Beware the Nitto warranty

[BrotherRob]

I've been a big fan of Nitto Terra Grapplers, have run them for 9 years and am now on my third set. The first two sets made it to over 50k miles without issue which is excellent considering a bunch of those miles were offroad. I've had no real issues with the tires until Thanksgiving when the sidewall on one tire disintegrated on the highway on the way to dinner. Ironically, I'd just rotated the tires and they were all in good shape. I was only at 21k so there no reason to expect trouble.

I look up Nitto's site and find that the tires have a 60 month prorated warranty. I'm in month 42 so I'm expecting ~30% credit on the replacement.

So I take it to the dealer. He concurred with me, there was no sign of road damage, neglect, or improper maintenance therefore, likely a defect. He sends it up the food chain to the distributor. After 10 he gets word back that Nitto will not warranty the tire because there had been a puncture repair on the tire (a week after purchase.) WTF?

These have still been some of the best I've ever run. But knowing the manufacturer does not stand behind their product, I'm not feeling so fuzzy about them.

 

[gaijin]

So ... was there a puncture repair on the tire?

 

[BrotherRob]

So ... was there a puncture repair on the tire?

Yes, it was in the tread and over 3 years old. The dealer concluded that it played no part in the sidewall failure.

 

[gaijin]

I look up Nitto's site and find that the tires have a 60 month prorated warranty. I'm in month 42 so I'm expecting ~30% credit on the replacement.

Unless you are specifically covered by an older Warranty, sounds like you should have read your Warranty more carefully.

You can see your Warranty here: http://www.nittotire.com/Content/pdf/2013_Nitto%20Warranty.pdf

There is NO mileage warranty on the Terra Grapplers. There is, however, a free replacement period; but that is only good for the first 25% of tread wear and 60 months - which by your description you have exceeded the tread wear requirement.

There is NO "60 month prorated warranty" for your Terra Grapplers.

There are other Nitto "eligible tires" that would have qualified for a pro-rated warranty - unfortunately, the Terra Grappler is not one of them.

:whoops:

 

[BrotherRob]

See page 2
"More than 25% Worn: Nitto®
will replace any eligible tire
when the
original usable tread
is worn by more than 25%,
and within 60 months from the date of purchase. If you
cannot provide a copy of the original purchase receipt,
the manufacturing date of the tire, as indicated by the tire
DOT code, will be used in lieu of the purchase date for
purposes of the above calculation.
You are responsible for
the prorated cost of a replacement tire, and also for mounting and balancing costs, taxes, and any other charges."

It was confirmed by the dealer that had the tire not had a puncture repaired, there would have been a credit for the remaining months up to 60 months. No where does it indicate that a simple puncture repair voids the warranty.

Bottom line: the tire suffered a premature failure not related to misuse or road damage. I would expect the tire company to back their product in this instance.

 

[74monster]

Was it repaired properly with a plug patch or just a repair inside the tire? If it was a patch on the inside water gets into the steel cords and the rust causes the belts to separate. As I see unraveled steel cords that's what it looks like happened. Better pictures would help. I have been in the tire industry for 33 years so I have seen a few tire failures!

 

[gaijin]

See page 2
"More than 25% Worn: Nitto®
will replace any eligible tire
when the
original usable tread
is worn by more than 25%,
and within 60 months from the date of purchase. If you
cannot provide a copy of the original purchase receipt,
the manufacturing date of the tire, as indicated by the tire
DOT code, will be used in lieu of the purchase date for
purposes of the above calculation.
You are responsible for
the prorated cost of a replacement tire, and also for mounting and balancing costs, taxes, and any other charges."

It was confirmed by the dealer that had the tire not had a puncture repaired, there would have been a credit for the remaining months up to 60 months. No where does it indicate that a simple puncture repair voids the warranty.

Bottom line: the tire suffered a premature failure not related to misuse or road damage. I would expect the tire company to back their product in this instance.

The key phrase here is "eligible tire." In this case, for a tire to be "eligible," it must have a mileage warranty. Many of the tires do, but in the case of the Terra Grapplers in question, the mileage warranty is listed as, "None," thus making the Terra Grappler tire in question ineligible for any repair/replacement after the first 25% of tire wear.

 

[BrotherRob]

Was it repaired properly with a plug patch or just a repair inside the tire? If it was a patch on the inside water gets into the steel cords and the rust causes the belts to separate. As I see unraveled steel cords that's what it looks like happened. Better pictures would help. I have been in the tire industry for 33 years so I have seen a few tire failures!

Repaired with both a plug and internal patch. It never leaked. The patch was inspected and determined not to compromised the integrity or the tire nor was there any evidence that the tire lost pressure prior to failure.

 

[BrotherRob]

The key phrase here is "eligible tire." In this case, for a tire to be "eligible," it must have a mileage warranty. Many of the tires do, but in the case of the Terra Grapplers in question, the mileage warranty is listed as, "None," thus making the Terra Grappler tire in question ineligible for any repair/replacement after the first 25% of tire wear.

Seriously, I filed a warranty claim and am relaying the response received in case others are faced with the same issue. They said the tire was eligible for the prorated warranty but was no longer valid due to the repair.

 

[Denverblake]

Nitto Tire

Rob,

I ran into a similar problem 10+ years ago with a Goodyear MTR tire. Great support from the local dealer, but corp was being an asshat. Filled out some small claims court paperwork and faxed it to the corp person that denied my request. Had a new tire in 24 hours. On the fax cover sheet, I also had CC'd a local TV station.

All about the proper application of force. LoL

Good Luck on your ordeal

Blake

 

[BrotherRob]

Thanks Blake. Ultimately, the whole ordeal is more about principle than money. I was only looking at about a $67 credit and the dealer waived the installation charge so I'm only out about $40.

I just thought it wise to share so others would know that a routine tire repair can void the warranty.

 

[80t0ylc]

Was it repaired properly with a plug patch or just a repair inside the tire? If it was a patch on the inside water gets into the steel cords and the rust causes the belts to separate. As I see unraveled steel cords that's what it looks like happened. Better pictures would help. I have been in the tire industry for 33 years so I have seen a few tire failures!

Rusty steel cords and belt separation? Aren't they in the tread? I agree with you on needing a close up or better pic, but it looks like a tire fabric or rubber breakdown on the sidewall. It looks to be crumbling. Rob, how far did you run the tire flat? I've seen tire damage from running a flat tire and it doesnt look like that. Most of those breaks in the rubber are perpendicular to the direction of rotation so this looks really odd.

 

[BrotherRob]

Doing about 60 when I started hearing a roar. It took about 200-300 yards to slow down and get to the shoulder. It was full when I left home and had only driven 15 miles. Amazingly, it was still holding some air when I got out but was completely flat in about 2 minutes.

It is odd, the tires are only 3 years old so not dry rotted. Only one sidewall failed, the other was just fine. The tread was intact, the only separation is where the sidewall came apart underneath the tread. Luckily, I'd just rotated them, had that tire still been on the front, it could have ended badly.

 

[74monster]

at about the 7:00 to 8:00 position. the long cords are from the belt package in the face of the tire. Just curious is the repair close to that area where the cords are hanging out?

 

[BrotherRob]

at about the 7:00 to 8:00 position. the long cords are from the belt package in the face of the tire. Just curious is the repair close to that area where the cords are hanging out?

I didn't see it after it was off the rim. The repair was in the middle of the tread. The tire failed in the sidewall. Looking at the tire, it was impossible to determine where the failure began. The dealer concurred, the repair was not a factor.