Michelin defender tires; all 4 tires are dry rotting where the tread meets the casing and belts. Degradation of the tires over a little over 2 years is extremely premature considering these tires are advertised to give 90,000 miles and we probably only put on around 8,000 miles a year. We live in the pittsburgh, pa area where they use several different ice melting chemicals including rock salt that can enter the large cracks in the rubber and eat away at it. I'm afraid to take the car on long trips using interstate highways at high speed for fear of the tread separating from the casing of the tire. What's ironic is that looking on-line there are many other people also complaining about Michelin tires dry rotting prematurely. I have several excellent close-up pictures that I can email upon request.

- Trafford, PA, USA

I just bought a used 2005 Subaru Legacy GT. 20 minutes after purchasing the vehicle I was driving along a snowy highway and accelerated just after a set of lights. The rear end of the car felt very loose and the car squirreled after gaining control and accelerating to keep traffic moving the rear end squirreled out and I was unable to regain control. The car spun 180 and slammed into the snow bank sideways. It has the stock potenza 205-45-17's I have never lost control of a vehicle in my life like that 2wd or 4WD. Damage to the vehicle was minor the drivers side doors are both crinkled at the bottoms and part of the shroud underneath was broken off. Plan is to replace tires asap shame on Subaru putting out a winter vehicle with poor performance tires. Vehicle and stock tires have 36000kms.

- Calgary, 00, USA

Standard equipped tires on Subaru Legacy 2.5 wagons are Bridgestone potenza RE92 215/45/zr 17, supposedly an all year tire. This tire size does not appear in the drop down menu on the tire page, thus the tire indicated on that page is incorrect. The tire in question is the re 92 215/45/zr 17. These tires are dangerous on wet pavements and impossible to control on snow. They should not be sold in the northern us. I've had countless incidents trying to control the car in low speed stopping and in low to moderate speed turning in light to moderate snow conditions. I purchased a 4 wheel drive vehicle because of the snow conditions in upstate NY. Instead I have a car with tires that cannot handle even moderate winter conditions. These tires will ultimately result in someones injury and/or death.

- Saratoga Springs, NY, USA

The tires do not function, and hold traction during inclement weather, causing the vehicle to lose control. Manufacturer was contacted. Owner stated that vehicle was all wheel drive and brand new. The cause is undetermined at this time.

- Ringwood, NJ, USA

Vehicle: 05 Subaru GT limited sedan (purchased) 11/30/04) tire: Bridgestone, potenza RE92 (215/45 ZR17. My wife and I skidded as we approached a stop sign on a level, snow covered road. I broke gradually and my speed was low, about 10 mph as I started braking). Instead of stopping, the car just kept going even though I applied more brake pressure. If there had been a car ahead of us, I would have rearended it. I discovered very negative reviews of this tire on the folllowing 2 customer survey bases: Tirerack.com and 1010tires.com. The majority of customers rated this tire as poor for wet traction and very poor (dangerous was used in some reviews) for snow traction. I have case #S w/soa & Bridgestone. They and the dealer have refused my request to credit my oe tires for new ones. Many customers (ave of 2.6 out of 10) answered no when asked would you buy this tire again. I am very concerned that there is a safety issue with the RE92 for wet traction, especially snow traction. Considering that Subaru AWD vehicles built a reputation as a car that will be sure-footed in inclement weather, why would soa equip this car w/tires having a 160 tread rating? tire dealers I've spoken to about this issue say that this tire is the equivalent of a summer tire. Soa should rephrase their slogan for cars w/re92S to: From the wheel that slips to the tire that slips.

- Yorktown Heights, NY, USA