Just had my first oil change and tire rotation today at the dealership for my 2024 Santa Fe SE ICE (7,500 miles). They did a complimentary inspection and told me that my tread is already down to 7/32—basically halfway worn out!
I was shocked because I drive very gently, and these Goodyear Assurance tires should last way longer. The service advisor told me that the OEM tires Hyundai puts on these cars are made with a different (cheaper) rubber compound, and that I’d be lucky to get 15K miles out of them. She even said her boss had to replace their OEM tires after 10K miles… That’s wild.
She also claimed that these OEM tires don’t come with any warranty, but if I buy the same Goodyears from a tire shop, they will have a warranty and last much longer because they’re manufactured differently.
I’m honestly confused. My 2010 Prius got 30K miles on its OEM tires, and my 2016 Sonata lasted 50K miles before I needed new ones. So what’s going on here?
Questions for fellow Santa Fe owners:
Have you noticed your OEM tires wearing out faster than expected?
Is it true that car manufacturers use lower-quality tires than what you’d buy at a tire shop?
I’ve used Goodyear Assurance tires for over a decade on two different vehicles, and they’ve been great. However, none of them came as OEM. I’ve also heard that the tires that come on new cars and the ones sold at places like Costco or Sam’s Club aren’t the same as what you’d get from a dedicated tire shop.
From my experience, the Goodyears I bought directly from a Goodyear store lasted 2–2.5x longer than the ones I got from Sam’s Club. So there might be some truth to the whole “different rubber compound” thing.
I haven’t personally dealt with a warranty claim on OEM tires, but your post made me curious. I checked the warranty guide, and it actually says that original tires are covered by the tire manufacturer (page 22).
It doesn’t specify how long the warranty lasts, but I find it hard to believe that it’s zero months. I’d definitely recommend double-checking with Goodyear. Sounds like the service advisor might have been trying to upsell you on a new set.
@Shan
Thanks for looking into that! I had a feeling the service advisor was just trying to sell me new tires. There’s no way Goodyear wouldn’t offer any warranty on them.
Wouldn’t it actually cost more for manufacturers to produce two different versions of the same tire? If they’re using ‘lower-quality’ ones for new cars, how do we know they’re not using them everywhere? Doesn’t make much sense to me.
That’s TOTAL BULL! All tires are the same, whether they come on a new car or from a tire shop. Goodyear Assurance is a high-quality tire, and whoever told you otherwise is straight-up lying.
I’d double-check the tread depth myself with a quarter or dime. Some dealerships/mechanics aren’t always the most honest when it comes to stuff like this. Just saying…