MICHELIN Energy™ Saver All-Season

Useless "Self-Seal" Technology -- $1800 out the window!

My used 2023 Chevy Bolt EUV came with this brand of tire, Michelin Energy Saver A/S Self-Seal. Chevy puts them on stock. But after only 24,000 miles on the odometer, these tires were in need of a change as the tread was down to 3/8 on the dealership's assessment. The reason I went in to check the tires at all was a flat on one of the tires due to a nail puncture. It went solid flat overnight. Had to get a tow to the dealership. So much for the self-seal. Chevy does not include spare tires anymore, instead they give you self-sealing Michelin Energy Savers which are supposed to eliminate the need for spares as they are promised to handle punctures and keep working fine. Look at the marketing claims on this page. The irritating thing is that these are designed to self-seal. But this tire didn't self-seal the puncture. Not only didn't it self-seal, but the sealant made it impossible (according to the dealership and Michelin guidelines) to patch the puncture. So, with low remaining tread on the other 3 tires, replacing one tire would mean one is running on 8/8 tread while the others would be running on 3/8 tread, not good. So I invested $1480 in 4 new tires and, given that there is no place in the vehicle to hold a spare, I got the self-sealing Michelins again. I had faith....and they do generally ride nicely. Fast forward to today -- one month and one day after my $1480 investment in 4 new tires -- when my Bolt is yet again in the dealership with yet another puncture that the self-sealant did not seal. I mean seriously? I get it when the tread is low (the original ties were only 3/8 so a nail might go deep enough to break the inner sealant layer, but these are brand flipping new tires, less than 1000 miles on them, and one month and one day from "investing" in the new tires. Another puncture, another failure of the self-seal design, and another $360 for another brand new tire, because, again, these cannot be patched. So, in part, my bad luck for hitting two different nails exactly right that they puncture my tires, but seriously, what good is the self-seal technology if it does not actually seal. Rather than paying the cost of what could have been one puncture repair -- about $60 at a tire shop -- or two puncture repairs -- $120 total -- I have spent $1840 and am in the same spot. Well, to be fair, I do have 4 new tires -- I was not planning for -- and the ride is very nice with these tires. But come on. Honestly, I would have preferred -- had I known then what I know now -- to go with a new set of regular -- not self-seal -- tires and been able to use the puncture repair option down the road. Also, I would have preferred not to have spent $1480 a month ago unexpectantly. I would absolutely have preferred not to add another $360 today. Thankfully, the dealership did not charge anything for the replacement labor. Assuming these tires last long enough *as a set* to get to a point where it's necessary to replace all 4, I will not be replacing them with these Michelins, which is unfortunate, because they ride really nicely and increase my mileage rate... when they're not failing. I'm sorry but this is completely unacceptable. Just completely unacceptable.