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Comments
Our '06 HH came with Goodyear Integrity, a van tire that is not so great tire for SUV. We did not like the ride, handling and road-feel and lost one to side wall cut. After realizing it had one-ply side wall, we switched to SUV tires and they have done really well. We drive on farm and ranch roads a lot so tires take a bit of abuse, so far so good.
Looking at Yokohama AVID H4s to replace:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=AVID+H4S&veh- icleSearch=true&partnum=265HR7H4S&fromCompare1=yes&place=1&speed_rating=S&speed_- rating=T&speed_rating=U&speed_rating=H&speed_rating=V&speed_rating=Z&speed_ratin- g=W&speed_rating=Y&speed_rating=(Y)&load_rating=S&load_rating=RF&load_rating=XL&- load_rating=C&load_rating=D&load_rating=E&load_rating=F&load_rating=G&minSpeedRa- ting=S
Anybody know if you can "plus one" the 225/65R17? Are the stock rims wide enough to handle it? We have a 2007 Highlander Hybrid 4wd; I have no idea what kind of TPMS it has though (direct or ABS).
Not sure about the TPMS as the '06 model lacks TPMS
Good luck!
I also have had abnormal treadwear on my 2007 HH. I originally purchased the HH for my wife on Jan 23rd, 2007 to cart the kids to and from school and to sporting events, etc...this was the basis for the hybrid decision. Unfortunately, the original Goodyear Integrity tires on the front of the HH wore down to the cords after just 13,316 miles. The rears still had approx 60% tread remaininig. I took it back to the original dealer Oct 24 2007 and the GM said this is a HH torque issue that he is aware of because his wife has the same vehicle with the same issue. They offered to replace 2 tires at no cost if I purchased 2 new tires myself. I said yes as long as I could choose the tires. I chose Yokohama Avid H4s tires, balanced and 4 wheel drive alignment. Well, after just 8 months and 13K more miles on the Yokohamas I had to replace the front tires once again just last week. The front tread was down to about 20% remaining and the rear down to about 60%. Based on these results it has got to be something to do with the vehicle just as the GM of the Toyota dealership had informed me. The front wheels are wearing down twice as fast as the rear making this SUV uneconomical. If I have to spend approx $650 once a year to get 15K miles out of my tires rather than $650 for about 45K + miles out of my tires like I have on my Toyota Avalan and Lexus GS400 before that, than I don't want this vehicle. Is it possible that they corrected this in the new body style and the 2007 is more of a concept or bridge to the new 2008 HH? Why only one year with the original Body Style? I have a feeling there are a lot of folks out there with this issue and we will hear more and more about it as the mileage is racked up on them. What is your current Status?
Sven44 :lemon:
I also have had abnormal treadwear on my 2007 HH. I originally purchased the HH for my wife on Jan 23rd, 2007 to cart the kids to and from school and to sporting events, etc...this was the basis for the hybrid decision. Unfortunately, the original Goodyear Integrity tires on the front of the HH wore down to the cords after just 13,316 miles. The rears still had approx 60% tread remaininig. I took it back to the original dealer just 9 months later on Oct 24 2007 and the GM said this is a HH torque issue that he is aware of because his wife has the same vehicle with the same type of issue. The dealership offered to replace 2 tires at no cost if I purchased 2 new tires myself. I said yes as long as I could choose the tires and approve the final price. I chose Yokohama Avid H4s tires, balanced and 4 wheel drive alignment for $379. Well, after just 8 months and 13K miles on the Yokohamas I had to replace the front tires once again just last week. The front tread was down to about 20% remaining and the rear down to about 60%. Based on these results it has to be something to do with the vehicle just as the GM of the Toyota dealership had informed me. The front wheels are wearing down twice as fast as the rear making this SUV uneconomical. If I have to spend approx $650 once a year to get 15K miles out of my tires rather than $650/yr for about 45K + miles out of my tires like I have on my Toyota Avalan and Lexus GS400 before that, than I don't want this vehicle. Is it possible that they corrected this in the new body style and the 2007 was more of a concept SUV or bridge product until to the new 2008 HH came out? Why only one year with the original Body Style? I have a feeling there are a lot of folks out there with this issue and we will hear more and more about it as they put mileage on them. Please let me know if you have had similar issues or if you've had no issues at all? I would really like to get to the bottom of this right away.
Thanks,
Sven 44
It is true, hybrids use up tires more quickly due to their low-end electric torque. Nobody told me about this when I bought it. It totally negates the reason why one would buy a hybrid in the first place - if I am putting twice as many tires into landfill as before how is that helping the environment?
I'm really upset at Toyota in general for putting such a horrendous tire (the Goodyear Integrity) on the car as factory stock. It LOOKS like some Highlanders get Michelin Energy tires. I'm sure we are all feeling the same pain. I wonder if we shouldn't file a class action suit for these defective Goodyear Integritys. They are obviously NOT able to live up to their 460 treadwear. I think they are mislabeled entirely. As far as I am concerned the treadwear rating in the Goodyear Integrity is 200. We should all get our money back for the Goodyear Integrity we have had to replace.
Lots of discussion on this one on http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f31/
I have a similar problem regarding the Michelin tires. 30,000 was all I could get
Michelin actually gave me credit towards a replacment set of Michelins of same tire but I declined. They do not make another tire to fit at this time. Some have mentioned getting a lot more mileage than I, though some have not.
On the GoodyeasrIntegritys some are able to get credit from Goodyear toward replacement tires.
You may want to inquire about it. Put your credit to the Fortera's for now. Until a better tire can be found!
I did go with the Goodyear Fortera Triple Treads. nice tire and has a treadwear warranty of 60,000. Not sure if it will hold up but I will have to wait and see and it does have the warranty.
My Michelin tires did wear more on the outer edge but most of the tread was down to 4/32 after 30,000.
I contacted Toyota. They basicly took my information, gave me a case # and did nothing! Why are they even putting these tires on this vehicle!
I am very dissapoined in this vehicle for this issue!
Will I actually have to but tires every 30k?
By the way I have a friend who has the RX350 with the same Michelin tire. His lasted 28k. Dealer told him the Michelins are made of a softer compound, are a car tire, softer compound gives better ride but you will have to replace the tires more often! What!
Class action lawsuit would be great if we could do it!
Lenny
We switched from the Integrity to the "Fortera Silent Armor". They wore well and I calculated that they would have lasted to about 48K miles. We do a mix of on-road (65%) and dirt ranch road (35%). Unfortunately, two tires were punctured at around 35K miles, one by a nail, another by a screw. Both seemed perfectly fine with very slow loss of air, both could hold tire pressure for quite a while and still had plenty of tread left but it was winter and we decided it was not worth the risk. My wife replaced all four with the "Fortera Triple Tread" and they seem fine so far (knock on wood).
Our dedicated winter tires are the Nokian SUV WR.
Good luck with the new tires! Hope they last their stated life span.
2007 with 63,000 miles. Thats a lot of driving.
What do you keep your tire pressure at?
Do you live in a mild climate area?
Flat roads not many hills?
Driving style?
I keep the tires at the factory recommended 32 PSI, along with maintaining the rest of the car at factory specifications. I rotated the tires once at 10,000 miles, but noticed no different wear patterns so neglected to continue with the rotation schedule. Perhaps I should have as I now notice the fronts have just a little less tread than the rear.
Most of my driving is on the interstate, (I-95) in and out of Washington DC. I would consider this a mild climate area.
I have noticed no discernable difference in performance caused by weather variations.
My driving style is dictated by the road conditions and the other traffic. Usually stop and go, separated by periods of very fast (80MPH+) runs. Getting a solid 25 MPG.
I, too, have the Michelin tires but keep them at about 34 psi, which works fine, winter and summer, driving to Whistler on the sea-to-sky highway.
Integrity:
1. Gave the feeling of "high" riding, soft, squishy, wobbly, jiggly. Car felt disjoint from tires; weird feeling.
2. Pronounced body-lean in turns. 90-deg well-banked country lane turn at 15-MPH with proper entry and exit.
3. Steering was vague and slow. Starting a turn had pronounced lag.
4. Muted small bumps well. Large bumps cause it to jiggle-wiggle.
5. Howled at freeway speed >60-MPH.
6. Did not inspire confidence in handling.
7. Did not keep pressure well, not good on dirt roads.
8. Hydroplane like any other tires but car system compensated well.
Fortera SilentArmor:
1. Rides high but firm. No squishy wobbly or jiggly feel. Car felt better integrated with tires.
2. Significantly less body-lean in turns. 90-deg well-banked country lane turn at ~20-MPH with proper entry and exit.
3. Steering was still vague, turn was a little more solid, no lag but not fast.
4. Muted big bumps well, small bumps would come through but not hard.
5. Quiet on freeway.
6. While handling was not inspiring, its firm no-jiggle ride with no body-leans felt much more secure and safe.
7. Tough tires, kept pressure very well even after many mile on dirt roads.
8. Less hydroplaning, would cut through water better but could still feel lag.
TripleTred (Snowflake on Mtn - severe service)
0. Completely different steering feel.
1. Rides just right. No squishy wobbly or jiggly feel. When cruising on freeways, the car hugs the road smooth as silk. It gave the illusion of a well-tuned sports car on straight run. Car and tires are one
2. No body-lean in turns if done well. 90-deg well-banked country lane turn at ~25-MPH with proper entry and exit.
3. Steering is more responsive, turn is responsive, almost quick. On city street, when we turn, the car turns, no noticeable lag.
4. Muted big bumps well, small bumps will come through but not hard.
5. Quiet all around on freeway and streets.
6. Handling is confidence-inspiring compared against the Integrity and Fortera SA. At highway speed, steer and it follows; much like a good sedan. On winding roads, the car takes turns with confidence.
7. Surprisingly tough tires, kept pressure very well even after many mile on dirt roads.
8. On wet surface, it cuts right through, no hydroplaning yet, and lags only in deeper flow.
Overall, we prefer the TripleTred for its combination of handling characteristics, ride comfort and noise level. Our HH just drives much better, smoother and felt more planted and secure with the TripleTred. I am not claiming TripleTred is "best" against other brands; I am sure others may do as well or better.
Please note that we did not research tires too much. Each change was out of desperation. We grabbed what we could as quick as we could regardless of brands. Bad execution but ended up with decent results; pure luck.
Thanks for the note.
Currently slammed with family situations and work but really want to share experiences to leverage towards a solution for this on going issue with our Hybrid Highlanders. I am now on my third set of tires. Can you share the details and I will dig up the same from service invoices and tire invoices. Date of tire replacement, how much worn on front and back and the mileage each time the tires needed replaced. I was told by the dealer that you must rotate every 3k miles or you void the warranty on the tires. I'd like to know what other vehicle in the world wears thru tires like this and if this is a characteristic of this vehicle they should be telling you this when you are driving off the lot so you don't come back 10K miles later with the tires down to the cords.
Sorry if I was just redundant from past messages. I have not wrapped my head around this issue for some time but I really need to.
Let's talk next week.
Jeff
Not impressed..
The HH is all-wheel drive not four wheel drive. In addition the rear wheels can only be driven by the rear electric motor. Quite different from non-hybrid AWD. That said, yes it is AWD. If you get your car in deep snow, you will feel the push from the rear wheels if you get yourself a little stuck. I live in NE North Dakota and we have had a lot of snow since early November. I just got my 2008 HH stuck for the first time tonight coming home from work. It took me about ten minutes to dig away enough snow to allow me to rock it enough so the car could pull itself out.
Part of the trick is to have a light touch on the gas. The VDIM system will shut down the power to all wheels if you give it too much gas and the wheels start to spin. You then need to immediately step on the brake, shift from D to R (or vice versa) and gently give it gas as you take your foot off the brake. Repeat as necessary. The car will work its way out if you haven't buried it in a drift.
"Do you think different tires will be better and any suggestions on type of tires?"
The only snow tire I can find to fit the 19" wheels are the Bridgestone Blizzak. You may not be able to find any of these in stock in this size (they are sold out at TireRack.com). I do not know how good they are. Consumer Reports rates other snow tires as better, but they are not available in the size needed.
Perhaps I am fortunate. I do all my driving on the highway at 80+ MPH. I have never had an alignment nor a wheel balance. Not much city driving.
I will definately go for another set of the same. Now priced at 159.00 at Costco
We drove through about 200 yards of mixed solid and clear solid ice at about 15 MPH and did not even know it until we got out. The clear ice looked like a giant long puddle of water until we stepped on it and slipped. It was about 40 yards long along the right side of the car filling a large depression in the road. The rest were frozen solid opaque ice. The tires and car worked perfectly, drove straight and true without a hint that we were on ice. I was pleasantly surprised. VDIM did kick in when we had to make two quick stops but each stop was short and fast, no slide or nervous delay. Turn was precise too, no loss of directional control.
We also encountered icy patches on a winding mountain road at about 40-MPH and the car went right on through without problems. The VDIM did activate twice but steering control was absolutely rock solid.
The Nokian SUV WR is very good in severe winter condition and should be even better than the Goodyear Fortera TripleTred.
In normal dry or wet surface driving, the Fortera TripleTred has excellent road feel, very responsive, good cornering and smooth; almost sporty. These tires turn our HH into a very responsive car.
One problem with the Fortera is tread wear. We are using it as an all-season, not as snow tires and we spend 85% of the time in dry or wet climate, not snow and ice so it probably will last only at most 40,000 miles on our HH. I was hoping for 60,000 miles or more.
tiresaving.com I hope this will help you.
You mentioned that you will still use 19" wheels but get wider tires (or what ever is available). If the new tire is 19" like the 19" Toyo's you shouldn't need new wheels. You'd have to go with an extreemly wide tire I would think before the standard wheel was not wide enough as the Toyo's are already fairly wide / low profile tires.
I can't imagine having a normal rubbing problem, but you'll lose milage perhaps. The main concern with rubbing would be on the front when you turn the wheels.
at toyota said better to go with the original size.There is a site www.tiresavings.com
I came up with a MICHELIN (Pilot HX MXM 4) Touring All-Season 235/55HR19 for $231 each.Good Luck.
The Nokian is a decent all-season winter tire. We have used it in snow up to 6 inches unplowed and also the fresh powdery stuff, slush and packed icy gunk. Dry weather handling is OK but not as good as the triple tred. THis Nokian is designed for all-season with added snow-capability. It cannot beat a dedicated snow or studded snow but it beats other standard four season.
The TripleTred provides surprisingly good handling in dry and wet conditions. It is solid in snow but just a hair less sure-footed than the Nokian. No skid or anything but I can feel the VDIM activating in some cases. It is surprisingly good on ice at lower speed (15-20 MPH) but ABS and VDIM will activate a bit more often than the Nokian. Our HH went straight and true.
We expected NOkian to perform well in winter and it has. We did not expect it to be a "performance"-handling tire in dry weather and that is so. It is decent, but a tad slow in response compared against the Triple tred.
We did not expect the TripleTred to do well in snow and ice and it surprised us. We also did not expect TripleTred to significantly improve the handling of our 06 HH and it completely surprised us. Never before would I believe that tires can so influence the handling characteristics of a large heavy tall SUV.
The Nokians were used sparingly over two winters and only when we were heading into the Sierras during or after a winter storm. We did not drive it much once we are back in the SF Bay Area. They are replaced by the Triple Tred once we are home. Wear has been excellent given the limited use.
TripleTred is our do-all year-round tire and it wears a bit faster. I do not believe we will get the claimed 60,000 miles, may be at best 45000 miles.
Hope you find what you need.
My only problem was the tech used an impact wrench and really torqued the lug nuts. I don't know why they teach new automotive technicians to ignore torque specifications. Plus the tires were inflated to 35 lbs. I corrected all that the following morning in my driveway. I plan on being more regular with the tire rotations this set as well.
Definately recommend the Michelins.
She called me later and said one of the tires had a nail stuck in sidewall, and it was impossible to plug it, so it would have to be replaced. I told her to contact the dealer and see if the tires were covered under warranty. She asked the person on staff and was told because the tire wasn't defective, we would have to cover the cost of the replacement.
I had read this forum before this happened and had already contemplated putting new tires on the Highlander in the first place, but my wife didn't know that. Unaware, she agreed to $350 to replace ONE of the Toyo tires. I was livid.
In any case, I could swear I remember hearing something about the tires being covered under warranty for 30,000 miles regardless of the reason for failure. Does anyone know about this? I'm I just mistaken and/or frustrated I just paid $350 for a lame tire?
Thanks,
Gusto
1. No, that is not covered by standard warranties for most tires. That is "Road Hazard" warranty coverage.
2. You was robbed. The tire should have cost about $235 plus balancing. Not cheap, but about 30% less than what you paid.
3. You should check you tire pressure when the tires are cold and keep them all within a range of 1-2 psi. This will improve gas milage and handling.
My "driving conditions" are that I live in an area of northern CA where the roads are pretty curvy and I live on one of those roads. Seems to me like a defect in manufacturing if people who live on curvy roads can anticipate only 1/4 of the mileage rating. Anyone have any luck getting coverage under the tire warranty for something like this?
So much for my green reasons for spending the extra money on this car. Four tires to dispose of after only 15,000 miles is a pretty bad environmental impact.
I've replaced with the only other tire my trusted tire people could get - the Bridgestone Dueler. Also told by dealer to keep them slightly over inflated. Hope that works.
At my Toyota dealership the first guy I talked tried to insinuate I was a drag racer. I stood my ground and insisted it was unacceptable for tires rated to 50k to wear out so soon. He shrugged and brought out a mechanic.
This next guy was the only one who didn't say it was my fault or start spouting arcane metrics about tread wear and conditions. He said flat out, "Toyota knows it's a problem and Goodyear knows it's a problem. I've been in meetings where we told them we were seeing unusual tread wear in these tires. It's the elephant in the room no one wants to talk about."
Toyota sent me back to Goodyear. Sigh. So back I went. There I repeated that even if I did everything wrong- low pressure, misalignment, lead foot, ok maybe I might not make to 50k maybe only 40k even 35k BUT 18k????
I was polite but also wasn't going away so he called the main office. They offered me the following deal:
Two thirds off their list price of the Integrity- $142 reduced to $53. Free balancing etc. I opted to upgrade to their Assurance Fuel Max and pay the difference of $7.
I found it interesting that they made a point of refusing to say WHY they were offering me this deal.
Can anyone say "Class Action?"
My Toyo A20's have about 17,500 miles now and need to be replaced. I have had the tires rotated at the 5k intervals and done everything by the book. I was about to get the Bridgestone Duelers when the service rep mentioned that some of the Prius owners had reported getting 5 miles per gallon less than the stock tires (Michelins) and this could occur if I got the Duelers.
That get's a guy thinking.... Add to that the fact that the neither the A20's nor the Duelers have a mileage warrantee (from a Toyota dealer at least) and a guy thinks even more. I ordered instead the Toyo HTs with 60,000 the mileage warrantee with the optional road hazard coverage from Les Schwab and take my chances. I am very disappointed at Toyota though. Do they really expect owners to toss in $1k every 18 months for new tires? Consumer Reports also has taken note of the problem even after giving the highlander a top grade.
*sigh*
I checked the Tire Rack for exact size replacements – not much choice. Original tires are 245/55R19. However, by going 1+, there are plenty more tires. Try looking for 255/55R19 or 255/50R19. Both sizes are quite close to the original size. The 255/55R19 is slightly wider on the road and slightly taller, while the 255/50R19 slightly wider and slightly lower.
Good luck, all
Tiresavings.com $231.00
I would love to put these on my 2009 HH ltd(2200 miles and I am starting to see signs of premature wear) ,however the toyota dealers and several tire dealers told me this is not a good idea.
A costco dealer said that if you do not use the original size that the mfgr. had put on the vehicle that you might blow out the transmission.
Gosh, who would have thought getting a set of tires was going to be an issue....
The Nokian WR's on the Camry are very quiet, ride smoother, grip the road better (all conditions) than the stock Yokohama's that were on it originally. I did go through two sets of the Yokohama's in the course of 80k miles. (The OEM tires only lasted 20k).
Of course my dealer said that they are not aware of any problems with the tires ....
I started on this site inquiring about Nokian tires for winter conditions and although my Michelins have performed fine over the past two winters through snow and ice around Whistler and still look like new - only 37,000 kilometers/about 24,000 miles - we live in Whistler and drive the Sea-to-Sky highway frequently which has changing conditions and what with the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics and attendant paranoia, I plan to get real winter tires. Michelin X Ice is a good choice but for a bit more money, Nokian is the superior tire as far as I am able to determine. The only drawback here in British Columbia is that one tire dealer has the monopoly on Nokian, hence the higher price.