NHTSA Complaint #10230012 — 2002 TIFFIN ALLEGRO BUS

ON MAY 19, 2008 WE PURCHASED 4 NEW TIRES FROM GANIN TIRE IN MIDDLETOWN, NY FOR OUR MOTORHOME. ON MAY 30 WE DROVE TO MASSACHUSETTS. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, MY HUSBAND NOTICED CRACKS IN ONE OF THE TIRES. UPON CHECKING WITH OUR TIRE INFORMATION BROCHURE THAT CAME WITH THE VEHICLE, MY HUSBAND DISCOVERED THAT THE TIRES MAY, IN FACT, BE 10 YEARS OLD, ALTHOUGH WE PURCHASED THEM 2 WEEKS AGO AND THE INVOICE ALSO NOTED THAT THEY WERE NEW. WHILE WE WERE IN MASSACHUSETTS. MY HUSBAND CALLED MICHELIN AND THEY ALSO CONFIRMED THAT THE DOT NUMBERS INDICATED THAT THE TIRES WERE BUILT IN 1998. AS WE WERE DRIVING TO GET BACK HOME TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGINATING DEALER FOR THE TIRES, THE BACK RIGHT TIRE BLEW OUT THE INNER SIDEWALL. WE GOT OFF THE ROAD AND CALLED FOR ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE. WE HAD TO PURCHASE ANOTHER TIRE WHICH WAS INSTALLED AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND THEN WE DROVE TO THE NEAREST MICHELIN DEALER. WE WERE TOLD THAT ALL TIRES WE DRY-ROTTEN, THE BELT IN THE TIRE THAT FAILED WAS RUSTED AND THE DEALER IN MASSACHUSETTS INDICATED THAT ALL TIRES WERE USED AS THE TREAD DEPTH INDICATED THAT THE TIRES WERE WORN WAY BEYOND 300 MILES (APPROX 11/32 TREAD-DEPTH AND MICHELIN INDICATED THAT NEW TREAD DEPTH IS 16.4/32). WE REPLACED ALL TIRES AND WE KEPT ALL TIRES THAT WERE TAKEN OFF. WE ARE ALSO CONTACTING MICHELIN MANAGEMENT. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS WAS NOT A FAILURE OF A MICHELIN TIRE, BUT A FAILURE OF THE DEALER BY SELLING OLD, USED TIRES AS NEW. *TR