Many times OEM fitted tires are compounded softer than the same replacement market tires for a smooth ride
and wear faster often at the veh. mfr. request.
When I worked for A major U.S. tire mfr 25 yrs. often OEM tires while they looked identical to the replacement market tires had a different sku product code .Also the tire engineers explained that to us. Too bad the tire company did not offer a 50% pro rate in your case we did that occasionally on a case by case basis if the tread wear was reasonably even so as to rule out alignment issues . The tire warranties are separate from the vehicle warranties and provided by the individual tire mfrs. This may not always be true depending on the Tire and veh mfr.
many tires have a 3/32 ~ layer of softer compound at the top of the tread to facilitate a smooth ride when new
the first rotation at 3-5,000 miles is important.
I purchased a 2009 Kia borrego from a Kia dealer in Orlando Fl on colonial Blvd.I was told from the manager when I bought the car that they would warrant the tires from the day I bought the car for 3yrs or 36,000 which ever comes first. Well the first time I went to dealer they did the tire rotation no problem. The second time I went they told me they don't do that and I would have to pay for it. Only after I argued the matter did they do the rotation.Now after 18 months and 22,000 miles that I put on the car though there was just under 5,000 on the car when I purchased it(27,000 total).The tires are dry rotted and the tread is no good the dealer passes the problem to the tire manifacturer Hankook. After speaking to Judy at Hankook I was informed that there is no warranty on these tires.They only warrant tires that are purchased outside of the car dealers.So low and behold I am screwed and will have to pay to replace the tires even though the tires Hankook RA-07 265 60 18s have a 60,000 mile warranty.And this is not the first time that I have gone through this ,I had a 2004 Durango purchased brand new and the tires were gone by 25,000 .And the Chrysler dealer did nothing neither did goodyear. At the current prices of tires for my truck Hankook at about 200.00 per tire not including mounting balancing and such ,its insane that they don't warrant their tires.Who can afford to throw that type of money away.At this point if you buy a new vehicle you are paying the full price of these tires only to have no warranty.You would be better off to purchase the car without tires and bring your own that have a real warranty!!! It seems as if the dealers are purchasing old or defective tires from the manufactures,charging us the full price and leaving us to foot the bill or even worst putting our safety at risk all for a buck!! If anyone else has had the same issue or anyone could enlighten me or even better help me out please answer this post???
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