Hello,
We have Michelin Pilot AS 3+ tires which have been great tires. The downside is that we have only gotten about 50% of the warranted 45,000 miles on them.
But at the end of the tread life, it looks like chunks of rubber are coming off of the tire. The alignment was checked and good. Do you think this is just a characteristic of the tire or indicative of any possible suspension parts that may need replacement. The vehicle has 111K miles on it.
I have noted anecdotal comments of tire cupping with this tire on other fourums.

Pilot sport as 3+ You can see where it looks like tread is ripping off.

Pilot sport AS 3+ Tire issue or suspension


thanks,
Todd

Just to add I did have the alignment checked.

Looks like bad or cheap tires.

I like Conti Cross Contact LX25. Much more comfortable and longer lasting then the factory Cross Contact LX Sports which I do not recommend.

They are definitely not cheap. :-)

@Rubatoguy, When I bought my 2014 ML 350 Blue in 2016, it came with Michelin Premier LTX. I hated them, made the vehicle feel like it was wallowing around as you cornered. It also chewed up tires almost as bad as your tires. I have since switched to Pirelli Scorpion Verde Plus. These handled cornering much better without chunks of rubber disappearing!!! But the get noisy as the mileage goes up so that was disappointing. I have now switched to Discount Tire branded version called Pirelli Scorpion Strada which is essential Discount Tire's branded version of the Verde Plus. Hopefully these do not get as noisy as the mileage goes up.

Have you ever rotated them lol? the outside tread wear is very excessive. Do you drive on a lot of gravel / unpaved roads?

I am a Michelin man. I know for these big rigs they wear done fast but to me the comfort and ride quality means more. If you drove a lot I can understand getting something that last longer. Try a Bridgestone or Continental

Both the Contis and Pirellis are considerably worse in terms of wear (and the Contis also in terms of handling). The Michelins are just worn, with the wear pattern suggesting they were somewhat under-inflated. Still the best tires out there.

Ive used Pirelli Scorpion Verde on my ML 550 for about 40k miles, and like them. They dont reach the warranted mileage (prob only made it 30k miles), but I just ask Discount tire for a warranty credit and get $80 or $100 bucks back per tire.

Thank you all for your replies. I have heard a few mechanics say that these are heavy rigs and they tend to wear through tires quickly. They did have some time on gravel roads, but not recently. They were rotated, but not as often as they should have been.

@Rubatoguy Yes these are heavy rigs at 6000lbs. That's nearly 1500lbs/wheel. Which is why we need tires to have XL rating, depending on the tire and air pressures inflated to, that governs how much load they can carry.