Overall customer satisfaction with original equipment tires shows a year-over-year increase and has improved significantly since 2015, according to the J.D. Power 2018 U.S. Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study. The study also found that that run-flat tires are closing the satisfaction gap with conventional tires.
The annual study measures tire owner satisfaction in four key areas (in order of importance): tire wear; tire ride; tire appearance; and tire traction/handling. Rankings are included for four vehicle segments: luxury; passenger car; performance sport; and truck/utility.
Michelin ranks highest in all four vehicle segments, scoring 765 in luxury; 753 in passenger car; 774 in performance sport; and 731 in truck/utility, J.D Power reported.
“The rise in satisfaction helps validate tire manufacturers’ efforts to meet the demands of OEMs while simultaneously improving the customer experience,” said Brent Gruber, senior director of automotive quality practice at J.D. Power. “The fact that there is little difference in satisfaction between run-flat and traditional tires is a great example. Many OEMs have been replacing spare tires with run-flats to help reduce vehicle weight and improve fuel efficiency. Just a few years ago run-flat tires were a detriment to customer satisfaction but the experience is much more positive now.”
The 2018 U.S. Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study is based on responses from 30,477 owners of 2016 and 2017 model-year vehicles, and was fielded in October-December 2017.
To view more results from the study, click here.
