Big problem with Michelin Pilot A/S Plus

[ikeym]

Hi, my car was pulling and the dealer changed some SENSORS and had nothing to do with the tires
MY CAR NOW IS GREAT !!!!!
NO PULLING AT ALL ................IT WAS A NIGHTMARE ALWAYS WAS HOLDING THE WHEEL TO GO STRAIGHT . NOW I CAN DRIVE WITH NO HANDS !!!!

GOOD LUCK .

 

[QCTLG]

Hi, my car was pulling and the dealer changed some SENSORS and had nothing to do with the tires
MY CAR NOW IS GREAT !!!!!
NO PULLING AT ALL ................IT WAS A NIGHTMARE ALWAYS WAS HOLDING THE WHEEL TO GO STRAIGHT . NOW I CAN DRIVE WITH NO HANDS !!!!

GOOD LUCK .

WHAT???

 

[mattnaylor]

Had 235/50R18 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus BW fitted today by the local Hyundai dealership. Bought a 09 V8 Genny last month, and hated the noise from the Dunlops. Really pleased with the brief driving this afternoon - quiet and very smooth. Reviews for the Michelin seem good overall - so I hope that's my experience too. My initial reaction is they are so much better than the Dunlops - makes the world of difference to the car.

 

[homeofstone]

Had 235/50R18 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus BW fitted today by the local Hyundai dealership. Bought a 09 V8 Genny last month, and hated the noise from the Dunlops. Really pleased with the brief driving this afternoon - quiet and very smooth. Reviews for the Michelin seem good overall - so I hope that's my experience too. My initial reaction is they are so much better than the Dunlops - makes the world of difference to the car.

The reviews and ratings of the Michelin is why I purchased the Pilot Sport A/s. I have had several sets of Michelin in the past and all were perfect. However, this time I had bad luck with a bad set. I do think the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S is a fine tire, but they are having some production quality issues as is evident by other comments on the Lexus and Mercedes forums.

 

[Kurt]

One of the questions I had about the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S was ,do I really need a Y rated tire that will allow me to travel at 168mph? My Dunlop's were V rated 130mph,my Continental's DWS W rated 149mph and I have never seen those speeds so I really saw anything higher than a V rated as a waste but I have notice something that has changed my thinking and that is the higher up I went in speed rating the better the tire performed. .........

V is 149MPH
W is 168MPH
Y is 186MPH

The Gensis is governed at 150MPH. So in essence you are right it is useless to get a speed rating higher than V if that is the only paramater you are looking at.

 

[Kurt]

Hi, my car was pulling and the dealer changed some SENSORS and had nothing to do with the tires
MY CAR NOW IS GREAT !!!!!
NO PULLING AT ALL ................IT WAS A NIGHTMARE ALWAYS WAS HOLDING THE WHEEL TO GO STRAIGHT . NOW I CAN DRIVE WITH NO HANDS !!!!

GOOD LUCK .

Was it the rate gyros or accelerometers associated with the traction control? The only way I can imagine that sensors would cause the care to pull right would be if the traction control continually thought the car was pulling left. I would imagine that the brakes on one side of your car would be more worn than the other side if that were the case.

 

[GenesisSteve]

Experienced virtually the same issues. After 2 attempts to drive in the snow I had no choice but to replace the factory Dunlop's (downright life threatening). Went for the Michelin A/S Plus which had very good reviews and got them at Costco (good price). After installation the car started pulling hard to the right.

Took it to the dealer who aligned it (it was out a little) but the pulling continued. Dealer aligned again - same thing.

Dealer claimed it was the tires, but that didn't seem logical so I had the dealer rotate front to back (cannot rotate left to right - directional tread) assuming a bad tire moving from front to back would change something but it didn't. So the dealer brought over a new Genesis and put all four tires from that car onto mine. Problem dramatically reduced.

At that point I had to accept something was wrong with the Michelin's. Convinced Costco the tires had a problem. They ordered 4 new ones. Replaced the right side first - no change, replaced the left side and the problem was reduced. Obviously something wrong with one of the left side tires (making the car pull right??) but its not the whole problem as the car still pulls to the downhill side on any sort of crown.

Others seem to be complaining about this as a design flaw and I suspect it is exacerbated by the more aggressive tread designs like the Michelin's.

 

[homeofstone]

Experienced virtually the same issues. After 2 attempts to drive in the snow I had no choice but to replace the factory Dunlop's (downright life threatening). Went for the Michelin A/S Plus which had very good reviews and got them at Costco (good price). After installation the car started pulling hard to the right.

Took it to the dealer who aligned it (it was out a little) but the pulling continued. Dealer aligned again - same thing.

Dealer claimed it was the tires, but that didn't seem logical so I had the dealer rotate front to back (cannot rotate left to right - directional tread) assuming a bad tire moving from front to back would change something but it didn't. So the dealer brought over a new Genesis and put all four tires from that car onto mine. Problem dramatically reduced.

At that point I had to accept something was wrong with the Michelin's. Convinced Costco the tires had a problem. They ordered 4 new ones. Replaced the right side first - no change, replaced the left side and the problem was reduced. Obviously something wrong with one of the left side tires (making the car pull right??) but its not the whole problem as the car still pulls to the downhill side on any sort of crown.

Others seem to be complaining about this as a design flaw and I suspect it is exacerbated by the more aggressive tread designs like the Michelin's.

I think it has more to do with the Michelin tire defect. Check the Mercedes and Lexus forums. Also some Chrysler and BMW owners have had the same problem with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S plus.

 

[MHT]

I was very skeptical of the directional tire but the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S was the tire that the tire dealer wanted to replace my Continental Extreme DWS with. I also did not care that the tire was Y speed rated and had a very aggressive and unusual tread pattern, I had no problems with tire balance or pulling. What I did not like about the tire was road noise and the impact I got going over rough pavement. I was later told by another tire dealer that directional tires can be nosier than non directional tires. He also confirmed that a Y rated tire is not going be as forgiving on rough pavement as a V or W rated tire would be. This particular tire dealer did not feel like the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S was really a good fit for the Genesis so when I told him I was interested in purchasing the Michelin Energy Saver A/S he felt that I could not go wrong with that choice,he made me a real good deal in trading the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S for the Michelin Energy Saver A/S. This tire dealer really took the time to explain the different performance types of tires and the fact that if they had the same speed rating you would only see a slight difference in the tires. The Michelin Energy Saver 235-50-18 97V is a passenger tire but because it is V rated it is more on the order of a Luxury Performance tire.
There was a time that you could walk in the tire store tell the dealer your tire size and what brand tire you wanted and he would say black wall or white wall and for the most part that was it.

 

[homeofstone]

The problem with the Michelins continues. Not with my car though, the Bridgestones lasted 42k. I put another set of Bridgestone Turanza serenity Plus tires on about 19k ago and they are great. But look at this post from the Mercedes Forum
"This is very interesting - I have an 06 and also just put on 4 Mich. AS sports - and have just taken it to get a second opinion as well. I too have the pull to the right and both places say my alignment is in spec. The second place says i have a bad radial pull and that the tire place should replace the tire. I'm not convinced thats the problem but not sure what to do now either."

and from the Lexus forum "My IS350 needed new tires. The Front tires originally were Turanza and wore out quickly.

I got Costco Michelin Pilot Sport A/S plus for the fronts. Immediately the car would pull right, hard, while driving (will switch lanes on its own on the freeway within 50 feet).

Two alignment jobs later and it was the same."

Read more: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/the...-plus-too-loud-pulls-right.html#ixzz2IxeoPpA3

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[Mark_888]

The problem with the Michelins continues. Not with my car though, the Bridgestones lasted 42k. I put another set of Bridgestone Turanza serenity Plus tires on about 19k ago and they are great. But look at this post from the Mercedes Forum
"This is very interesting - I have an 06 and also just put on 4 Mich. AS sports - and have just taken it to get a second opinion as well. I too have the pull to the right and both places say my alignment is in spec. The second place says i have a bad radial pull and that the tire place should replace the tire. I'm not convinced thats the problem but not sure what to do now either."

and from the Lexus forum "My IS350 needed new tires. The Front tires originally were Turanza and wore out quickly.

I got Costco Michelin Pilot Sport A/S plus for the fronts. Immediately the car would pull right, hard, while driving (will switch lanes on its own on the freeway within 50 feet).

Two alignment jobs later and it was the same."

Read more: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/the...-plus-too-loud-pulls-right.html#ixzz2IxeoPpA3

This clearly suggests to me that the problems above are with the car and not the tire. The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus is specifically designed for very precise handling (much better than most other tires), which means that it responds to driver input faster than other tires including other Michelin's (which may feel "floaty" by comparison). This means that if the car is even slightly misaligned, then any inherent pull to left or right is exaggerated compared to more "floaty" tires.

 

[homeofstone]

This clearly suggests to me that the problems above are with the car and not the tire. The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus is specifically designed for very precise handling (much better than most other tires), which means that it responds to driver input faster than other tires including other Michelin's (which may feel "floaty" by comparison). This means that if the car is even slightly misaligned, then any inherent pull to left or right is exaggerated compared to more "floaty" tires.

I think you should read my orig. post and info on other boards.Also read my updates in this thread. My tire dealer clearly proved that it was tires and Michelin agreed, and the stituation has been the same with many buyers of the this particular Michelin tire.

Here is an another example fPut Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on it, and had it aligned shortly after.

The car either wandered or pulled hard to the right after the new tires and before and after the alignment.

Had the alignment rechecked and it was correct.

Expermented with rotating the tires around and the wandering, pull stopped.

The dealer determined that two tires had bad radial pull."


Read more: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/the...-for-a-ride-so-to-speak.html#ixzz2IzpwbjzIrom Lexus owner that had two bad tires. "

And from a Mercedes owner same story - "
I bought a new front set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S plus too on my '05 C230 from Discount Tire. My car also pulls to the right. since their installation, I have had three alignments performed from 2 different shops. It was the last one that said they have exhausted all thier resources and that I must have bad tires. I went back to the tire shop and the right front tire was replaced (they figured it was the one that was defective). Well, this didnt improve my situation--car still pulls. So yesterday, I went back to the store and they are ordering me some ContiSportContact 3's to be installed. I am feeling pretty confident about this tire because 1) they are OEM and 2) I cant find a single report on the internet about this tire causing a pull.

Other than the pull from my Mich. A/S Pluses, the tires seem to ride well, however, the pull is something I cant live with . If you do a simple google search, you will find that these tires have caused a pull on a number of cars, including Benzes, Hyundais, Lexuses and others. Shameful to think that such a well-esteemed tire maker would have this kind of problem."

And here is notice from Mercedes to dealers.

SUBJECT: All Passenger Models
Michelin Pilot Sports A/S Tires

Please be advised that the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (all season) is not an approved (nor certified) Mercedes-Benz tire for any Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicle. Use of the above mentioned tire can cause vehicle tracking issues which MBUSA will not attempt to correct. MBUSA will not perform warranty wheel alignments on any subject vehicle which has any non-approved wheel/tire packages installed.

 

[Mark_888]

I think you should read my orig. post and info on other boards.Also read my updates in this thread. My tire dealer clearly proved that it was tires and Michelin agreed, and the stituation has been the same with many buyers of the this particular Michelin tire.

Here is an another example fPut Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on it, and had it aligned shortly after.

The car either wandered or pulled hard to the right after the new tires and before and after the alignment.

Had the alignment rechecked and it was correct.

Expermented with rotating the tires around and the wandering, pull stopped.

The dealer determined that two tires had bad radial pull."


Read more: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/the...-for-a-ride-so-to-speak.html#ixzz2IzpwbjzIrom Lexus owner that had two bad tires. "

And from a Mercedes owner same story - "
I bought a new front set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S plus too on my '05 C230 from Discount Tire. My car also pulls to the right. since their installation, I have had three alignments performed from 2 different shops. It was the last one that said they have exhausted all thier resources and that I must have bad tires. I went back to the tire shop and the right front tire was replaced (they figured it was the one that was defective). Well, this didnt improve my situation--car still pulls. So yesterday, I went back to the store and they are ordering me some ContiSportContact 3's to be installed. I am feeling pretty confident about this tire because 1) they are OEM and 2) I cant find a single report on the internet about this tire causing a pull.

Other than the pull from my Mich. A/S Pluses, the tires seem to ride well, however, the pull is something I cant live with . If you do a simple google search, you will find that these tires have caused a pull on a number of cars, including Benzes, Hyundais, Lexuses and others. Shameful to think that such a well-esteemed tire maker would have this kind of problem."

And here is notice from Mercedes to dealers.

SUBJECT: All Passenger Models
Michelin Pilot Sports A/S Tires

Please be advised that the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (all season) is not an approved (nor certified) Mercedes-Benz tire for any Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicle. Use of the above mentioned tire can cause vehicle tracking issues which MBUSA will not attempt to correct. MBUSA will not perform warranty wheel alignments on any subject vehicle which has any non-approved wheel/tire packages installed.

Actually, I think much of what you said above confirms what I said. Many cars will not track straight with tires that exhibit very precise tracking regardless of how many times you do an alignment. I think the Genesis is one of those cars. Comments like "Had the alignment rechecked and it was correct" doesn't convince me it is the fault of the tire, and there are many posts on this forum about Genesis pulling to left or right with the OEM Dunlop tires, regardless of how many times the car was aligned.

I believe that there are just some cars, the way the suspension is designed, that do not want a precise tracking tire, and need more of a floater tire. In that sense it is not necessarily a defect in the tire. But obviously I would agree that, similar to some of the problems with the OEM Dunlops, I would not put the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on a Genesis, even if it works well on some other cars.

 

[homeofstone]

Actually, I think much of what you said above confirms what I said. Many cars will not track straight with tires that exhibit very precise tracking regardless of how many times you do an alignment. I think the Genesis is one of those cars. Comments like "Had the alignment rechecked and it was correct" doesn't convince me it is the fault of the tire, and there are many posts on this forum about Genesis pulling to left or right with the OEM Dunlop tires, regardless of how many times the car was aligned.

I believe that there are just some cars, the way the suspension is designed, that do not want a precise tracking tire, and need more of a floater tire. In that sense it is not necessarily a defect in the tire. But obviously I would agree that, similar to some of the problems with the OEM Dunlops, I would not put the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S on a Genesis, even if it works well on some other cars.

Here is a list of cars that have pulling problems with this tire:
Acura TL
Genesis
Mercedes C, E, S, and M classes.
Chrysler
Lexus Es and LS
BMW 1, 3 and 5 series
VW GTI, Passat
Pontiac G6
Subaru WRX
I'm sure there are others that did not post online.

 

[geneswede]

This is interesting. By luck my car came with a lose to unused set of michelin as sport and is tracking slightly to the right. I also notice that sometimes most pronounced at highway peers it takes noticeable more effort to turn steering wheel left then right.

I wonder if I have a defect tire as well? I don't have any recites of the tires. Any chance I could get Micheline to check them out?

They do seem grippy on dry asphalt but noisy.

 

[Southern Boy]

As I posted previously, In June of 2012 I purchased a set of General G- Max AS03 225/50ZR18 tires. I have been satisfied with these tires. I have had no issues with pulling or anything else.
I had a hard time with a thousand dollars for tires, so I did a little looking around for what was available.
My searches lead me to General G- Max AS03 225/50ZR18 tires. The Continental tire company bought General back in the late 90s along with Uniroyal and continues to manufacture tires under those brand names.
The bottom line is I purchased these tires (General G- Max AS03 225/50ZR18) for $574 delivered to the door from http://www.discounttiredirect.com
General G-max 03 AS comes with a 45 day Customer Satisfaction Trial. If you don’t love them they will replace them.

 

[geneswede]

I'm backing of my statements "a bit". The tires seem VERY sticky, by far the stickiest tires I have driven. This is probably a good thing, handling should be superb (still need to see what they do in rain).

Seems like the tires likes going in a straight line and sometimes it takes a little effort to get them out of "neutral". Most times it takes more effort turning left then right but on the way to work this morning it did the opposite most of they way. The pulling also seem less.

I wonder if they put new tires on just as they where selling the car? If so I'm surprised they went with these expensive tires instead of something cheap.

I still find them loud and since I'm not a performance geek I doubt I will go for them next time (Will be looking for quiet at that point).

Checked tire pressure last evening (car had been standing for a couple of hours) and they had 40 PSI all around. The Tire is rated to 51 (!!). I will check tire pressure in the morning as well. I wonder what PSI to run them at...

 

[scottdk]

I wonder what PSI to run them at...

Check your driver door jam or your owners manual. 33 psi is recommended by Hyundai.

 

[Mark_888]

The Tire is rated to 51 (!!). I will check tire pressure in the morning as well. I wonder what PSI to run them at...

51 is not the PSI rating, it is the Maximum Allowed Tire Pressure. Hyundai says to run them at 33 PSI. A couple of PSI higher is OK, but 40 is too high unless you are carrying a very heavy load.

 

[DRS]

40 is not bad at all for this type of tire construction. It rolls over more, has uneven water disbursement (check out rear window), lower mileage, excess wear on outside of the tire, sloppy handling at the 33lbs. Just the way it is. They set it for some kind of ride.

I personally like 41f 38-39 rear. Water is just about perfect (instead of inside pattern wet and outside dry, the whole tread is dry on the street), and clears up above. Plus, coasts much better. So, I imagine a but more mpg AND lower tire temp on hwy.