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Comments
Steve
I got the H/T delivered for littel over $700, including shipping from treaddepot.com
After busting one tire, treaddepot is sending me a new one. Obviously, I am paying for it.
Also, I noticed that Toyo seems to be way more prone to flat tires. I have 2008 HL and I ended up with 3 flat tires under 3 years (on A20) + one on H/T last week. I have not had a flat tire on the car which H/L replaced. My other car which is 9 years old, I only recall one flat.
Anyone else is seeing it ?
Clearly, there is a LOT of variation as to what type of "discount" is being offered by Toyo. We just called them today based on some of the recent posts and were treated very pleasantly on the phone by someone named "Candice". She directed me to a local dealer in small town Minnesota (wasn't aware we even had anyone selling Toyo) and said they'd measure the tread wear against the mileage on the car....and then to have that representative call her back and that reading would determine any discount they offered. The Toyo phone rep made the point that there ISN'T ANY WARRANTY on these tires and thus wanted to make it clear that Toyo doesn't have any obligation---but might well offer some "discount" towards new Toyo's. Call me pessimistic, but do they offer a discount against "suggested retail" so that even if you think you're getting a deal it might be a wash versus just trying to buy the tires via an online discounter and skip the hassle with going thru Toyo entirely? Can anyone who has gotten a discount (and I've now seen posts referencing 25%, 40% and even 50%) tell me whether that discount is against some inflated (no pun intended) retail price so that in the end it's pretty much of a wash?
"Deflated in Minnesota"
P.S. The woman (Candice) did say that "they've had a LOT of these complaints on this tire and she said she didn't know WHY they were installing this particular tire---as it was really only a 20,000-30,000 tire at best. That's the first time I've ever heard of an actual Toyo rep openly questioning Toyota's decision to use this tire on Highlanders.
So I got flat last week. The indicator comes up for tire pressure, I pull over to the nearest gas station, tire not repairable, so the spare is installed. For 3-4 days I am driving with inflated but defective tire in the spare location. The INDICATOR is NOT on. I am assuming that this is because the tire is inflated but the leak is really slow. Finally 4 days later, the indicator is ON. I am assuming that the damaged tire finally deflated enough so this is why INDICATOR came up as the other 4 tires look OK.
Now, I get back, remove the spare and start looking for a new tire. The indicator is ON, I guess becuase spare is missing. My guess is that the computer counts the number of signals ? Sometimes, after I start the car the indicator is ON . Other times, after starting the car it blinks for a while and then it stays ON. Don't understand why.
I have been looking at the Highlander all summer. The sales people say they are not aware of tire issues on the Highlander. I printed info from Edmunds and Consumer Reports, and included forum posts, and gave it to a salesman. I also sent emails to dealers in the area and to Toyota Corp. regarding their poor selection of wheel size and tires.
So I bought a 2010 Highlander Sport last week knowing that I would be adding to the cost by replacing tires and wheels.
Went to Discount Tire last night and purchased 4 wheels 8x18" and 4 Michelin LTX-MS 245/60R18 tires. I have had this tire on 3 different vehicles including the previous vehicle, a 2001 Highlander Limited. This tire has the same circumference as the 245/55R19 Toyo's. The Michelin's are great tires, and should easily last 60k miles. Ride and handing are fine, there is a bit more road noise, as would be expected.
A guy at Discount Tire said another Highlander owner was in last week doing the same wheel/tire replacement.
It may be concerned with that or not, Toyo Tire contact me yesterday. I contacted and complained about the premature ware out tire but they just play the game with me by sending me out to no Toyo Dealer. When I got to the tire shop or garage which was the agent gave me to go and check my tire and I ended up to hear that they are not Toyo Dealer and no responsible for that.
Then I reported to BBB but nothing happen again. I finally give up and change my tires to Duler.
Now they contact me and they want my invoice of new tire and after they got that receipt they will reinvest 38% of the cost.
Why this one pop up after 6 months of complaint? Any idea? Anyway I'm a little bit happy with reinvestment.
Has anyone else ordered them lately to confirm that the national backorder situation has ended?
I posted a few weeks ago about installing my new Toyo HT's. I have taken two trips since having the new HT tires, and I want to tell you that they are much, much, more quiet than the A20's , and the ride is very smooth.
I am very pleased with the difference in the ride, as I was concerned it might make the ride rougher.
Since I have read many post with people complaining about the ride and noise with the Bridgestones, I am glad I made the decision to go with Toyo HT's.
The HT has a great warranty, so I would recommend that you stay with the Toyo tires until more choices are out there.
To those who ask if I would buy another Highlander due to the tire situation, the answer is YES. I have had many Toyotas, and the Highlander is the best I have had, and I love driving it. To make sure of warranty issues, that was also a reason for not switching tire sizes.
Hope this helps.....
PS. Don't get me wrong, I love my Highlander, wouldn't trade it for anything. Just wanted to talk about the tire issue.
I hope that by the time my A20's bite the dust (11K on them now) that either the HT's will be plentyful or there are other choices available.
I'm going to follow the same course as you (got my Blizzaks on order from TireRack...who says they have them in stock) and will wait until sprint to swap out the original, junky A20's for H/Ts. I'd like to save some hassle and get another set of wheels to mount the Blizzaks on and I'm wondering where you found the Highlander sport wheels you're using? I'd like to avoid paying $265/OEM wheel if I can.
Anybody else have advice on a good set of 19" wheels that'll work on an '08 HH Limited?
Everyone drives different and those who blow away from stop lights and turn hard will burn out any tires in short time. I once bought Michelin X tires at Costco rated at 80K for my wife's AeroStar. At 36K they were well worn out and Costco (at that time pro-rated them and I go a new set for $125). At this time it came my van and when I sold it 50K miles later, the tires were worn out.
Tire life also varies by the vehicle weight and the location in the country. Different areas have more abrasive aggregate in the asphalt and hilly and mountainous areas also are harder on tires.
The best indicator is the uniform tire rating. When the numbers are in the 300 range, expect maybe 20K and with easy driving 30K, the 400 range maybe 40K and the 500 range and above 50K max. Therefore, I like to buy tires of at least 460 and higher and alot of it depends on your budget on which ones to buy.
Another indicator I use is the rubber thickness of a new tire and the performance rating. So call high performance tires with high traction will not last at all. They are generally 9/32" of rubber and a softer compound for traction. Regular passenger tires will usually have a max of 11/32" of new rubber. Cheaper tires will have the 9/32".
Another problem the tire shops have are the retired guys. They buy a new car at retirement, keep it in the garage most of the time and after 8 years the 40K tires only have 25K on them but they are all dry rotted (ozone damage) and they expect new tires because the OEM tires did not last. There is no warranty on this normal wear.
I've bought cheap tires and expensive ones and the real indicator is the driver. So every place I read those who write and complain about how bad tires are, first look in the mirror and start from there as what tires to buy next and what to expect.
FYI, on our Highlander I rotated the tires every 10,000 miles with the spare. On the OEM's we got 50,000 when I had to replace them.
I thought it was the OEM tires, so I swapped them out with a set of Yokahama Geolanders HTS and didn't really see any difference other than the increased road nosie.
So now I'm puzzled... is it the tires? the vehicle's torque?
Does anyone else experience this with their Highlander?
Thanks
-Kevin
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
On dry payment if the vehicle accelerates silky smooth which these engines are well know for it might just be the driver. The best thing is to get someone else to drive it and see if they have the problem. You just might have just a heavy foot and not realizing it
Put off buying the Highlander for 3 months because of the unusual tires size and lack of tire choice. Finally, made decision and bought it knowing that new tires and wheels were coming.
Purchased new wheels and tires at Discount Tire.
Liquid Metal F5 wheels, 8x18, 35 offset.
Michelin LTX M/S tires 245/60R18
Had to return to store for rebalance. We are going on a 200 mile trip this weekend. We'll see how it goes.
One observation. Using GPS receiver that indicates MPH and distance traveled, the speedometer registers about 3.5 MPH faster than GPS (this is at 60MPH on GPS). This would be expected if the tire is smaller than OEM. But, the odometer shows distance traveled to be lower than the GPS registers. I might put the OEM tires back on temporarily and run some more tests.
Does anyone know if the speeometer and odometer are driven from different mechanisms? If the speedometer is electronic, is it adjustable with appropriate software?
Get your tape ruler out and measure the circumference of the original tire, then with the vehicle up in the air measure the Michelins and compare the two for size.
Another easy way is to get on the interstate and click off on millage markers. If you have a another car and a friend that has nothing else to do, follow each other in the interstate and compare each others speed with the cruise set.
http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireMath.dos
and make it easy on yourself.
You'll find that the difference in tire sizes is less than .08 MPH @ 65 MPH !
Yes, that is point-zero-eight; less than one tenth of a MPH !!!
Be careful and I got this advice first hand from experienced dealership mechanics and service manager... lower gas mileage + miles being incorrect. Now, if you have a significant warranty issue, they go by the miles on vehicle as well. They will see the non-OEM wheels and tires and hold YOU accountable and could void warranty using that as a GOOD excuse as well.... Good luck !
This is in sharp contrast to the Toyo A20s last winter - many times I would get stuck and the traction control would just shut the whole drivetrain down, which was frustrating.
I am overall very happy with the H/Ts. Ride well, handle crisper than the A20s, obviously worlds better in the snow.
very well last evening. I put on H/T month or so ago. She still remembers sliding
all over last season on A20s.
Were I in the market for a Highlander right now, I would just use the tire issue as a bargaining chip in the negotiations. If the vehicle comes with Toyo A20s, just make it part of the deal that the dealer has to replace them with Toyo H/Ts.
Honestly, moving to the H/T really completely changes the driving experience (for the better!).
Thanks guys for all the help. Will report back when I have them mounted.
Hopefully you'll be as happy as I am with the HTs.
I am at a complete loss why Toyota would build what is otherwise a great vehicle, and then decide to save a couple of dollars by putting a weak link where (literally) the rubber hits the road.
Buying a new Highlander?
Great point in an earlier post to get the dealer to replace the A20s with H/Ts. If only I knew then what I know now...
I have been in front of the computer ever since to find the right tires. Have been calling some of the tire dealers in the Boston area. There was one dealer that stood out for two reasons. A) They were very knowledgeable They were an independent dealership and had no affinity to a brand.
Direct Tire staff mentioned that they had received a lot of complaint regarding the A20's but they highly recommended the TOYO Observe G-02 Plus 245/55 R19 winter tires. I looked at the reviews and people have good things to say about the product so far.
Does anyone have first hand experience with these tires on 2008 or above Highlander Hybrids with 19 inch wheels?
Please share your experince. Thank You!