OEM tyres are not fit for purpose

[Cutch]

I have an issue with the OEM Goodyear Wranglers on my DS. The treads are chipping and there are cracks in the case at the bottom of the grooves. I'm concerned at the safety of these tyres.

Landrover won't acknowledge the problem and blame the way the car is driven. How do they know how the car has driven? The dealer advised that there is a technical bulletin acknowledging the problem but denying responsibility.

The car had done 20k kms when I complained. It is used predominantly on the highway and sealed secondary roads. Most weeks it does a return trip to the country of about 500 kms, the last 6 kms each way are a gravel road. It's done about 50 kms of Corolla-unfriendly national parks tracks. It has very little city use. All this is well within the expected use of the car.

The rear tyres have been replaced (wife trying to demolish kerbs) and are showing no evidence of chipping after 10k kms. My previous FL2 had the same OEM tyres and didn't have the chipping and cracking issue. In 50 years of car ownership including 7 Land Rovers I've never seen this problem.

I believe there are only two possibilities, the tyres are defective or not fit for purpose.

So I'm left with having to replace tyres at about a third of their tread life. Landrover are behaving like VW and denying any responsibility.

I'm not happy. Sufficiently unhappy that my next car is unlikely to be a Landrover.

[BobD]

Were the rear tyres undamaged before they hit the kerbs?

[AK83]

....

I'm not happy. Sufficiently unhappy that my next car is unlikely to be a Landrover.

LOL! funny.

ergo: my Bridgestone tyres are not very good on my Toyota, so I'm unlikely to buy a Toyota ever again!!
Taking this reasoning to the extreme, my Sunbeam toaster doesn't work as I expect it too, so I'm never buying another house ever again and plan to live in a caravan in the future!

BTW: I'd say that the comparison to VW is a teeny bit distorted too.
You're blaming LR for an issue where Goodyear is at fault, whereas VW created their own problem themselves, and try to deny it and cover it up.
A more equitable comparison would be along the lines of Ford - Exploder - Firestone.


The solution is super simple:
Get rid of the Goodyear tyres and get some proper tyres!
Saves yourself a lot of heart ache and stress.

[Grumbles]

You're blaming LR for an issue where Goodyear is at fault

Perhaps not...........

I'd suggest that LR practice is that they inform the tyre manufacturers what specifications the tyres must meet and that they will not pay more than their predetermined 'X' price for each tyre. A situation similar to our supermarket giants dictating to the dairy and fresh fruit/vegetable farmers what gate price they will pay for their produce.

[Cutch]

To respond to all ...

I can't give a reliable answer about the condition of the rear tyres before they were replaced. I'm not very good at regular checkups.

The issue for me with disappointment at Landrover is not so much the tyre itself, but Landrover using the 'blame the customer' tactic to avoid the issue. My previous experience with problems with the FL2 was very positive, Landrover fixed a couple of serious issues without question and provided a loan car while it happened. I accept there can be problems, it's the supplier's response that matters.

Yes it's a Goodyear problem ultimately, but my relationship is with Landrover. They supplied the tyre. And they specified the tyre. An internet search revealed that these tyres had similar problems on Nissans in the US.

And yes the replacement tyres will not be Goodyears. I've very positive experience with Pirelli Scorpion ATR's on the FL2. Before that I've been a Michelin man but they no longer seem to import ATR's to Aus.

Incidently, I emailed the Customer Relations Centre last Wednesday asking for the issue to be escalated. I've had no response.

To anyone purchasing a new DS I suggest they refuse to accept the standard Wranglers and insist on some decent tyres.

[Cutch]

Further info, here's a photo of the tyre.

Cutch

[BobD]

The cracks are the result of small stones cutting the carcass between the treads. The treads are chipped by the same stones. That is not the fault of the tyre or Land Rover. Those tyres are not dangerous apart from the fact that the tread is nearly worn out!


I could show you pictures of Bridgestone D697 and BFG K02 tyres from my D4 with much worse damage than that after less than 15,000km. On the D4 it is the rears that do that and I suspect on a DS it is the front because it is heavier at the front and, on mine at least, mostly driven by the front wheels since I have the active driveline. Not sure how the standard 4WD system on a DS works.


The D697's are particularly bad on my D4 for cuts between the tread blocks so I swapped to BFG, which still has the same sort of damage but reduced cuts. The 17 inch Wranglers on my DS are still fine but only up to 4500km at this stage. Not much gravel on them yet, though.

[101RRS]

I would have to agree - those tyres look about right after they have been on unsealed type roads.

I think the OP has a concern that is really not there.

[Nicky]

I would have to agree - those tyres look about right after they have been on unsealed type roads.

I think the OP has a concern that is really not there.

Have you had a wheel alignment done and a wheel balance?

[nosliwedaw]

I'm going to back the OP on this one.

My Disco Sport has the same issue with chipping and cracking now that the tyres have done 20k+.

It is the wife's car and does almost no dirt with a mix of city and highway. I think it would have only done 100km of dirt and most of this was prior to 10k on the odo when the tyres held up well with no damage at all.

Now i'm not greatly concerned as the tyres still perform fine and are lasting reasonably well(they are about half worn now), but there certainly is an issue with these tyres.

Cheers.