lou

About a year ago this June I bought a 2010 mustang GT with 18'' wheels and they came with the standard pirellies. I don't know how to spell pirellie so bear with me if you see it spelt several different ways. Anyway, I just took my car in today for the state inspection and my mechanic told me all four tires were cracking. He showed me in the crevices of the wheels all the cracks, and he told me to get over to my dealer and ask them what the deal was. Tires are expensive and my car only has 2500 miles on it. My mechanic was telling me this can occur when a car is sitting for a while, but he told me my car is way to new to be seeing this so soon. Are the pirellies good tires? Should my car dealer be held responsible to replace my tires? I mean they give me a 36k 3 year bumper to bumper. I can't imagine having to replace tires after less than a year and 2300 miles of driving my car. I bought the car with 200 miles on it. I left the mustang with the ford dealer over night and they are going to call me tomorrow. I have a feeling I am going to definatly have to pay for some of the tire, and God only knows if I have to pay for labor. So one more time, are pirellies good tires? Any advice what I should do?

Thanks.

FLAstangx3

Where do you live, Arizona or Alaska? And what PSI are you running?

lou

Pennsylvania. lol. I really don't know what PSI I am running.

going for broke

Vehicle manufacturer never covers tires. The tires are covered by the tire manufacturer. I would say you may have a legitimate complaint if the tires are "dry rotting" but it seems the tire guys always try to weasel out of having to cover thier product. hopefully pirelli will prove me wrong. With the age and miles on your car there is no reason the tires should be doing what they are doing.

cinque35

If they are cracking you should take them to an authorized Pirelli dealer (or maybe the Ford dealer) and they'll replace them minus any tread wear, which at 2500 miles should be nothing. They are covered under the tire warranty (not Ford)

Tvanpool

Most dealers in this area are also tire dealers and have a price match guarantee. Check to see if your dealer sells tires and if so he would be my first stop.
TV

lou

Ok, so Ford it self does not cover the tires, I believe the mechanic at Ford told me he has to contact pireli, so that sounds like what you are saying is going hand in hand. Dry rotting is the term my local mechanic used. My dealer ship does sell tires as well as wheels. Hopefully this will work out with out me having to drag an attourney into this.

bob

Ozone or weather checking, how deep are the cracks? If they are 2/32" or more thats a definite problem (or if at any point the interior of the tire is exposed - belt package, sidewall plies, ect). The caveat being if it was indeed due to actual weathering, if you havent consistantly applied a sidewall dressing (regular ol' Armor-All being the worst offender) it may have accelerated the issue as some products which are designed for a variety of surfaces (vinyl, plastic, rubber, ect) contain a light oil thinned with alchohol and the alchohol component can cause the sidewalls to dry out faster.

bones302

what's the build date on your car? just b/c you bought it in June of last year doesn't mean it wasn't sitting on a dealer lot for months and months. i would definitely hit up Pirelli for a warranty replacement.

Turn3

Please keep us updated. Just tagging the post!

lou

I do not apply tire shine to my tires, or havn't done this with my current car. I don't know what the build date on my car is, the car is with the dealer right now. I was capable of leaving it over night. I have no idea if the cracks are 2/32'' or deeper. My mechanic did pass me for safety inspection saying he couldn't fail me for the cracks. He said the rear tires were the worst. He quickly showed me the cracks and I just drove right to the dealer ship to inform them. What alarmed me was when he told me to not drive high speeds.

FordService

Hello lou,

My name is Deysha from Ford Customer Service. I found this info in your Tire Warranty Guide on page 33. If a Pirelli tire becomes unserviceable due to workmanship or material anomalies during the initial warranty period, which is one year from the date of original retail purchase (purchase receipt required) of the vehicle or the first 2/32” of the original tread, whichever occurs first, the tire will be replaced to the owner at no charge for the tire.
After the initial warranty period, if a Pirelli tire becomes unserviceable due to workmanship or material anomalies, the owner must pay the cost for a new Pirelli replacement tire on a pro-rata basis. The authorized Pirelli dealer will determine the cost by multiplying the percentage of the original usable tread worn by the current dealer selling price. The owner must pay for any associated service charges, including mounting and balancing of the tire. I hope this info was helpful and that everything works out for you.

Deysha

lou

I bought my car June 20, 2010 and today is June 1, 2011. So according to you I should be exempt from labor to mount and balance the tire and I should also be getting four new tires at no cost to me? The tires do not have much tread on them because I did not drive it much, and I do not do burn outs. You can still see the little rubber gaskets on the tires. I have the bill of sale which is in my glove compartment.

You've been very helpful, thanks.

FordService

No problem lou! This is according to your warranty. Glad you got it in on time!

Deysha

Freakazoid

Lou, with what deysha is saying, I'd push to get it into a dealer soon.

2500 miles could potentially put you within that 2/32 drop that was mentioned, I'd definitely push to get this resolved by warranty asap

lou

Services at Ford called me and told me that 3 of the four wheels were really bad. They said they are going to try and get me all four tires from pirelli, but are having a hard time getting in touch with them. Is pirelli a good manufacturer/brand?

wonger

Ive had great luck with pirelli and good durability. Not so great with Goodyear/Dunlop.

bob

About as good as any, but I've seen a brand new Jag with the same problem, check you DOT number, the last four digits in the alpha-numeric sequence are the week and year of manufacture. Also buried in the DOT is the place of manufacture, if you can post the entire DOT.

I'm wondering if this isn't so much a workmanship or materials issue as it is a storage issue? Not yours Lou, but something Pirelli is doing or whoever is handling thier logistics.

Its imperative that tires are stored in a cool dry place out of the sunlight while they are waiting to be installed. If for some reason, these tires are being stored where its to hot or exposed to the sun or there is an excess amount of humidity for extended periods of time, it can accelerate the aging process.

Alright Ford, before tire problems bite you in the **** again, can the Pirellis and go for the Pilot Super Sports! Or since it looks like Goodyear has made a decent tire with the gen II Super Car tires, why not those (GT500 owners might get a wee bit pissed with the GT outhandles the GT500 in instrumented tests though )

jimmbbo

If you live in a desert climate, the sidewalls can go bad quickly, but not three years... the tires are bad, and the dealer should replace them under warranty as defective manufacture.

I used to think Pirellis were good tires, but three of the four on my car failed a road force test after I squawked a vibration at high speeds... Replaced under warranty at 1500 miles, which was an attaboy for Ford, but not a good sign for Pirelli quality control.... It will take a HUGE amount of convincing for me not to find another brand when I replace them down the road...

lou

Ok, some folks asked for an update, so here it is. Pirellie gave my dealer authorization to give me four new tires with no cost to me. My ford dealer, garnet ford in chadds ford, PA mounted and balanced my tires for free. I am 110% pleased with the service. They were in touch with me, and gave me 0 problems. I am happy to buy another car from them.

Also, I have my car parked out side my house in the street. I can see it from the side. I usually always see it from the back from where it is parked. Ford really did a great job on the 2010+ body style. I never get to appreciate it. I had an 05 and obviously now a 2010 GT. I saw the old 05 style in a parking lot today and looked at it, the '10+ body style is really much nicer. The wheels on the 2010 alone are significantly nicer. Ford really slammed the '10s out of the park. It blows the camaro and challenger away.