Pirelli P Zero Tyres - Premature Cracking

[wilwak]

I have a three year old Jaguar XJ and at the cars first MOT it was raised that all 4 tyres were severely cracking around the treads and should be replaced.

They are the tyres supplied on the car when new.

The car has only covered 4500 miles and the tyres have 5mm of tread left. (It’s a treasured weekender car).

The cracking seems quite severe to me. It’s like this all around each tyre and in all the grooves.

Is there any comeback on tyres against the manufacturer? A new set are over £1000.

I’ve had low mileage cars before but never experienced decay like this.

Edited by wilwak on Saturday 27th January 21:33

[wilwak]

I make sure the car is used every month. Usually once or twice. 50-100 miles each time.

The tyres are inflated to the softer two person comfort low speed pressure and not the full load high speed pressure so this shouldn’t be caused by over inflating.

All four have cracked the same.

Southern U.K. counties so no extreme cold.

I’ve been driving for 30 years and have usually had a weekend low mileage toy. I’ve never experienced cracking like this before.

My other cars have been Jags usually with P Zero and they’ve all been treated the same way and none have failed like this.

I feel that they’re a dodgy batch.

A new one to me. Do tyres come with guarantees or best before/use by dates?

[wilwak]

Hang On said:

Driven in cold weather would be my guess and if so there will be no come back against the manufacturer since they are extremely clear that this invalidates the warranty.

I live near Southampton and the furthest north the car has been is Northampton.

How cold is cold?

I don’t use it in grim weather and we rarely get much more than 2-3 below zero here.

I’m a bit puzzled by it really.

[wilwak]

Hang On said:

wilwak said:

Southern U.K. counties so no extreme cold.

Fwiw, P Zero warranty is invalidated if you drive the car at lower than 8 degrees C.

Wow! That’s amazing. Is that usual with other tyres?

So why are Jag selling cars that shouldn’t be used below 8c?

Mis selling scandal? Ha ha.

Surely that’s an unreasonable guarantee?

I assume that using PZeros on round wheels also invalidates the guarantee?

Tyres are one of those items that nobody ever questions if they wear out quickly or puncture easily. We simply take it on the chin and buy new ones. Seems odd really.

[wilwak]

mr pg said:

There's abeen a number of posts within the Porsche fraternity about this, and some owners have their tyres replaced. Report it to Pirelli and ask for one of their engineers to inspect them. A known issue.

Thank you! That’s interesting. I’ll try contacting them. Worth a try.

[wilwak]

charltjr said:

Hang On said:

Fwiw, P Zero warranty is invalidated if you drive the car at lower than 8 degrees C.

Citation needed, never heard of anything like that before. P Zero is just a mainstream car tyre so I find it very hard to believe.

OP what is the DOT code on the tyres? They may already have been a good few years old before they were fitted to the car.

I’m not sure what a DOT code is. I’ll google and try to find it thanks.

[wilwak]

RTaylor2208 said:

"Is there any comeback on tyres against the manufacturer? A new set are over £1000."

I can't see you having any luck with Jaguar or Pirelli, but if you need to buy new and I assume is the 19" size that jag fitted to the XJ you can save a lot on the over £1000 quote buy buying direct from camskill and have a local fitter fit them at around £10-£20 a corner.

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m55b0s7828p101467/Pirel...


https://www.camskill.co.uk/m55b0s7838p101441/Pirel...

Thanks. It’s an XJR so wide tyres.

I’ve had several alloys damaged over the years by fitters that I now tend to use my main dealer who charge a bit more but look after my car. They do their very best to price match for me.

I’ve booked it in for next week.

[wilwak]

Hang On said:

charltjr said:

Citation needed, never heard of anything like that before. P Zero is just a mainstream car tyre so I find it very hard to believe.

OP what is the DOT code on the tyres? They may already have been a good few years old before they were fitted to the car.

On U.S. Warranty used to say 45f but now just says low ambient temp, see page 5. UK data sheet used to say 8c but missing from the weep site atm.


https://www.pirelli.com/asset/index.php?idelement=...

That’s really shocking.

Can’t beleive Jaguar can sell their cars with tyres that are likely to crack and be dangerous at normal U.K. temperatures.

I’ve been advised to replace mine. It’s not purely cosmetic. The dealer felt them to be unsafe.

So if you collect your brand new car on a cold day, then the moment you drive it away the warranty on the tyres is invalid? Not good.

[wilwak]

PhillipM said:

They're not dangerous, the rubber compound down by the carcass there is much harder than usual, it's not unknown for many tyres to crack there in cold weather.

I’ve just been acting based on the advice of the dealer. They look quite worrying to me particularly on a performance car.

I did wonder whether they just look worse than they really are?

They certainly don’t look very reassuring!

I feel they’d be safer without the cracks but don’t really know.

Edited by wilwak on Sunday 28th January 08:37

[wilwak]

The dealership did the MOT and identified the problem. They’ve quoted for 4 replacements.

It’s booked in with them to be done.

I’ll tell them that I’m going to try to claim and see what they say. Thanks.

[wilwak]

Matthen said:

wilwak said:

The dealership did the MOT and identified the problem. They’ve quoted for 4 replacements.

It’s booked in with them to be done.

I’ll tell them that I’m going to try to claim and see what they say. Thanks.

Not for a replacement set of Pirellis I hope..

I’ve ordered exactly the same as they are the recommended tyre and I like how the car drives.

I’d assumed that they were just a dodgy batch as I’ve never seen tyres crack like that before and I’ve had several cars with PZeros on.

Tyres are a tough one. So many opinions on what’s best.

If these new PZeros crack I certainly won’t buy any more! For sure.

[wilwak]

Thanks for all the feedback. Much appreciated.

So it seems it’s a well known issue caused by temperatures below 8c!

I’ve looked at the DOT numbers and my tyres were manufactured 9 months before the car was registered so perfectly reasonable and not extreme.

Interestingly the DOT numbers show the 4 tyres were from three different week numbers... so not the same batch.

I still can’t believe that Jaguar will sell cars with tyres that degrade below 8c. Not fit for purpose surely.

[wilwak]

I’ve complained to Pirelli and they’ve responded quickly and with interest.

I’m considering changing my tyre order assuming that it’s not to late.

What Michelin tyres would you all suggest?

Pilot Sport?? Is that right?