Michelin tires receive high marks from heavy-duty truck owners for overall satisfaction and Bridgestone tire owners report a low incidence of problems, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2001 Heavy-Duty Truck Original Equipment Tire Report.

Michelin receives strong ratings from Class 8 customers in each of the three tire areas that comprise overall satisfaction: tire safety, wearability and tread life, tire value. Bridgestone fares well, but below Michelin, on the same four attributes. However, Bridgestone customers report the fewest number of things gone wrong, measured as problems per 100 tires, according to the report.
The report finds the most frequently cited problems with heavy-duty truck tires are excessive or uneven tread wear and blowouts. The report also measures four other problem categories: sidewall separation; tread separation; tire out of round or unbalanced; and tire seal leaks.
In a separate report, the J.D. Power and Associates 2001 Heavy-Duty Truck Seat Customer Satisfaction Report, customers rate seat comfort, operation and quality. Four seat brands are evaluated by customers: Bostrom, National, Sears Manufacturing and Seats Inc.
National receives strong satisfaction ratings for three of the five satisfaction measures: overall driver's seat comfort, ease of reaching/operating driver's seat controls and driver's seat lower back support (lumbar). The other two measures of overall satisfaction are durability of driver's seat material and ability to adjust the driver's seat position.
The study also measures problems with the driver's seat. While only 3 percent of customers report seat problems, Bostrom and National Seats customers report the fewest number of problems per 100 seats.
Goodyear was also included in the tire study, while Sears Manufacturing and Seats Inc., were included in the seat study.
The 2001 Heavy-Duty Truck Original Equipment Tire Report and 2001 Heavy-Duty Truck Seat Customer Satisfaction Report are both derived from the 2001 Heavy-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study and are based on responses from more than 2,800 original owners of 1999 model-year trucks.