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Pilot sport 4S

Flagship max-performance summer tire. OEM fitment on Porsche 911, BMW M5, Mercedes-AMG GT, and many other premium sports cars.

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NHTSA-reported issues for michelin pilot sport 4S

53
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Top issue category: Tires (General)

Most reported: Tires (General) (19) · Sidewall (18) · Tread / Belt (14) · Bead (2)

What owners described

Sidewall failure appears in 36% of these reports; about 2.4× as often as across all tire complaints. Percentages are shares of the 25 reports filed against the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S across every vehicle it was fitted to that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.

Reported problemThis subjectAll tire complaintsRelative
Sidewall failure 36% 15% 2.4×
Blowout or sudden deflation 28% 20% 1.4×
Loss of control, rollover or collision 12% 8% 1.4×
Tread or belt separation 4% 13% 0.3×

Mileage at failure

14 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 10,000 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 8,000 and 15,000 miles.

In owners' own words

Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.

Michelin manufactures this tire specific for the Tesla Model S plaid vehicle. This tire wears pre maturely from the 300 rating most times under 10,000 miles causing tread separation on the inner wall. This specific wear can only be seen once the tire is removed from the vehicle. This is a well know issue on tesla forum boards and Michelin is not only not assisting with the issue, they are on back order for this tire that is specific for the Tesla Model S plaid. Not only did Michelin design a tire for this vehicle that wears well short of the rating, they are also not making enough to replace the worn out\defective tires. The tread separation is on the inside of the tire not visible to the driver that could potentially lead to a catastrophic accident if the tread separates at a high speed. The tire size is 295/30/21.

NHTSA complaint 1844177

Inner tire tread only wears significantly to the point of failure. This may be a factory alignment issue or other but is noted in many forums. I was losing air quickly and based on research saw this was a common issue with these specific cars. The tread appears fine at 8000 miles but when removing the wheel from the car you can notice the inner surface only is worn to the point of failure with the inner belt showing is parts. I was able to remove the wheel and see the issue before experiencing a blowout while driving.

NHTSA complaint 1850174

Rear tires have alarming wear on the inside, where the inside sidewall meets the tread. This is identical to the other complaints that are logged on NHTSA about Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rear tires on Tesla Model S Plaid cars. Tires are: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 295/30 ZR21 102Y XL BSW. Specifically, the right rear tires loses pressure and needs to be reinflated. The left rear tire, according to inspection, actually looked worse, but is not yet losing pressure. This is impossible to see or know about without removing the tire or putting the car on a lift, since it is on the is inside sidewall/tread of the rear tire. There is high danger of a blowout because of some type of defect (camber/suspension or tire) which cannot be seen by the consumer. I would have never known about this if the tire technician had not alerted me, and probably would have had a high-speed blowout.

NHTSA complaint 1860285

15,000 miles and 22/32 (70%) tire tread evenly worn available. The tire tread completely separated from the sidewall of the tire. This is a common and known problem with this tire. Many cases are presented on various online forums with photos and documentation.

NHTSA complaint 1872647

Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.

Specs

BrandMichelin
ModelPilot Sport 4S
Seasonsummer
Typeperformance
UTQG treadwear300
UTQG tractionAA
UTQG temperatureY
Mileage warranty30,000 miles
Noise (dB)71
Introduced2017

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Available sizes (93)

Michelin pilot sport 4S: what the numbers tell you

At UTQG 300, the Pilot Sport 4S sits in the mid-life performance tier. Tread life will typically run 25,000-40,000 miles on most vehicles before the wear bars are reached. The 30,000-mile warranty is one of the most concrete data points for a tire. It is the manufacturer's own statement of compound durability under normal use. Warranty replacement is typically prorated, so it will not fully offset the cost of a new tire, but the warranty length is a reasonable expectation of useful tread life.

Cabin noise of 71 dB is mid-pack for the segment, comparable to most performance OEM rubber. As a summer tire built for the performance segment, the Pilot Sport 4S is positioned against direct rivals within the same category. Comparing it to a tire in a different category (e.g. summer vs all-season) makes the spec sheet misleading because the design targets are not the same.

Flagship max-performance summer tire. OEM fitment on Porsche 911, BMW M5, Mercedes-AMG GT, and many other premium sports cars.

For an apples-to-apples comparison against direct rivals, see the comparison pages linked from this tire's brand index.

OEM fitment

Vehicles that ship with this tire

Michelin pilot sport 4S compared with other tires

Last verified 2026-10-07.