6 Tire Brands With The Best Warranty

When you need new tires, you probably aren't thinking about their warranty. (More than anything, you're probably thinking, "Man, I'm so annoyed I have to buy new tires right now.") Still, it's a pretty nice thing to have. Especially for the inevitable time you end up having another problem with your tires. In that sense, brushing up on tire warranties before you buy is kind of like doing your future self a favor. If something goes wrong with your new purchase, you might just be protected.

Broadly speaking, a typical tire brand's tread-life warranty could reasonably range from 30,000 to 90,000 miles. That's a huge range. How are you supposed to know which tires fall on which side of the spectrum? It's why we took the time to round up six tire brands with some of the strongest and most appealing warranties on the market. When the going gets tough, and you're pulled over on the side of the road (or the technician at the oil change place tells you your tread's looking worn), these are the tire brands you may want to turn to for the best warranty.

Among all the tire brands, Nokian Tyres stands out for its wide-ranging, virtually all-encompassing limited warranty. According to the terms on its site, as long as you're the original owner of the tires and they're still installed on the original vehicle as listed on the receipt, you're essentially covered for the life of the tire. More specifically, they'll cover you until the original tread's depth hits 2/32" or less, or five years from the purchase date. (Or six years from the manufacturing date, whichever comes first.)

Select tires also offer treadwear warranty coverage. To be eligible, the tires must have been purchased as a set of 4 in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico and used for non-fleet, non-commercial purposes. Those range from 50,000 on the Nordman Solstice 4s to 80,000 on the Nokian Tyres One. Nokian also adds real-world protection to the mix. In addition to mileage-based coverage, the tires also include pothole protection and road hazard protection. Those benefits aren't always universally offered by Nokian's competitors.

Hankook has some of the most generous treadwear warranties in the industry. They call it the SureTire Plan, and it offers a limited warranty of up to 90,000 miles on your purchase. And even though the warranty is subject to the same prorated conditions as competitors, that high mileage figure alone tells you the brand puts a lot of trust in its tires. (Rightfully so, might we add: Consumer Reports' data says they're even better than Goodyear.)

In addition to that 90,000-mile figure, you also have a 30-day post-purchase warranty to return the tires and get your money back if you're not happy with them for whatever reason. There's also road hazard protection, which gives you an equal or similar Hankook tire replacement if you run into trouble out on the road. That said, the warranty terms still leave you on the hook for the cost of the service and labor. Still, a free replacement is nothing to gripe about. All in all, a really solid brand with a really appealing warranty.

Michelin is one of the most recognizable names in the tire department, especially when you consider all the brands under its umbrella. As it turns out, its warranty coverage is in line with that solid reputation. Take the Michelin Defender T + H, for example: It offers an 80,000-mile limited tread-life warranty, making it one of the longest-lasting all-season tires available. It's not just the all-seasons, either. Michelin's CrossClimate2 comes with a 60,000-mile tread-life warranty along with a six-year term.

Michelin's warranty coverage also includes language about prorated replacement based on the remaining tread life (as long as you've kept up with the brand's strict maintenance requirements and saved all the required documentation). Plus, you get three years of roadside assistance included with your buy. It doesn't go for just flat tire changes, either. They'll help you out, even if it's bringing you gas or helping you when your keys get locked in your car.

Like Michelin, Goodyear is just one of those names you recognize even if you've never spent more than a few seconds in your entire life thinking about tire brands. Also, as with Michelin, the exact amount of warranty coverage you'll get from Goodyear depends on the specific tire type you buy. Some of their more affordable tires have as little as 30,000 miles of coverage in all, while some of their higher-end offerings (like the Goodyear Assurance MaxLife) give you as much as 85,000-mile limited tread-life protection for the life of the tire.

While Goodyear's 85,000-mile figure is higher than Michelin's 80,000-mile one, we still rank this brand below because it has lower lows. In other words, we found that these high-mileage warranties were fewer and farther in between with Goodyear than with Michelin. As with most manufacturers, Goodyear's warranties require proof of proper rotation, even wear, and original ownership.

The only reason we don't have Pirelli higher is that these guys are built for performance, and that's not exactly what the average Joe is looking for in a tire. Nevertheless, the brand offers one of the longest mileage-based warranties on the list. Just look at the Pirelli P4 Four Seasons Plus line: It offers a limited tread-life warranty of up to 90,000 miles, depending on the model you choose for your car.

That's a pretty staggering figure, especially when you think about how recommended guidance says to change your tires every six years or so. You'd need to drive more than 15,000 miles a year to exceed that warranty protection in that amount of time! (Which would no doubt wear down the treads below the safe threshold anyway.) Even the all-weather category, tires like the Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive still a respectable 60,000-mile, six-year warranty. Pirelli's warranties also tend to follow standard prorated structures.

If you're in need of all-terrain tires, you probably already know that this tire type typically comes with shorter warranties. You're driving them off-road, after all... That's likely to put more wear and tear on your tires than usual. Nitto — owned and manufactured by Nitto Japan Co. — challenges that assumption, though. Their tires typically range from 55,000 all the way up to 75,000 miles. It practically goes without saying that those numbers are among the highest in the all-terrain market.

Compared to some of the top off-road tire brands that top out at 50,000-55,000 at the very best, Nitto's warranty is unquestionably better. Nevertheless, it's worth mentioning that most of Nitto's offerings are limited to truck and SUV tires and other heavy-duty uses.  With names like "Ridge Grappler," you get the idea. If you're driving a passenger vehicle, you'll probably end up going with a different brand (unless your drive to work is a crazy one that takes you off the beaten path, that is).

We evaluated and ranked these six tire brands based on their respective warranties. For the specific terms and conditions of each warranty, we relied on what was published on each brand's official site, as well as on official and reputable tire retailers. We considered tread-life mileage warranties, consistency of warranty coverage across major models, and the inclusion of other supplemental protections (such as road hazard coverage or roadside assistance). We also weighed all-season, all-weather, and all-terrain tires alike.