Automotive Forums

What a headache all the Michelin Pax owners will suffer soon. And I say “soon” because maybe the majority of them are still enjoying the “honey moon” with this new system.

I have a 2005 Honda Odyssey Touring. The first problem came with a puncture at 14.000 miles. The Honda dealer told me: “you have to buy a new tire its cost is just $ 650.00. - What?? I did exclaim “Yes it can not be fixed because of the point of the pinch; but… what about the warranty? I replied - You are not eligible because you have already lost 4/32 tread of the tires”. I can’t believe these “super tires” have a “super short live” – We are sorry Sr. we can’t do anything else…” They concluded.

I called to Michelin’s customer service who suggested me going to a Tire Kingdom store near by where, as per their records, were prepared to give me service and fix the problem. What was my surprise when Mr. Tire Kingdom told me: “We are sorry but the only person who received the Michelin Pax training is not working with us anymore. Could you tell me where can I find another Tire Kingdom or any other store able to handle this kind of issue? – I asked – Nop! – gently answered”

I called to Michelin back and they gave me another address to attempt, just 40 or 45 miles away. I went there but surprise again “there is no one with the knowledge to help you out” they told me.

I take my way back thinking about why I bought an expensive mini van with these “specials” that I was starting to hate. It was unbelievable!!

The week after I decided to go to the small tire-repair store in the corner of my office and !Eureka! they fixed the tire without dismount it form the wheel.

The last week I took the van to my trusty Goodyear service store to rotate tires and other services. Bad news again: “They can’t be rotated because of the very low level of tread and the only suggestion is getting a new set of $ 650.00 each one”

The real problem here is that consumers can’t buy only the tire but the tire PLUS the rim.

Who was supposed to tell to the Odyssey customers that the super tires were to have a shorter life than the normal ones and that the replacement will cost not only more but MUCH more because of the requirement of the rim on each purchase? As of today neither the Honda dealer nor Michelin have answered it to me.

If you are reading this desperate WARNING suffering the same pain let me know. I think we should unit. I read in some place there is a class action against this abuse. Or if you were told by your dealer or Michelin I would appreciate your comment. It will be useful also.  

sorry to hear that, i have not heard much about the Michelin Pax system but after reading this I will definatly look into it.  

Does Michelin consider 4/32 to be more than half the tread life?  Here is a quote from the Honda press release on PAX.

"A phase-in program has been created with Honda dealers to further insure that customers will have quick and convenient access to wheel repair at the time of the 2005 Odyssey launch. Honda dealers are stocking complete wheel *** that can be switched with a flat PAX tire. Under normal use conditions, the repair is covered under the tire's road hazard warranty for the first 50 percent of tread life and then pro-rated just like any typical road hazard warranty for a new tire. In addition to the dealer program, Michelin dealers are in the process of installing PAX tire mounting and dismounting capabilities to further enhance the convenience of PAX tires."

How many miles do you have?  You might want to call Honda Customer Support to see if you can get a better answer out of them.  

yeah I would think the 5 32ths would be considered half your tires life since treads usually start at 10 32ths  

Mike2762:
What a headache all the Michelin Pax owners will suffer soon. And I say “soon” because maybe the majority of them are still enjoying the “honey moon” with this new system.

I have a 2005 Honda Odyssey Touring. The first problem came with a puncture at 14.000 miles. The Honda dealer told me: “you have to buy a new tire its cost is just $ 650.00. - What?? I did exclaim “Yes it can not be fixed because of the point of the pinch; but… what about the warranty? I replied - You are not eligible because you have already lost 4/32 tread of the tires”. I can’t believe these “super tires” have a “super short live” – We are sorry Sr. we can’t do anything else…” They concluded.

I called to Michelin’s customer service who suggested me going to a Tire Kingdom store near by where, as per their records, were prepared to give me service and fix the problem. What was my surprise when Mr. Tire Kingdom told me: “We are sorry but the only person who received the Michelin Pax training is not working with us anymore. Could you tell me where can I find another Tire Kingdom or any other store able to handle this kind of issue? – I asked – Nop! – gently answered”

I called to Michelin back and they gave me another address to attempt, just 40 or 45 miles away. I went there but surprise again “there is no one with the knowledge to help you out” they told me.

I take my way back thinking about why I bought an expensive mini van with these “specials” that I was starting to hate. It was unbelievable!!

The week after I decided to go to the small tire-repair store in the corner of my office and !Eureka! they fixed the tire without dismount it form the wheel.

The last week I took the van to my trusty Goodyear service store to rotate tires and other services. Bad news again: “They can’t be rotated because of the very low level of tread and the only suggestion is getting a new set of $ 650.00 each one”

The real problem here is that consumers can’t buy only the tire but the tire PLUS the rim.

Who was supposed to tell to the Odyssey customers that the super tires were to have a shorter life than the normal ones and that the replacement will cost not only more but MUCH more because of the requirement of the rim on each purchase? As of today neither the Honda dealer nor Michelin have answered it to me.

If you are reading this desperate WARNING suffering the same pain let me know. I think we should unit. I read in some place there is a class action against this abuse. Or if you were told by your dealer or Michelin I would appreciate your comment. It will be useful also.

wow, I sell honda and ive never heard of such a thing, as a matter of fact i can hardly believe that, im sorry that you had troubles with that but i do want to insure you that here at Garcia honda, we wouldve done the best to help you with your problem. my appologies.
Signed Your Friendly Salesman.  

Mike2762:
What a headache all the Michelin Pax owners will suffer soon. And I say “soon” because maybe the majority of them are still enjoying the “honey moon” with this new system.

I have a 2005 Honda Odyssey Touring. The first problem came with a puncture at 14.000 miles. The Honda dealer told me: “you have to buy a new tire its cost is just $ 650.00. - What?? I did exclaim “Yes it can not be fixed because of the point of the pinch; but… what about the warranty? I replied - You are not eligible because you have already lost 4/32 tread of the tires”. I can’t believe these “super tires” have a “super short live” – We are sorry Sr. we can’t do anything else…” They concluded.

I called to Michelin’s customer service who suggested me going to a Tire Kingdom store near by where, as per their records, were prepared to give me service and fix the problem. What was my surprise when Mr. Tire Kingdom told me: “We are sorry but the only person who received the Michelin Pax training is not working with us anymore. Could you tell me where can I find another Tire Kingdom or any other store able to handle this kind of issue? – I asked – Nop! – gently answered”

I called to Michelin back and they gave me another address to attempt, just 40 or 45 miles away. I went there but surprise again “there is no one with the knowledge to help you out” they told me.

I take my way back thinking about why I bought an expensive mini van with these “specials” that I was starting to hate. It was unbelievable!!

The week after I decided to go to the small tire-repair store in the corner of my office and !Eureka! they fixed the tire without dismount it form the wheel.

The last week I took the van to my trusty Goodyear service store to rotate tires and other services. Bad news again: “They can’t be rotated because of the very low level of tread and the only suggestion is getting a new set of $ 650.00 each one”

The real problem here is that consumers can’t buy only the tire but the tire PLUS the rim.

Who was supposed to tell to the Odyssey customers that the super tires were to have a shorter life than the normal ones and that the replacement will cost not only more but MUCH more because of the requirement of the rim on each purchase? As of today neither the Honda dealer nor Michelin have answered it to me.

If you are reading this desperate WARNING suffering the same pain let me know. I think we should unit. I read in some place there is a class action against this abuse. Or if you were told by your dealer or Michelin I would appreciate your comment. It will be useful also.

GarciaSalesRep:
wow, I sell honda and ive never heard of such a thing, as a matter of fact i can hardly believe that, im sorry that you had troubles with that but i do want to insure you that here at Garcia honda, we wouldve done the best to help you with your problem. my appologies.
Signed Your Friendly Salesman.

contact me. Let's chat and get to the bottom of this. I've got a Run-flat Touring Odyssey with 11K. Just brought it in this morning with a flat. I am going thru the EXACT same NIGHTMARE that was described above.

Where is the justice in all this. A BIG SCAM that needs to be put into check.


-cqn@pobox.com
7/16/06  

Guys,

I spoke to my local Honda dealership and was told the replacement is $190/tire. Currently, they do not have the machine to just replace the tire, so they are swapping out the entire wheel for the price of the tire. The service manager told me that Honda did not do a good job with the launch of the product and the dealerships did not know they would have to purchase a $4000 machine to replace the PAX tires. Tire replacement is not a big busines for them.    They will be getting one in the coming months and just replacing tire for the same price.  

I hope this helps you out

George  

Yes, I am in the same boat.  Thursday, I am going to put on the 9th and 10th tire.  I beleive Upon purchasing the Odyssey, I was told that these tires would last 50,000 miles and they would cost only a few dollars more to replace, and they would soon cost no more.  I did question these tires and was assured, they were great.  I am retired and they are eating me alive.  This is our second Odyssey, we purchased the Touring because my wife just retired, we hoped to travel some and enjoy this vehicle.  Seems as if these tires are taking a lot of our traveling funds.  Honda has made a big mistake, and the customers are paying dearly.  Does anyone know what kind of tires are going on the Honda's in the future, I heard Honda was doing away with the PAX system?
Please let me know if we can approach Honda to get us out of this PAX system.  

George, thank you.  I was told the machine was $10,000 by my dealership.  The issue is the tires to not last very long.  Honda has made a big mistake with the tires.  The customer is paying dearly. The Michelin® representative informed me that they had no problems with these tires, this was my message from them after my complaint.  This is not true.

I hope you have better luck with your tires than I have had.  

I also purchased a Honda Odyssey Touring 2005 Sept. 2004 . The new PAX run flat tires were extolled by the sales rep. with no mention of having to replace all wheels when one goes bad. I had my Odyssey in for 30,000 mile check up and was told that all 4 had to be replaced . They showed me one that was getting very bald. Of course, the cost was extreme . Believing them I told them to go ahead but that I wanted to see all 4 of them when I went to pick the car up which by the way, is a 200 mile round trip for me. When I went back they had all the wheels, tires packed up to be sent back to where I don't know. They gave me a photo of one tire that did show a lot of wear. Once again I trusted them and since they were all packed up I didn't have them go further and unpack them all.
I couldn't believe that Michelin tires only lasted 31,000 miles. That was VERY GOOD for that tire I was told.
Needless to say, I traded that Odyssey in and got a 2006 EX-L without the PAX package. The ride in the 2006 Odyssey is much better than the 2005 with the PAX tires.
By the way, did I mention that I am a female.
Do we have any recourse? I haven't contacted Michelin yet.  

I am in the same boat.  I have the exact van...'05 Odyssey Touring.  I have about 30000 miles on them.  I have an appointment on Thursday to take a look at the problem.  My local tire dealer said the tires are worn out.  He has contacted Michilen but was told I have to take to a Honda dealer as none of the local manufacture's dealers are qualified to work on them.  I am shocked that we were not told of the short life of these tires.  The warranty is for 6 years or when they wear out.  6 years would normally be around 90,000 miles of driving for the average driver.
Does anyone know if we can get another brand of 17" tire to put on?  I, for one, don't care about the air pressure read-out I get on the dirver's information center.  I would rather have another tire that will ride comfortably and last at least 50,000 miles.  If anyone knows the answer to this please let me know.  Thanks and good luck to all.  

I am not going to even bother with repeating my story because it's the same as mike's. All I want now is justice. When they sold me this 2005 Odyssey one of the selling points was the tire system. So don't tell me now that you don't have anything to do with those damm wheels. I will not purchase a 20-30,000 mile rated tire every year. The one question is how do you being a class action suit?  

I see one problem.YOU GOT MICHELIN TIRES.Michelin tires ARE over rated.I would consider Dunlop,Yokahoma and there are many others out there that are comparable or even BETTER than Michelin Tires and dont cost you an arm and leg.  

Yep.  I too just found at that my two front tires, with only 25,000 miles have to be replaced at a pro-rated amount of $400.00 for both.  I am interested in any collaborative effort to correct this egregious error and mislead by Honda and/or Michelin.

pete  

I have the same problem with my 2005 Touring.  I only have 21,000 on my tires.  This is disgraceful!  It is not hard to get a class action case going, there are many attorneys who would take this case.  The difficulty is getting a "class" certified by a judge in a jurisdiction.  This however is big exposure for Honda as the legal fees for any such case alone would probably exceed them replacing the PAX system in a recall or pushing Michelin to make a longer lasting or less expensive tire (assuming the same quality).

I have otherwise been totally UNIMPRESSED with this vehicle. It is loud and the vehicle rattles like an American car. Not something I was expecting from the Japanese. We paid $42K "all in" for this rig.  It is surely not a Lexus and the service is not Lexus.

I am going down to my dealership (Santa Ana Honda in California) this morning to see about tires and the other issues with this vehicle.  I am prepared to take action with these guys.