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Comments
I was unable to find a tire dealer in my area (Northern New Jersey, 25 miles west of New York City) who carries RFT's in their stock. They all had to special order them. Imagine being on vacation, you get a flat which can not be repaired and no dealer has your tire in stock.
Never again - I switched to conventional tires! And I'm loving it!
In which case I would simply replace it with a non-RFT tire of the same size, which you would have to do anyway if you had a standard tire which could not be repaired.
Of course, this applies to the Toyota 17" tires only since the rims for the RFT's are exactly the same 17" rims as those on non-RFT equipped vans. If you are running PAX tires, you don't have this option.
I still have a lot of work to do to decide b/t the Sienna and Odyssey. Keep the comments coming - they do help!
It is obvious to me that RFTs or not, any vehicle should be outfitted with spare tire/wheel. That is what I did back in 2003 - got spare for my Sienna AWD - and used it many times, while waiting for days to get replacement for damaged RFT tire.
The reason tire/car manufacturers pushing for RFTs without spare, is that they feel that otherwise idea of having RFTs would be much less appealing...
1) Using any other wheels/tires VOIDs the Warranty according to Honda Customer Service and May void warranty according to pg. 351 of User's manual. No comment about Canadian or Mexican Touring models having alternative wheel/tire options.
2) NO mileage rating warranty on PAX tires, i.e. 5000 miles? 50,000 miles?
3) Dealers will only replace PAX as tire/wheel combo for $800 ea.! That's $3200 to replace worn set of tires and currently no option to use standard Odyssey wheels and tires due to warranty.
4) No procedure to disable TPMS if alternative wheels and tires are used.
I consider these issues to be completely unacceptable for Honda customers.
Michelin has also licensed PAX technology to other tire makers, Goodyear and Pirelli among others.
Hope this help someone. As for me I am still trying to decide whether to gamble on the PAX.
The whole point of RFTs is that one doesn't HAVE to stop right where the flat occurs to change the tire. RFTs give the driver the option to change the tire on the spot (obviously if they have a spare), or drive to a garage/tire store to either have the flat repaired or replaced.
All I'm saying is why go to the trouble/expense of swapping out ALL your RFTs when all you need (for your piece of mind) is a single spare?
I purchased a Yakima, Load-Warrior, roof top gear basket. It is an open basket with sides, not a closed roof-top carrier. See www.Yakima.com. It is 44"x39"x6.5" and fits nicely on the Sienna factory roof rack. I also purched the Yakima spare-tire carrier accessory for this rack. I purchased the gear basket ($261.) and spare tire carrier ($63.) from www.rackwarehouse.com, which gave me very good service, and quick UPS ground delivery.
It took me 3 hours to assemble everything and get the spare tire onto the roof. You will need a step ladder to attach the gear basket and the spare tire carrier to the roof rack. The hardest part was getting the full size spare onto the roof. The tire and wheel are probably 80 to 90 lbs. After completing the installation, everything felt very secure. You can lock the tire to the tire carrier, and the gear basket to the roof rack. I will also purchase a vinyl spare tire cover online.
I suspected that there would be wind noise with the added cargo on the roof. I took the van on the highway, and sure enough, at speeds above around 65, you do hear the wind noise. This noise and the fact that the MPG will suffer a little are disadvantages. Also the total height of the Van increases to about 82-83 inches. You can also attach a TEMPORARY spare to the spare tire carrier (an easier task no-doubt)
But, I do now have the ability to fold down both third row seats!
Did you also use the step ladder to put the spare tire up there? How easy(?) will it be to LIFT the spare tire/wheel out of the basket if you don't have a step ladder handy? I hope you've already tried placing a spare tire up there without the step ladder...... :surprise:
I haven't had a flat in so long I can't remember. I think I would just make sure my AAA card is up to date before doing all of that!
They had it delivered and the whole process took about 6 hours,the tire was not flat to begin with,but when I had attempted to remove the screw it started to leak rapidly so I left it in place,they took me back home so I could get to work and called me in the afternoon to pick the van up.I got the tires rotated at the same time which is now a problem because I now need to align the front end because there is a brand new wheel on only one side of the van,I only have 9000 miles on it since i bought it in November of 04.
All in all a very pleasant experience considering the things I have read here.
As long as you're happy.
There's no reason to align your car after changing a tire/wheel.
How true. Also, most Honda dealers do not have the equipment to align a PAX tire vehicle.
It doesn't take special equipment to do an alignment on a PAX equipped vehicle!
It's not unusual for newly introduced wheels to require adapters just like new and different tools are needed as new models are introduced.
This was a good thing for me when I was in the tool business!
As far as the extended warranty given here, I can't imagine that Michelin wouldn't honor it in Europe.
One thing in PAX's favor (as far as an Ody driven in Europe) is that there is much more history of vehicles being equipped with PAX in Europe than in the states. However, I don't know what SIZE tires were used on PAX vehicles in Europe and whether those vehicles used the same size tires as the American market Ody Touring.
Hundreds of complaints are now being heard from owners about run-flat tires. They wear much faster, and can be twice as expensive to replace than conventional tires. In fact a class action lawsuit has been filled against Toyota, as many Sienna minivans are equipped with this type of tire; and Dunlop, the tire maker.
Clearly, the run-flats are a space saving solution necessitated by the driveshaft and differential for the rear wheels, but has been spun as a safety feature. The run-flat tires get sidewall punctures much more easily than regular tires, CANNOT be repaired, regardless of the size or nature of a puncture ( Read Your OWNERS MANUAL), are outrageously expensive to replace ( best price I found - $288 plus special mounting charge)and you will have trouble finding someone with the proper equipment to replace them. Plus, the consensus is that the factory Dunlops will get less than 15K miles before they require replacement : $1200 per set of 4!
The best solution Ive seen: When its time to replace the factory tires, get a re-conditioned 5th matching rim on e-bay ($75-100), get 5 new "standard" tires to match your particular needs, mount a heavy duty roof luggage rack from Yakima, put the full size spare in a tire bag and haul it on the roof. Make sure you also remember to buy a scissors jack kit . The roof rack and wheel will minimally affect your milage and it gives a rugged feel to your minivan! :mad:
A variation is to skip the roof rack and securely tie the 5th wheel behind the 3rd row when the third row is in use, on the flat floor when the third row is folded. I considered mounting a spare on a hitch-mounted bike rack , which will pivot backwards to allow access to the rear of the van, but it would always be in the way. The swing out hitch-mounted bike racks swing out of the way but they are more expensive (plus I already have two bike racks!)
In the meantime, watch out for pot holes...they are particularly hazardous to runflats, as the stiff sidewalls are more easily damaged by impact. :sick:
Mark
I live on the Central Coast and need new tires after 26.000 miles.
The dealer sent me to the local Michelin dealer who said that could not help me........I went back to the dealer who gave me the 800 number to call who said that the Dealer was listed as a place to buy the tires......The dealer said no.
What a nightmare!
I will do this if no junkyards have a one. No full size spare here, just a small one to keep me going.
Mount the donut spare WHERE in your Odyssey Touring?
I was under the impression that the standard spare tire mounting space in the lower level Ody's was OCCUPIED in the Touring edition by some of the stereo equipment?
Before you buy a donut spare (from the junkyard or dealer) make sure you have a space to put it.
That said, I fail to see why anyone would want to carry a donut spare in a Touring as a "flat" PAX has greater range.
Thanks; I don't know where I got the idea (and I've spread it around before) that the Touring had something occupying that space.
Do they include a jack? If not (and I don't know why they would), the poster with the Touring who was wanting to buy a donut probably would need to invest in a jack too. Something to consider.
Why would someone carry a donut when they've got PAX tires?
Peace of Mind.
It's not always very logical but I wouldn't try to talk someone out of it if it keeps them from worrying.
Of course, the piece of mind is supposed to come from PAX itself, not a supplement. The fact of the matter is, though, that some folks aren't convinced.