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However, police cruisers use steel wheels for a reason. Alloys certainly are less tough, and cheaper cast ones can crack like that. It's just rare for OE because manufacturers tend to use sturdy ones.
You can order a new set from Tire Rack or Discount Tire Direct. Talk to them on the phone and tell them durability/robustness is a priority for you.
I bet the OE wheels are so expensive, that 2 will cost you about what you'd pay for 4 aftermarket ones.
Check out:
http://www.siennaclub.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=10590
Seems as though increasing tire pressure to 40psi (light load) and 45 psi (heavy load) might offer better treadwear for RFTs. The OP (and other posters) seem to think that Toyota's 35psi is too low for the gross unloaded weight of the Sienna - leading to quicker treadwear.
Might be a consideration...maybe even up to 38 psi to have a balance of treadwear and ride comfort.
The full size spare is strapped down in back, the new tires are MUCH quieter, handle MUCH better and wear MUCH better.....
and I pocketed the $600 difference from a new set of run-flats.
Now my question is, should I go with the same thinking that this was just a fluke or should I go with a different brand?
Oh and by the way, I have never had a problem with the snow. In fact, I think they are great in the snow.
The fact that I got 32K miles out of the Runflats attests to the above strategy for long tire life!!
Here's a BIG issue with run flats that's been mostly over looked.
Nobody for 100's of miles around had the specialized equipment to work on them, i.e. I had to be towed out of Yellowstone and stay the night unplanned in Montana just to find out that my road side service wouldn't tow me somewhere they could work on run flats - they would only tow me to the closest tire shop. Long story short, it cost me $700 to get one run flat tire replaced and it's a different brand than the other 3 tires. When I called Toyota corporate they would not do a thing for me.
$200 for an unplanned stay in a hotel in West Yellowstone City
$300 to get towed there
$200 to have special delivered and installed a run flat tire
I'm getting rid of run flats and recommend you stay away from them too - unless you plan to always be near a place that has the specialty equipment to work on them.
Go to this website to see pictures of our run flat tire problem:
http://picasaweb.google.com/KAJNConant/DunlopRunFlat
None of this is normal.
Just teasing. I hope your dealers can help you out. Toyota should switch brands or even re-think the whole idea.
1) Many shops can not work on them:
2) They do not wear well?
3) The 2005 low tire sensors do NOT work!!!!
4)It is recommended that flats are not repaired but replaced!!!
5)If you do not mind the expense and never leave a very populated area they might be OK!!!
Now for my questions Has anyone found a way to carry a spare safely outside of the van compartment? I bought the van for several reasons? can carry 4X8 foot sheet goods, Can carry luggage and seven people and All wheel drive.
I sure wish I had paid attention to my gut and ran away from Toyota when I heard of the run flat tires!! Sure wish I had gone with the saturn van!
Anyone else having this kind of problem with the rims?
If I get no help from my dealer I will call Toyota and if they don't do something about it I will file a complaint with the Feds. This is definitely a safety issue.
I have an appointment Monday at the dealership to look at this problem. I'll post when I get back.
Will post again when I hear something. :sick:
I'm beginning to get bad feelings about Toyota. My confidence in their quality and support has been greatly diminished. :sick:
The proposed solution is that the dealer would take my car for a few days, give me a loaners, and would remove the run-flat tires from the wheels, send the wheels to another specialty shop that will "sand blast and repaint" the wheels. I am not certain that this is the right solution. I have asked the dealers service manager for a conference with a real Toyota safety engineer and a wheels engineer. I am an automotive manufacturing engineer. I have concerns about a process that will simply sand or grind away the surface. If all of the corrosion is not removed, it may continue to spread like cancer. Also, removing metal from the wheel may weaken it. Are they going to TIG-weld the pocks that will result from the grinding, or are they going to put Bondo in them? The Service Manager tried to assure me that BMW and Mercedes use the same fix for their wheels. I said that if I wanted to buy a Beemer or a Benz, I would not have bought a Toyota. I also want assurance in writing, that my corrosion warranty will cover the repair or replacement of alloy wheels for as long as I own the car. I have owned GM cars with alloy wheels for more than 23 years and have never had this problem -- not even on twelve-year-old alloy wheels.
Anyway, I am awaiting a reply from the dealer. I have opened a case with Toyota -- call 800-331-4331.
The Sienna now has 50K miles in 33 months (18K miles/yr avg) and I too have already noticed the alloy wheels have the bubbling described in this thread! We have the Platinum Elite warranty for 100K miles so I will need to read about that coverage.
We are located in Massachusetts, where they may use salt or other chemicals on the roads in the wintertime, but we wash and clean the car regularly.
I plan to take some digital pictures of the wheels soon to see if it getting worse, and where. I have noticed it is towards the center of the wheel closer to the valve stem and not the outside edge. If anyone wants to exchange pics to compare notes I would be more than happy to,
I am actually typing this message from the dealership's customer waiting area while we get our 50K maintenance performed. I asked the Service Manager about the wheels and he said that he's heard of wheels corroding but that happens in Mass. where we have tough winters. Bunk!? Once the vehicle comes back I will point it out to him.
If anyone has plead their case to a dealership or to Toyota customer service (my next step) to get this problem acknowledged or corrected please let me know. My goal is to use this vehicle for 3+ more years (6 total or more) so proper maintenance is important to me.
I even thought about taking notice of other Siennas circa 2006 in shopping mall parking lots to see if their wheels have the same problem with the wheels. I vaguely recall the XLE Limited models may have a different size or style of wheel so it may be harder to find examples to compare to.
Let's see how this plays out. The reason that Toyota would propose to sand-blast (or shot-blast) and refinish the wheels is that the process would only cost about $75 - $100 per wheel (that's about what some of the local shops charge to retail customers without quantity discounts), whereas replacing the wheels could be around $500, each, based upon what my sources are telling me. The loaner car would be from the dealer's pool of loaners, so that would cost the dealer virtually nothing to loan a car to me for 3 or 4 days. The labor to remove the wheels and tires and to remount the tires, balance and reinstall the wheels would be done by the dealer's salaried mechanics as time permits, so that would incur virtually no incremental cost to the dealer, either. However, the dealer would be reimbursed for the entire cost including some predetermined standard labor rate and loan car rate, so the dealer will actually make money on the deal -- at least that's the way it works for GM, and Ford (I have worked with GM and Ford Warranty Operations and with Supplier Quality Control as part of my professional career). Most dealerships don't have the necessary equipment to refurbish wheels (the need to do so is too rare), so the work is best done by specialty "wheel and rim" shops. Even here in Detroit, there are very very few specialty shops that can do this type of work properly.
Apparently they don't care because I have over 36,000 miles on it.
Doesn't say much for their quality control or customer satisfaction. So much for Toyota quality and dependability that they advertise on TV.
Are they all like that?
It's almost as if the metal surface was contaminated before it was primed/painted.
I have not pulled any of the wheels off so I don't know if they are corroded on the inside also.
Very disappointing for Toyota not to stand behind an obvious defect like that.
I will take pics of my wheels to post too. I will also locally lobby for a resolution. If anyone on this forum has success with Toyota or their local dealer please share.
BTW, I have the 6 yr / 100K Platinum Elite extended warranty for what its worth.
Ask your dealer about the corrosion warranty. I believe that is an unlimited mileage warranty..
I guess you can really get results when you make a lot of noise and I'm glad to see that Toyota really does stand behind their quality claim.
I suspect that the root cause is a supplier problem, but I can only guess about whether it is an alloy problem, a paint or primer problem or something else. The big questions are: Did the supplier ever fix the problem? Can I get new wheels that were made after the problem was resolved?
The dealer is supposed to call me back if and when she can find a repair shop with a lifetime warranty.