The Best and Worst Tire Manufacturers of 2017: J.D. Power

Jason Siu
by Jason Siu

J.D. Power has released the results of its 2017 Original Equipment Tire Customer Satisfaction Study.

The study measures tire owner satisfaction in four vehicle segments: luxury, passenger car, performance sport and truck/utility. Satisfaction is based on four measures, which include tire wear, tire ride, tire appearance and tire traction/handling. The results of this year’s study are based on responses from 29,622 owners of 2015 and 2016 model year vehicles and was fielded between October and December 2016.

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This year’s study found that 37 percent of owners who replaced two or more tires on their vehicle selected the same tire brand that was fitted on their new vehicle from the factory.

Passenger Car Segment

Scoring five Power Circles across the board this year in the Passenger Car segment is Michelin. Pirelli, Goodyear, Nexen and Hankook followed in the top five while Continental, Kumho, Bridgestone, Yokohama, and Toyo round out the top 10. At the bottom of the list are Dunlop and Firestone, both of which received two Power Circles in all rated categories.


Truck/Utility Segment

A total of six tire manufacturers were ranked in the Truck/Utility segment, with Michelin taking top honors. It scored five Power Circles in overall satisfaction, tire ride, tire traction/handling and tire wear, but four Power Circles in appearance. Ranking second and third respectively are Goodyear and BFGoodrich, followed by Hankook, Continental and Bridgestone at the bottom.


Luxury Segment

Michelin also topped the Luxury segment this year, earning five Power Circles in all categories. Pirelli and Bridgestone were also strong performers in the segment, while Goodyear is average with three Power Circles across the board. Goodyear is followed by Dunlop and Continental and at the very bottom of the list is Hankook, earning two Power Circles in all evaluations.


Performance Sport Segment

If you’re looking for a pattern, there is one. Michelin swept all four segments this year, receiving top honors in Performance Sport as well. Only four tire manufacturers were ranked in the segment, and Michelin scored five Power Circles in all categories except for tire ride, where it earned four Power Circles. Goodyear, Bridgestone and Pirelli fill out the rest of the segment.

Jason Siu
Jason Siu

Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.

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 7 comments
  • Scirocco Scirocco on Apr 05, 2017

    I have Cooper tires, how did they do? Not even mentioned.

    • See 3 previous
    • Bryan Bryan on May 07, 2018

      This is not correct. Cooper manufactures all of their own tires. Other companies actually contract Cooper to make their tires.

  • Don684 Don684 on Nov 28, 2017

    I would like to see some unbiased ratings on Chinese /Indonesian tires . Matrax /GT Radial tires and others . Reason I am in Canada and am fed up with ,"world pricing " practiced by major tire manufacturers .I can buy the same tire in the USA at about 1/2 the price vs Canada . So more information on those "other" brands would be useful.

    • Truther_2013 Truther_2013 on Oct 27, 2018

      Laufenn truck tires LT225/75R15s E rated 80psi on my motorhome seem to be pretty good so far, and have a good reputation. Sunfull truck tires " " " are awful having shapeless tread belts like a motorcycle. Previous LT- E rated tires were new (old stock 3yo) Michelins that wore out quickly. Was told afterwards that most rubber continues to plasticize (harden) over time so watch sidewall date stamps. That may not be so for Cooper silicon compounds that wear well. I've used GT Radial Champiro car tires that were not great with poor treadwear.

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