Michelin -- FREE "roadside assistance" ???

I never used their road side assistance, but have used a 60 day return warranty. I just did not like the ride. The tire shop where I bought them exchanged to different brand tires at no cost.

I already have a road side assistance service, so it will not be a value added for me, as their tow service covers only the flat tire without spare.

 

Yes, it covers fluid delivery, lockout service, and battery jump, but for the towing, it only covers the flat tire, and if there is no inflated spare to swap. So, if the car breaks down due to anything other than a flat tire, dead battery, or running out of gas, the towing is going to cost you a lot. And it does not cover the cost of flat repair or replacement either. If you don't have any roadside service and want to rely on their service in case of emergency, it is a good value. But for someone who already has an AAA membership or other roadside assistance service, it does not add any more value.

Here are the small prints from their warranty pamphlet:

• Flat tire change*
• Fluid delivery (gas, water, etc.) 3
• Lockout service
• Battery jump start

*If an inflated spare is not available, towing will be provided at no cost (up to 150 miles) to the nearest approved Michelin tire retailer of your choice.
3 Consumer is responsible for the cost of delivered goods

 

We used to have AAA memberships, myself as a primary and my wife as an associate member. But the Premier membership fees got too expensive, something like $150 a year for the two of us. So, I switched to the GEICO insurance plan's roadside assistance. It costs only $12/year for each car. The towing mile is basically to the nearest dealer or any authorized repair shop of my choice which was better than basic AAA's 10-mile towing range. Or can be better than the 100-mile towing range of AAA Plus or 200 miles towing range of AAA Premier, if the nearest dealer happens to be further away.

The first time I used GEICO roadside assistance was when our Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid developed a camshaft actuator solenoid problem and the engine was running very rough. I did not want to drive it to a dealer ~100 miles away. The tow truck came and towed it to the dealer for me and left it there to be repaired. I did not have to make two trips. Just needed to go there to pick it up when it was repaired. The towing would have cost me over $300 if I had to pay.

 

Been very impressed with Michelin tires and their warranty/service.

Twice I had Michelin tires wear out before their warranted time and twice Michelin gave me credit/check for the prorated wear.

The problem wasn't with their tires it was with the way Sienna suspension causes the tires to wear but Michelin stood behind their product anyway.

I expect anyone who owned a Generation 2 Sienna and drove it for any length of time experienced the uneven way the outside edge of the tires wore.

 

I really liked the Michelin Xice Xi3 on my Prius Prime. I also had Xi2 on the Pathfinder. Excellent on snow and ice, but the beauty was that they were so comfortable and quiet, and got just as good mpg (or EV miles as OEM LRR tires). Plus they were the ONLY winter tires with a tread warranty. But as I understand it, Xi3 is mostly retired now and replaced with Xice-snow. I don't know if the new Xice-snow is better than the Xi3, but they are sure more expensive than the Xi3 I bought. So expensive, that I ended up getting Brizzak instead for our new Escape PHEV when we got the car last year.

I thought about CrossClimate 2 as all-weather tires but that was even more expensive for the larger OEM 18" wheels than buying both smaller used 17" wheels and dedicated winter tires for them. Maybe when the Brizzak needs to be replaced, if I keep the car that long, I may consider changing to CrossClimate 2 on the smaller 17" wheels and run it year-round. Nokian WR is another good all-weather tire I have heard of, but they are even more expensive than CrossClimate2.