Michelin Tires replacement for my 2013 Toyota Sienna van

Anyone else has the same issues I have with your less than two years old van? I owned a 2013 Toyota Sienna van. Back in May 2014, I took my van to the dealer for the regular maintenance. I was told that I need to replace my front tires. My van only has about 17k miles. The person at toyota service center on south street told me that it is normal that tires don't last that long and it is waste of time to claim manufacture warranty. I decided to verify the information knowing that tires has 60k warranty. I called Michelin about their warranty and started a claim over the phone. I was told that I could take it to authorized dealers which are Lex Brodie and Sears Auto Center. I took it to Lex Brodie and was told that I will only need to pay 17% of the cost of the tire replacement. I ended up paying A little less than $200 thinking that I have got a deal.


Four months later, I needed to replace my other two tires. My car only has 20k miles.  Again, I took it down to Lex Brodie because of its convenience location by my work. I was told that I have to pay 75% of the tires because the thread is uneven. They claimed that it was possibly caused by lack of rotation and alignment. I couldn't believed that this is what you need to do with a brand new car., check your tires every two weeks? In addition to that, you are suppose to get them rotate every two to three months. So, I was quote at almost $500 for two tires. I refused to pay that much. I called Michelin again, every time I call and ask them to help, they have me 10% credit more to the initial 75%. Finally I was able to get 45% credit. Then, I started looking at  the Invoice from Lex Brodie to
see how much they actually quote me per tire. $248.88 while Costco is selling for $170. So, I called Sears Auto Center and got help from the General Manager. I ended up paying about $300 for Two brand new tires (Sears Road Handler Touring 100K miles warranty) and alignment with the 45% credit from Michelin. I will write a follow up review on these tires. I am pretty sure that I wouldn't get 100k miles from them though. Just hope that I don't have to spend money for brand new tires in two years.

Overall, My advice for you is not to trust what people tell you. You always save a little money if you verify your information.

Lesson 1: if I believe the technician from the dealer, I would never know that you can get claim manufacture warranty.

Lesson 2: I learn that it is beneficial to check your tires every 2 weeks, rotate your tires every 3 to 6 months and check your car's alignment at least once a year.

Lesson 3: Always check if the store do price matching and details of the warranty.

Lesson 4: Ask question and ask question. Never feel embarrass to ask any question at all.