The tires that came with your new car were not designed by Michelin or any other tire manufacturer.

They were designed by the manufacturer of your car. If your new car came with a set of Michelin Crossclimate 2 or Michelin Defender LTX MS, Michelin Man made the tire but they made it to the specifications set by your car manufacturer. These tires are referred to as OEM (original equipment manufacturer).

Furthermore, your manufacturer does not warranty the tires on your new vehicle. They tell you that you have a “bumper to bumper” warranty, even though Honda designed the tires on your Civic, they have no responsibility if they are defective. The tire manufacturer bears that responsibility.

Do you have to replace the tires on your new car with the same brand tires?

The OEM tires that came with your car can’t be replaced after they’ve worn out because you can't buy that same exact tire from anywhere. So you don't have to replace your OEM tires with the same tires because you can't! And OEM tires all wear out much sooner than they should. This is because virtually all auto manufacturers specify very soft rubber which means they wear out too fast. Even if you Google, Michelin tires near me, you still won't find them.

Why would the manufacturer do that?

They want that new car to have the smoothest ride possible, even at your expense of having to buy a new set of tires at half the mileage you should have gotten! When you test drive that brand new car and it rides very, very smoothly you’re more likely to buy it. You’ll find out how fast the tires wear out much later, and when you do you’ll blame it on the tire maker. Not really smart for the tire manufacturers, but they're making big bucks supplying all these automakers.

Another way the car makers delude you into thinking your ride is very smooth is by recommending low tire inflation.

The number you see on your door jamb or in your car’s owner’s manual is the car manufacturer’s recommended air pressure. The number on your tire is the tire manufacturer’s recommendation. The number on the door jamb is the minimum and the number on the tire is the maximum. There’s typically a 10-pound difference. We recommend you try the maximum and, if the ride’s too rough, split the difference. You’ll not only get longer tirewear but better gas mileage.

We suspect another reason auto manufacturers design their own tires is to cut costs. By cutting a few corners in the design and specifications, they can increase their profit and/or cut the overall car price. If their purpose was to design a better tire, why wouldn’t they make these OEM tires available for the car owner to buy after the first set wears out? Many car owners “think” they’re replacing their Michelins that were on their new car with the same tire, but they’re not. The tire might be the same size and look the same, but it’s a different model number.

One thing you should look for on your first set of replacement tires is the “treadwear index” which is molded into the side of your tires. This number will be 200 to 900. Your OEM tires will have a lower number because they're made of softer rubber. If the tires that came on your car had a 200 tread wear index and you replaced them with 400, you should get twice the mileage on your second set of tires.

We sell every brand made, some with 90,000-mile tread life warranties!

When replacing your tires, don’t always go for the big brand name. Brands aren’t always built on quality but also on advertising. Also, a famous brand of tire makes all different kinds of tires with many different designs and specifications. Just because it’s a “Michelin” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good tire. If the Michelin Man made that tire for an auto manufacturer who designed the tire with only two things in mind…low cost and soft ride, Michelin really didn't care about you. Our recommendation is to check with us, Tire Discount for the best tire replacements. You’ll find tire brands recommended that you may never have heard about. We sell every brand made, some with 90,000-mile tread life warranties!

We "do" care about you!