The front tire on my Volvo V70 developed a crack on the side wall by the wheel rim under normal usage conditions less than a month after I bought the car. I took the car back to smythe Volvo of san jose where the purchase was made. The sales manager, michael, refused to address the problem or even take a look at my car, and initiated a challenge for me to sue Volvo. The service manager initially promised to look into resolving the problem for me with Volvo corporate, but ultimately fell thru. I escalated the issue all the way up to the CEO of Volvo North America, and they said that they don't cover the tire under the warranty. The tire manufacturer, pirelli, has also refused service so far. The problem is with the design of the tire. I did a brief research on the internet, and pulled up 18 pages of mostly complaints from other Volvo and Audi owners who have had similar problems with their tires. The side wall of this pirelli P6 tire develops bubbles and cracks easily if it runs into any road irregularity. I did a search on other tires of similar configuration and found no such problem. Pirelli designed and manufactured the tire. Volvo engineers and management choose the tire to put on its V70 wagon as an oem. Now both of them are disclaiming responsibility via finger pointing and technicalities on their warranties. They have given me the usual run-arounds, and in one case, outright rude treatment.

- Fremont, CA, USA