I wanted to make a new thread for this given some new information that has come to light regarding this set of Nokian ZLINE A/S tires I purchased from Amazon. For those that don't know the back story from the other thread, I purchased a set of Nokian ZLINE A/S tires "New" from amazon in Feb. of 2019. The other day while working on my car I happen to be close enough to the tire to notice that the tires were splitting at the seams where the tread meets the sidewall in a very unusual manner. They also appeared to be dry rotting as well. The tires were dated 1417 which is the 14th week of 2017 for manufacturing. This is well within the 6 year recommended lifetime for any given tire, especially for warranty purposes. At first being concerned that my car being lowered played some impact in this, either the fender cutting into them or pothole damage, I began to inspect all 4 tires for damage, to my surprise, all 4 tires were showing the same separation at the sidewall/tread seam. I contacted Amazon regarding the issue as the tires were clearly defective, and since this was a public safety issue, I expressed my concerns given the fact that the tires have a 5 year warranty against defects. Afterall, Amazon advertises that they are an authorized dealer selling Nokian tires shipped and sold directly from Amazon Services LLC, they should not have an issue honoring the warranty. Customer service explained that they only allow returns or replacement for up to 30 days. Well that's bullshit, flat out. Any authorized dealer for tires can contact the mfg and replace tires under warranty, its the only way they can do that efficiently all over the globe.

At any rate, pissed off with customer service, I filed a complaint with the BBB, as history seemed to show that Amazon had a good reputation with resolving complaints regarding issues that customer service could not handle. So the complaint was submitted on the 7th, and the other day I got this response back...

Hello Robert,

I'm Eshwar Poulker from Amazon NA BBB Escalations Team. I'm writing in response to a complaint filed on your behalf by the Better Business Bureau BBB - I've provided the BBB with a copy of this message.

I'm sorry to hear your Nokian ZLINE A/S Performance Radial Tires didn't work out. Because more than 30 days have passed since you received this item, we can no longer accept a return.

Our returns procedures state that within 30 days of delivery of your order, you may return most merchandise in new condition, with the original packaging and accessories, or any defective merchandise, for a full refund. Eligible baby items purchased from or fulfilled by Amazon can be returned up to 90 days after delivery.

I'd recommend consulting your owner's manual and/or contacting the manufacturer to see if the problem in question is covered by the manufacturer's warranty. Most manufacturers list contact information on the product packaging.

If you can't find the information there, you might want to try doing a web search to find their phone number or website.

We hope to see you again soon.

Naturally, I got the same boiler plate response from them that customer service gave, that they will not honor the product beyond 30 days. Getting increasingly aggravated, I contacted Nokian directly. Surely this company that I hear so many good thing's about would be able to get to the bottom of this. I explained to them the issue and sent them pictures of the tires. Well.... today I got a response that I was NOT expecting.

Hi Robert,

We are sorry to hear about the issue that you experienced with your Zline tires. Amazon was unable to provide assistance as they are not an official retailer of our products. They source tires through third party wholesalers. By the letter of the limited warranty, this would disqualify the tires from warranty eligibility. Due to our commitment to safety however, I would like to help. Thank you for sending the picture, could you also send me a copy of your purchase invoice and address? I would like to facilitate a replacement at an official retailer to ensure that you receive the newest tires directly from our own warehouses.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns,

Yes that's right, Amazon is NOT an official retailer for these tires! What does that mean? That means that there is no quality control on the product, no way to determine whether or not the product is counterfeit or re-manufactured, and most of all, no one checking to see if the tires are good to sell. This is BEYOND ridiculous now. Amazon's lack of product control is now at the point of being dangerous to the consumer. I cannot even imagine how many people are now rolling around on Amazon purchased tires that are possibly counterfeit or defective.

If you take anything from this, it should be, DO NOT BUY ANYTHING THAT CAN BE A SAFETY CONCERN FROM AMAZON. If you take a look at the pictures below, the danger posed by these tires could have for sure gotten someone killed. We all are very particular about our cars on here, and I know no one here would ever consider driving at a high rate of speed on tires this bad. I feel bad directing my anger out at Nokian for this because this likely is not representative of their products. It's more likely now that I was shafted by Amazon, along with many others, only to think that the brand of the product that I bought was responsible for the poor quality.

Where do I go from here? Not sure. I am still trying to get more information from Nokian regarding what they actually sold me and if there is a way to verify if they are a legitimate tire, via a serial number or some other markings. At the very least I would like to use this example to educate people to know what they are buying from Amazon before they use it. I think more often then not we are entranced by the fact that Amazon can ship an item and get it to you either the same day or the next day for next to nothing which makes us even more likely to purchase from them again and again with complete disregard to what we might be getting ourselves into. Amazon is no stranger to 3rd party sellers selling counterfeits, or counterfeits even making their way into their own inventory. Be careful what you buy!