J.D. Power and Associates asked 29,000 original owners of 2013 or 2014 model-year vehicles what they thought of their tires in its latest U.S. Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study, released in late March.
The annual study measures tire owner satisfaction in four vehicle segments: luxury, passenger car, performance sport and truck/utility. Satisfaction is examined in four factors: tire wear; tire ride; tire appearance; and tire traction/handling. Rankings are based on owner experiences with their tires after two years of vehicle ownership.
The analysis is based on a 1,000-point scale. Michelin ranks highest in two of the three rank-eligible segments: luxury and passenger car. Pirelli ranks highest in the performance sport segment.
The average score in the luxury segment was 702. The top ranked brands and their scores are:
- Michelin (745)
- Pirelli (710)
- Goodyear (701)
- Dunlop (676)
- Continental (667)
- Bridgestone (663)
In the passenger car segment, the average score was 644. Here’s how the brands ranked:
- Michelin (714)
- Goodyear (669)
- Bridgestone (639)
- Pirelli (631)
- Continental (630)
- Yokohama (626)
- Toyo (622)
- Firestone (621)
- Dunlop (611)
- Hankook (607)
- Kumho (594)
The average score in the performance sport segment was 669. Here what the study found:
- Pirelli (693)
- Michelin (692)
- Goodyear (691)
- Bridgestone (627)
- Continental (621)
What about the truck/utility segment? According to J.D. Power, there must be at least four suppliers with sufficient sample within an award segment for a segment award to be presented. No truck/utility award was presented due to insufficient market representation among rankable suppliers in the segment. Of the brands evaluated, the study ranked Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear in that order without assigning individual scores.
To see how the brands were rated in the tire ride, traction/handling, wear and appearance categories, visit the J.D. Power website.
Are any of the rankings a surprise to you? Let us know by leaving a comment!