GM of Canada New Vehicle Limited Warranty Tire Program

This bulletin is being revised to add the 2009 model year and to include an Important statement in the "What Is Covered" section. Please discard Corporate Bulletin Number 01-03-10-003D (Section 03 -- Suspension).

Important: The following are some of the important key elements to this program:

GM provides it's customers with comprehensive coverage on OEM new vehicle tires. In many cases, this warranty exceeds the coverage provided by the tire manufacturers themselves. The GM New Vehicle Tire Warranty program is designed to offer dealers the required amount of latitude to handle any type of tire concern and repair the customers vehicle with a minimum of approvals. The web based feedback structure for reporting and shipping tire returns remains unchanged.

The sections below detail what conditions are warrantable under the terms of the General Motors of Canada Ltd. New Vehicle Limited Warranty.

Only Original Equipment (OE) tires are covered against defects in material and workmanship. OE tires will have a Tire Performance Criteria (TPC) number moulded on the sidewall near the tire size. (Exceptions: Aveo, Optra, Epica, Wave, Vibe, and and some Tracker models, do not use TPC tires, but are still covered.) Any replaced tire will continue to be covered for the remaining portion of the GM of Canada New Vehicle Limited Warranty.

Following expiration of GM of Canada's coverage, tires may continue to be warranted, on a pro-rated basis, by the tire manufacturer. Review the tire manufacturer's booklet (included as part of the glove box material).

Important: Tires purchased by consumers beyond the GM of Canada New Vehicle Limited Warranty or even replaced during the GM of Canada New Vehicle Limited Warranty coverage for wear out are warranted by the tire manufacturer (including tires purchased through the GM National Account Tire Program). Contact the tire manufacturer for warranty processing instructions.

Important: GM will not be supplying the GEN SEAL tire for the 2003 model year vehicles, therefore the supply of replacement GEN SEAL tires for previous model years will be limited. In cases where the tire is not available, Continental Tire Canada will authorize the replacement of all four tires of the vehicle at no cost to the customer or GM of Canada. GM dealers can handle the warranty tire replacements for their customers. The dealers should indicate on the Global Tire Website that "All Four Tires were replaced due to the lack of GEN SEAL replacement tires."

Examples of Non-Warrantable Conditions

Tires are returned for evaluation to the original manufacturer of the tire. Tires returned to GM for non-warrantable conditions WILL BE CHARGED back to the claiming dealer.

By far the most frequent non-warrantable condition claimed is road damage, followed by improper wear. With the exception of run-flat or self-sealing tires, road damage is NOT a warrantable condition. The following are photos of actual returned tires that DO NOT have warrantable conditions.

The tire shown above has two non-warrantable conditions. This tire is both badly worn on the inside shoulder (over extended mileage) and has suffered air leakage from a screw still in the tread. Neither of these conditions are warranty related.

This tire was returned for air leakage. The source of the air leakage is a tire plug installed in a non-approved portion of the tire. This tire has been damaged by a road hazard and does NOT exhibit a warrantable condition.

The next sample tire shows both sidewall wear, and cuts in a circumradial line extending completely around the tire. This damage is the result of extended driving on a tire that is completely flat. The extensive sidewall wear is from contact with the road at that point.

This tire was damaged by extended driving on a flat just as the tire above it was. This photo shows the inside view. Shredding of the inside may not always be accompanied by obvious exterior damage. In either of these cases, this type of damage is the result of abuse and is NOT a warrantable condition.

This final example of common road damage is called a "rim-pinch". The air leak is caused by the tire folding and contacting the rim. Frequently this type of damage will cause a sidewall bulge when the tire is inflated, due to internal cord breakage. It is common for this type of damage to only be visible from the inside of the tire. The pictured tire is properly marked and shows a typical tear in the cord. This type of damage is considered road hazard and is NOT warrantable.

Important: These are only a sampling of the conditions exhibited in warranty tire returns. GM is not responsible for, and WILL NOT replace tires sent in for conditions under the "What is Not Covered" section above.

Please advise customers the importance of regular tire rotations and maintaining suggested air pressure. Vehicle Owner Manuals contain tire rotation requirements. Placards located in the door jamb, glove box or under the trunk lids of GM vehicles state the recommended tire pressures for the vehicle.

GM of Canada dealers are required to use the Global Tire Warranty & Claims (GTWC) website to electronically create the Tire Return Form. The website will also be used to pre-approve the warranty claim.

The GTWC website is designed to allow GM of Canada to collect and monitor data on tires being replaced on all GM/SS vehicles, providing early detection of product concerns. In addition, the website provides a Tire Return Form - the website does NOT order the tire.

Each replaced tire must be entered into the GTWC website. When there is more than one tire per vehicle, the additional information must be entered for each tire. To simplify the data entry, the website will populate common information when new screens are used, only the specific tire information will need to be entered. The GTWC system will generate a unique adjustment number for each tire.

Accurate input of all data into the GTWC website will be required to validate (pre-authorize) the warranty claim. If the Dealer Code, the VIN, the RO number and the RO date are not the same on both the GTWC record and the warranty claim, the warranty claim will reject.

Users may access the system using any PC with an Internet connection through GM infoNET.

1. Once connected to the GM infoNET, select the Service and Body home page, under the Warranty Administration tab, select the Global Tire Warranty and Claims System website.
2. In the pop-up logon window, type your User ID (which is 14 + your Dealer code/Retailer code) and your password (your initial password is the same as your User ID) and then click the OK button (example: 14 x x x x x). All dealers/retailers must enter 14 in front of their dealer/retailer code.

Important: User IDs and passwords are case sensitive.

3. For security, each dealer/retailer is encouraged to change their password after they logon the first time. Click on "Change Password" from the upper right-hand menu bar and follow the instructions provided.
4. From the "Create New Adjustment" screen, select your GM Dealer Code/SS Retailer Code from the drop-down menu.
5. Proceed through all three sections of the form, making your selections from drop-down menus, typing entries as required and pressing "populate" buttons where provided to auto-fill related data.
6. If you have more than one tire to replace for the same vehicle, from the Tire Information section of the form, select the "Next Tire Same Vehicle" button.
7. Confirm that you have entered the correct VIN, RO number and RO date before you select the "Submit" button (check this information by selecting the Vehicle Information tab of the form). An incorrect VIN, RO number or RO date submitted in the GTWC system will cause your warranty claim to reject.
8. When all tires for the same vehicle have been entered, you may press the "Submit" button to continue. A pop-up window will ask if all tires for this vehicle and Repair Order number have been entered. Select OK to continue.
9. A pop-up window will appear showing the completed Tire Return Form with a unique Adjustment Number at the top of each form. Print your form(s) from this window. Do NOT use the "Print Screen" function to print your forms.
10. When you close the Print window, a confirmation screen will appear which validates the GTWC form(s) have been submitted. From this screen, you may select "Create New Adjustment" to continue with another tire (different vehicle) or select "View Adjustment" to search for forms you have already submitted.

All replacement tires must be ordered through the GM National Account Tire Program

All tires replaced under the GM of Canada New Vehicle Limited Warranty must be returned immediately to the tire manufacturer by the dealership. The only tires that are not to be returned to their respective manufacturers at this time are Kumho, Maxxis and Pirelli tires. These brand tires should be scrapped in accordance with GM of Canada's policy stated in section 1.7.4 of the Policies and Procedures manual Tires should be returned prepaid to the nearest tire manufacturer's inspection centres using the most economical carrier. Submit for the freight cost incurred along with your warranty claim (as a net item). Failure to return the tire(s) could result in a charge back to the dealer.

When returning tires, follow these steps:

1. The warranty claim must include the normal claim information, RO, VIN, odometer, etc. The VIN, RO number and RO date must be correctly submitted into the GTWC website.
2. The correct manufacturer's labour code, see chart below or the Labour Time Guide (LTG), must be used.
3. The correct tire part number must be included. Do not use the TPC number. The claim will be returned if submitted without the correct part number. The normal part mark up (40%) should be included in the tire warranty claim.
4. A 0.3 hr administrative allowance should be added to the labour time. This allowance is for the time required to submit the information into the GTWC system and to return the tire.
5. If the mounting and/or balancing is sublet, the actual charges should be submitted as a net item. The amount cannot exceed the allowable labour time time multiplied by the dealer warranty labour rate.
6. As noted above, the warranty claim will be charged back unless the tire(s) have been returned to the appropriate manufacturer's inspection centres.
7. If there are additional parts or Other Labour Hours (OLH), they must be submitted as an add credit after the original claim is paid. These add credit claims must be "H" routed to your District Service Manager for approval. The reason for the additional credit must be noted in the comments section.
8. Policy claims beyond the GM of Canada New Vehicle Limited Warranty should also be "H" routed to your District Service Manager for approval along with the reason for the request in the comments section.
9. Dealers should not add any dealer authorization to the claim. This will cause the claim to be returned.
10. The VIN, RO number and RO date on the warranty claim must match the GTWC claim. If they do not match, the warranty claim will be returned with the return code AF - Wholesale Authorization Not Matched. If this occurs, verify the information is correct on the warranty claim. If the warranty information is correct, then the information submitted in the GTWC website is incorrect. In these cases, the warranty claim with the correct VIN, RO number and RO date must be "H" routed to the District Service Manager for approval along with an explanation in the comments section.

Important: For tire replacement because of transportation damage or incorrect parts, use labour code S0030 and submit as a transportation claim. Transportation claims should not be submitted into the GTWC website and do not require approval prior to submission. DO NOT use the tire replace labour codes for any tire replaced due to transportation damage or incorrect parts .