Pirelli Summer Tire Cracking Issue – 18 Days – Denied Warranty on My New Mach-E GTPE!

[DK_Min]

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share my frustrating experience with Pirelli and Ford regarding a premature tire failure on my New 2022 Mach-E GT Performance Edition that I purchased brand new from the dealer on Sept 24, 2024. I’m hoping to get some feedback, see if others have experienced the same issue, and put some pressure on Pirelli to do the right thing and stand behind their product.

The Issue: Tires Cracked After Just 18 Days of Use!

I bought my Mach-E GT brand new in and love the car otherwise! It was a 2022 that sat in the dealer showroom for a few years until I came along and it came with Pirelli P Zero summer tires. I had read on the forums about other uses having defective tires and knowing how sensitive summer tires can be to cold, I was extremely careful with them. I only drove in warm conditions (+7°C and above) and my car was stored in a heated garage at night. I purchased dedicated winter tires before I even took possession of the car and put the Hankook's on October 12 before temperatures dropped.

Despite this, when I removed the Pirellis, I noticed cracks forming between the tread blocks—after just 1,200 km of driving. The tires still had 9/32” of tread depth, meaning they were practically new. They were stored in a heated garage, and I made sure they were never driven in conditions that could cause damage. I have an engineering background and a history of using multiple brands and compounds of tires on my various cars, motorcycles and karts. I know how to properly warm up tires, maintain them, and avoid misuse and was extra cautious from day 1.

I had posted pictures of my new car with winter wheels and tires a week after swapping them back in October here: https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...19-wheel-rim-fitment.23861/page-3#post-861681

I had not taken a close look at the tire treads and only noticed this once I took them off, but they very well could have been there from the beginning.


Ford’s Warranty Says These Tires Should Be Covered

Ford’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty states that tire defects in materials or workmanship are covered up to 12,000 km with 100% parts and labor coverage. Since these tires failed far below that, I expected Ford and Pirelli to stand behind them.

Pirelli has denied my warranty claim passing off any accountability by speculatively but affirmatively stating that the damage must have been caused by cold temperatures, even though I had proactively switched to winter tires and stored the Pirellis properly. Instead of honoring the warranty, they offered me a 33% discount on a new set, which barely covers their profit margin. Essentially, they are trying to sell me another set instead of standing behind their product!

This isn't just about me—this could happen to anyone running Pirelli summer tires on their performance EV or sports car. If a tire manufacturer can blame cracking on speculation instead of honoring legitimate claims, we are all at risk of being left with expensive, unsafe tires that fail prematurely.

Has Anyone Else Had This Issue?

I know other Mach-E and Porsche owners have had their claims approved on the various forums and Reddit, so why is my case different? If you’ve experienced similar cracking issues on Pirelli tires could you please share your experience below.

Also, does anyone have suggestions on how to escalate this with Pirelli or Ford? I want to hold them accountable and make sure they don’t dismiss other customers with similar problems. From everything I have seen most of the issues happen to be from 2022 GTPE models so I'm am thinking there may have been a bad batch.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

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[GreaseMonkey]

I empathize with your position. However, the dealer storing your vehicle out in the cold for 2.5 years was the party who caused the damage. I think your issue is with them, not Pirelli.

Pirelli is right in asserting their claim. It was cold weather. The issue for you is that the dealer caused it, but you are stuck between the two of them.

I’d say that if your dealer pitches in another 33%, that’d be a reasonable settlement.

 

[Regularmache]

Yes anytime you buy a vehicle whether ordered and picked up the day the Transport dropped the car after manufacturer.

We have to inspect the entire car before we accept the vehicle for transport shipping damage, damage on the lot etc.

Once we accept the car, and nothing is noted on the 'We Owe', were agreeing to as is so dealer isn't obligated and your negotiation leverage is minimal at best.

These tires, in the sun and hot and cold cycles degrade and thus the cracks.

Lesson learned inspect before acceptance. If you can keep trying to get some consideration.

Good luck.

 

[MME Farmer]

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share my frustrating experience with Pirelli and Ford regarding a premature tire failure on my New 2022 Mach-E GT Performance Edition that I purchased brand new from the dealer on Sept 24, 2024. I’m hoping to get some feedback, see if others have experienced the same issue, and put some pressure on Pirelli to do the right thing and stand behind their product.

The Issue: Tires Cracked After Just 18 Days of Use!

I bought my Mach-E GT brand new in and love the car otherwise! It was a 2022 that sat in the dealer showroom for a few years until I came along and it came with Pirelli P Zero summer tires. I had read on the forums about other uses having defective tires and knowing how sensitive summer tires can be to cold, I was extremely careful with them. I only drove in warm conditions (+7°C and above) and my car was stored in a heated garage at night. I purchased dedicated winter tires before I even took possession of the car and put the Hankook's on October 12 before temperatures dropped.

Despite this, when I removed the Pirellis, I noticed cracks forming between the tread blocks—after just 1,200 km of driving. The tires still had 9/32” of tread depth, meaning they were practically new. They were stored in a heated garage, and I made sure they were never driven in conditions that could cause damage. I have an engineering background and a history of using multiple brands and compounds of tires on my various cars, motorcycles and karts. I know how to properly warm up tires, maintain them, and avoid misuse and was extra cautious from day 1.

I had posted pictures of my new car with winter wheels and tires a week after swapping them back in October here: https://www.macheforum.com/site/thr...19-wheel-rim-fitment.23861/page-3#post-861681

I had not taken a close look at the tire treads and only noticed this once I took them off, but they very well could have been there from the beginning.


Ford’s Warranty Says These Tires Should Be Covered

Ford’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty states that tire defects in materials or workmanship are covered up to 12,000 km with 100% parts and labor coverage. Since these tires failed far below that, I expected Ford and Pirelli to stand behind them.

Pirelli has denied my warranty claim passing off any accountability by speculatively but affirmatively stating that the damage must have been caused by cold temperatures, even though I had proactively switched to winter tires and stored the Pirellis properly. Instead of honoring the warranty, they offered me a 33% discount on a new set, which barely covers their profit margin. Essentially, they are trying to sell me another set instead of standing behind their product!

This isn't just about me—this could happen to anyone running Pirelli summer tires on their performance EV or sports car. If a tire manufacturer can blame cracking on speculation instead of honoring legitimate claims, we are all at risk of being left with expensive, unsafe tires that fail prematurely.

Has Anyone Else Had This Issue?

I know other Mach-E and Porsche owners have had their claims approved on the various forums and Reddit, so why is my case different? If you’ve experienced similar cracking issues on Pirelli tires could you please share your experience below.

Also, does anyone have suggestions on how to escalate this with Pirelli or Ford? I want to hold them accountable and make sure they don’t dismiss other customers with similar problems. From everything I have seen most of the issues happen to be from 2022 GTPE models so I'm am thinking there may have been a bad batch.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

I think Ford should be accountable for this. Mine was delivered in February in Mn., the dealer had no idea about the 45 degree warning. I got 17.5k miles out of mine and that was running longer than I should have all cracked up. Of course warranty was denied, but someone at Ford should have known not to ship a car with these tires to a northern climate.

 

[DK_Min]

Hey fellow members,

The snow has melted here and spring has spring and unfortunately I still don’t have summer tires. Since my initial post I found a picture I took with my Nikon 23 hours after delivery and the cracks were already on the tires. This means that it was that way when I bought the car and was missed in inspection (I’m kicking myself for not finding it when I picked up the car), or it happened in the positive temps in those 23 hours while I had the car.

The dealer is trying to make some sort of claim but saying it can take up to 90 days and I can’t drive my winter tires anymore without wrecking them. They have my wheels and tires for the claim so I’m stranded.

They are offering for me to buy a new set with my cash and then reimburse me “if” the claim is successful, but I’ve played that game before and once they have my money wont have any additional motivation to make things right.

Anyone have any suggestions or tips as to how I can get them, Ford or Pirelli to work with me since it was missed on delivery and I have photographic evidence from the day after delivery? Incredibly frustrated.

Even if I had gotten a few thousand Km or miles out of them I’d feel a bit better, but I only got to drive 1000km on them and they were cracked from day 1…..?

On a lighter note my Eibach sways have arrived and my car is at another dealer getting my updates caught up under the TSB, and I got my V8 mustang on the road today!


Feedback appreciated, thanks everyone!?

 

[zvez]

as others have pointed out, these are summer tires kept outside in cold temps for what two winters? Pirelli clearly has guidelines on this tire usage and storage, dealer didn't follow those, the tires failed.

This is all on the dealer. It seems they should be the ones to make you whole in this. Not pirelli and not ford.

 

[zvez]

I think Ford should be accountable for this. Mine was delivered in February in Mn., the dealer had no idea about the 45 degree warning. I got 17.5k miles out of mine and that was running longer than I should have all cracked up. Of course warranty was denied, but someone at Ford should have known not to ship a car with these tires to a northern climate.

why should ford be accountable for this? The guidelines for these tires are clearly published. Again, that's a dealer thing. Personally I don't think they should sell summer only tires on cars. Originally these were the standard tires for the gt, they did change it later so you could get all seasons when you ordered the gt.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

@DK_Min You can drive on winters for a while especially in Canada but not 90 days. The dealer is being difficult. I’d push them hard and threaten to escalate to ford or gov because they negligently had you drive a performance car on tires that were not road worthy. There’s no clear right solution here, unfortunately. They might say no and I’m not sure if there’s recourse beyond a bad review (and pirelli’s 30% offer).

 

[MME Farmer]

why should ford be accountable for this? The guidelines for these tires are clearly published. Again, that's a dealer thing. Personally I don't think they should sell summer only tires on cars. Originally these were the standard tires for the gt, they did change it later so you could get all seasons when you ordered the gt.

Someone is to blame, either Pirelli should have made Ford more aware of this problem and if they did then Ford did a very poor job of educating their dealers. Guidelines clearly published, for 50 plus years I don't know that I've ever had the need to see how tires are to be used on a new vehicle nor probably not the dealer either. My dealer must have fallen asleep in that class. I know I won't buy a Pirelli tire even if they come up the best tire in the world (which I doubt).

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Someone is to blame, either Pirelli should have made Ford more aware of this problem and if they did then Ford did a very poor job of educating their dealers. Guidelines clearly published, for 50 plus years I don't know that I've ever had the need to see how tires are to be used on a new vehicle nor probably not the dealer either. My dealer must have fallen asleep in that class. I know I won't buy a Pirelli tire even if they come up the best tire in the world (which I doubt).

If a Canadian / Northern US dealer doesn’t know that summer tires are not to be used in sub 45 temps, they should lose their license. Neither Pirelli nor Ford did anything wrong. This is 100% a dealer issue.

 

[DK_Min]

@DK_Min You can drive on winters for a while especially in Canada but not 90 days. The dealer is being difficult. I’d push them hard and threaten to escalate to ford or gov because they negligently had you drive a performance car on tires that were not road worthy. There’s no clear right solution here, unfortunately. They might say no and I’m not sure if there’s recourse beyond a bad review (and pirelli’s 30% offer).

Thanks, I’ll keep you all posted. What does the process to escalate to ford look like?

 

[zvez]

Someone is to blame, either Pirelli should have made Ford more aware of this problem and if they did then Ford did a very poor job of educating their dealers. Guidelines clearly published, for 50 plus years I don't know that I've ever had the need to see how tires are to be used on a new vehicle nor probably not the dealer either. My dealer must have fallen asleep in that class. I know I won't buy a Pirelli tire even if they come up the best tire in the world (which I doubt).

So ordering a performance car on performance tires which clearly state "summer tires" Living in a state with very harsh winters, the dealer didn't have enough sense to know this, yeah I'm not buying that. This is a dealer/buyer problem, not pirelli/ford. Why do you think they go to the trouble of printing disclaimers and conditions under which a given tire are operated under?

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Thanks, I’ll keep you all posted. What does the process to escalate to ford look like?

I don’t think there’s a process. You’d have to muscle through it, throw your weight around. Just realize this is the black swan of all black swans. No system is ever designed for a one in a million situation like this.

 

[DK_Min]

I don’t think there’s a process. You’d have to muscle through it, throw your weight around. Just realize this is the black swan of all black swans. No system is ever designed for a one in a million situation like this.

Thank you for all your support!!

We did a little dance and then a big dance, and then maybe a tango too, but they will be replacing my tires with a new set!!


Woot woot!!!

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Thank you for all your support!!

We did a little dance and then a big dance, and then maybe a tango too, but they will be replacing my tires with a new set!!


Woot woot!!!

Congrats, man. That’s a great outcome.

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