared to competitors.

Bridgestone in general is just not a great manufacturer when it comes to top name brands. Guess the merge with Firestone really brought its quality down.
 
#7 ·
Makes you wonder why Bridgestone would put their name on such a marginal tire. So many people complain about stiff noisy ride and really short life, so why would they decide to buy more when the time comes?
Some people have said they had good results with Bridgestones but not with the OEM's, so why not offer a better tire as an OEM? Even if it cost more to Bridgestone it seems the marketing plus of happy customers would be well worth the extra cost.
My '09 TCH came with Michelins and they went 36,000 miles before I decided to replace them - and I bought more Michelins. I've never had any Bridgestones and hope to not get them when I buy in '17, but if I do I will take them directly to a tire retailer and replace them with either Perilli P7's or Michelins.
 
#8 ·
I've stated before that I never thought the bridgestones were THAT bad. Having said that though, once I put a new set of quality tires on, the difference was night and day. Smoother ride, better traction and a heck of alot better tread rating. I honestly don't care which brand of tire I have on, just give me a quality tire with good tread wear.
 
#9 ·
OK, I'll bite...

The critical Michelin user reviews on this forum and others (Tire Rack, etc) are generally by users who have either had Michelin tires installed from the factory OR purchased them as after market replacements.

As a longtime Michelin buyer (mostly SUV variants), I decided against Michelin replacement tires (Premier, Primacy, Pilot, etc) when I replaced my factory Bridgestone's early.

I elected to fit both my 2014.5 Camry SE and my wife's 2011 CR-V with Pirelli tires. I had never purchased Pirelli tires before but after extensive research, I was very comfortable in making the switch to Pirelli's. After driving nearly 25,000 miles on my Pirelli's on the Camry, I LOVE them. I drove home from Dallas very early this morning in torrential rain and they were great. They plowed thru the water as if they were new. In February, I had them in heavy snow and black ice and they were quite good, for an all-season tire, with a very firm compound. Overall, my Camry has never driven so well-confident grip, quiet, wear very well (approx 7-8/32 remaining). Granted, I have not put Michelin running shoes on it though for comparison purposes.

Michelin makes great tires to be sure. Reportedly, they also vary greatly, within the product lines offered, as user reports verify. The Premier looks to be a very promising new-gen tire, but not enough data was available for me to select it. The Defender looks great on paper, till you see user reports in hot climates where longevity seems to be an issue.

When I replace the run-flats on my Corvette, I will probably strongly consider Michelin's . It is ALMOST always, a pretty SAFE choice, though it may not be the BEST choice, for the specific application. You can be sure, it is ALMOST always the most EXPENSIVE choice.

Like anything else- YMMV. Consider the source as you read the critical reviews across the venues and then make your own judgment.
 
#11 ·
Whatever the OE tires on my 2011 Mazda2 were, those tires were absolute garbage. Great car, terrible OE tires. All four of them developed slow leaks within the first couple of years and had to be replaced. Granted, Southern California has the worst-ranked roads in the entire United States, so tires down here certainly take a beating.
 
#12 ·
Aside from the fact that they are noisy like a tire overfilled 10 PSI - the bridgestones have the most grip of any tire I've ever driven on. I never got a rental car with Michelins that didn't lose air to gravity or feel like a sponge. When it's time to get new tires you won't ever see me go Michelin they've had QC issues since the 90's
 
#15 ·
Let's see ... I got close to 80K out of the stock 17" MXV4s on my 6th gen. During my last Toyota Care on my 7.5 18" MXV4's at 20k the check sheet said 7/32. I gauged them last weekend @ 5/32 with 32k on the clock.

Never had any issues with Bridgestone on my Civic ... RE9xx series or Pole Position when they still made 14" tires.

Quality manufacturers regarding tire failures is my main concern when selecting a tire.

No failures with Bridgestones or Michies.

The 4x constant TPMS in the 7.5 is a godsend!
 
#21 ·
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