Michelin PAX System - Class Action Law Suit in America

Class Action Law Suit in America

A class action suit against American Honda Motor Company involving the use of Michelin PAX tires was settled in December 2008. The settlement states that the PAX tire system should continue to be used with cars originally equipped with PAX system. The original warranty has been extended to 36,000 miles, although it is unclear as to whether it is the materials and workmanship portion of the warranty or the hazard insurance portion of the warranty, or both. Also left unanswered is what happens to the trip interruption payments, and the guarantee to get a replacement tire delivered within one day if the car is stranded beyond the 125 mile flat tire driving limit since PAX certified repair shops are not as plentiful as standard tire repair shops. In addition, a spare tire kit will be offered by Honda for those cars originally equipped with the PAX system tires since servicing may be impractical in certain geographic areas. If a spare has already been purchased, Honda will reimburse the owner approximately $110.00. The class claims should be made by January 2010. Affected owners are referred to the sfmslaw.com web site, the attorneys responsible for the class action suit.

Parenthetically, it appears that the major impetus for the class action was the poor treadwear performance of the PAX tire on the Touring Edition of the third generation Honda Odyssey minivan built for the North American market. The Michelin PAX System Latitude LX4 tires apparently did not have the claimed lifetime, and the lack of universal repair and replacement facilities (PAX tires cannot be serviced at any tire shop, but only those with special equipment and specially trained personnel) and the cost to replace PAX tires were major factors for the class action. Rather than alleging the PAX system was defective, the suit charged that the PAX tires and special wheels were unreasonably difficult to repair or replace.

Since the lawsuit was against both Michelin North America and American Honda, the American Honda luxury division Acura was also included. Certain models of the Acura RL were equipped with higher performance PAX System Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 tires. Anecdotally, informal internet searches will reveal that the Acura RL PAX tires did not have the poor wear performance experienced by the Honda Odyssey PAX tires. However, many Acura RL owners did complain about difficulty in seeking repair and replacement, as well as higher than expected repair or replacement costs.