AGOURA HILLS, Calif. (Aug. 27, 2001)—For the fourth consecutive year, J.D. Power and Associates has ranked Michelin first in customer satisfaction among original equipment passenger tires. Also taking top honors in the Power and Associates 2001 Original Equipment Tire Satisfaction Study was Dunlop, which ranked first in light truck OE tries for the first time.
“Dunlop and Michelin both received very high marks from their customers across nearly all satisfaction measures within the respective segments,” a J.D. Power spokesman said. “Michelin has a solid track record throughout our studies for customer satisfaction. Dunlop has traditionally performed above the industry average in the light truck segment earning the highest ranking for 2001.”
BFGoodrich, Michelin, Uniroyal, Goodyear, Bridgestone and Continental, respectively, followed Dunlop in the light-truck OE tire segment, which includes pickups, sport-utility vehicles and full-size vans, J.D. Power said. Firestone and General brands finished at or below industry average in this segment.
Following Michelin in the passenger vehicle category, which includes both cars and compact vans, was Pirelli, BFGoodrich, Continental and Dunlop, respectively. Tire brands performing at or below the passenger vehicle OE tire segment average were (in alphabetical order): Bridgestone, Firestone, General, Goodyear, Hankook, Kumho, Toyo, Uniroyal and Yokohama.
Pirelli, which moved up seven positions in the ranking, was the most improved tire brand in the passenger vehicle segment when compared to 2000 study results. J.D. Power said Uniroyal demonstrated the most improvement in customer satisfaction in the light truck segment, compared to 2000 study results.
Based on the opinions of more than 39,000 consumers in their first three years of new-vehicle ownership the study reports how satisfied consumers are with their OE tires and monitors consumer perceptions regarding tire quality, performance, brand image and service.
The study identifies product quality as the largest factor contributing to OE tire satisfaction. Other contributing factors include long-term performance, situational performance, design and winter traction.