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SUVs Toyota Highlander Toyota Highlander Tires and Wheels
448 messages, Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 5:07 AM
You are in the Toyota Highlander Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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Replying to: kziggy (Mar 18, 2009 1:09 pm) I bought 4 Hankook 235/55R19 H725 Optimo Mileage Plus II tires off E-bay, brand new delivered to my house for $600. Got 'em at East Coast Tires in Asheboro, NC. I now have 3000 miles on them, no problems so far. However, I live in TX, so there isn't the snow/ice issue to deal with...... |
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Replying to: nowlen (Apr 05, 2009 7:43 pm) I have an 08 Sport and NO, the 17" factory wheels will not fit. It is due to the caliper on the Sport model. If you read back you can find my messages about everything I went through to get decent tires. I ended up getting 18" rims at Sears for about $118 each. They also price matched some fabulous Michelin MTX M/S tires from Tirerack for $129 each.
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Replying to: jhorn (Mar 02, 2009 9:53 am) I live in N Guilford CT and purchased my Highlander Limited on Oct 2007. It came with OEM Toyo's and my first winter with them was fine. The second winter (this past winter) was not fine, at all. My wife started complaining early in the winter that "this car is no good in the snow" and I chaulked it up to her being a less than average winter weather driver....until I took the car out and slid all over the place on 2 inches of snow. I went out and bought some Blizzaks and had a very safe winter since. My point is to caution you that you will probably start having winter problems next year and please be very very careful. These tires are truly an abomination after a little treadwear. |
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We purchased a 2008 Highlander Hybrid almost one year ago, in May 2008, and I could tell immediately that the tires (the Toyos) weren't going to last. Surprising, probably because I've been driving rather gingerly for most of the year to wring the max gas mileage out of it, the tires have lasted over 26,000 miles – far more than for some people on this forum. But there's absolutely no way I'm putting Toyos on a vehicle of mine ever again (zero traction in Utah ice and snow), and the Bridgestone reviews here and on the Tire Rack site eliminated that choice. So I'll be springing for new wheels to allow me reasonable tire choices. I visited the closest Toyota dealer and see what options I had and what they had recommended to others in my position: Karl Malone in Salt Lake. We visited there when we first started shopping, and because of the salesman's attitude we never returned; even though I was not happy with their salesman, I figured the service org would be OK to deal with. Wrong again. When I first raised the issue with the parts clerk, he acknowledged that, yes, there are only the Toyo and Bridgestone tires available for that size wheel on the Highlander, but then went on to claim that no one had ever complained about this before. He then called in another guy from parts, an older gentleman, who listened to my complaint and then also stated no one had ever come in to Karl Malone about this issue. No one? EVER? I pointed out that there are many angry customers venting about this online, having learned about it (like me) only well after purchase when it came time to buy replacement tires, and going back at least two years to Nov 2006. His response? “I can find people complaining about anything online”, thereby dismissing my complaint. I then asked about their recommendations for swapping wheels. The first parts clerk then went on to say “you can't move to 17” wheels because they won't clear the brake calipers.” Yet people in this forum had already done this, so I returned home to call the dealer where I purchased the vehicle as these guys where going to be zero help. On the way home, I stopped at a Discount Tire store to ask them about this issue. Their response? “We've had a lot of Highlander and Tundra owners come in and complain about this very problem, and many have in fact switched wheels. You can switch to 17” or 18”, or even to a 20”; all will give you more and better tire choices. I just swapped out wheels, replacing the originals with 17” wheels, on a Highlander Hybrid just like yours six months ago in our Linden store.” I returned home and called the dealer where I purchased the Highlander to ask about the service bulletin referenced in this forum regarding the 18” Lexus Port Take Offs, but the service rep there did not know anything about said bulletin (though he stated he was aware of the issue), and could not find anything about it. Since Karl Malone wasn't even aware of the problem, there was no point in calling them. Then I called the 'Toyota Experience Department' at 310-468-4000 – what a waste of time that was. After collecting all my info including my phone #, and listening to my explanation of the problem, the rep asked if he could put me on hold while he looked up the service bulletin I asked about; I replied that was fine, and since he had my number how he could call me back if somehow the call were dropped, right? “Yes, I can do that if the call drops”. No problem, I'll wait. Then he comes back on the line, tells me he needs to transfer me to another department, “the Toyota Experience department, but for more technical issues” (?), and will I wait? Yes, fine, I'll wait. Then he comes back again and says “They're all in a meeting, but I've logged the details of your case so if you would just call back later you should be able to speak with them.” Uh, what? You have my phone number, you have the details, have them call me back when the meeting is over. “Well, no they can't do that.” Why not? You have all the info you need, and only YOU know when the meeting is over. “That isn't how our system works.” What? What kind of customer service is that? I asked him to log my displeasure, note that I was most certainly NOT calling back, told him this doesn't constitute 'customer service' in any form, and hung up. I've got an inquiry in to 'International Wheel and Tire' on eBay, as they were the ones that posted the Lexus 18” wheel/Goodyear Forterra combo on ebay for $900 plus shipping – a total of about $1100 for four wheels and tires shipped to my home: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/18-Toyota-Highlander-wheels-Goodyear-Fortera-Tire- s_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742Q2em153Q2el1262QQcategoryZ66484QQihZ001QQitemZ1- 10375199069QQtcZphoto I'm going to visit Discount Tire again now that I'm armed with the proper info, and see what combos they can offer for an 18” wheel, hopefully with a Michelin tire, for the same $275 per that I can get from the offer above; once I make a decision I'll report back along with my first impressions following the swap. And I've written up a much longer, more detailed version of this posting which I intend to send via snailmail to Toyota Customer Service at corporate, along with cc'ing any Toyota board members whose names I can turn up. Two final thoughts: 1) The guy from the Toyota Experience dept. noted that with regard to warranty violation, they would only look at components and systems related to the wheels and tires; for example, any problems with the engine would not be traceable back to the tire/wheel swap and therefore would not be voided. 2) There's no point in waiting and hoping someone else will make a decent 19” tires for this vehicle later this year or next (Michelin's already said no, according to one post in this forum); sticking with the worthless Toyo tires for another 25K miles would cost me about $180/tire, or $360/tire for the next 50K miles. A good Michelin or Goodyear will last at least 50K, so spending the same $360/tire now ($180/wheel and $180/tire) gets me to better – and SAFER - tires, saves me money every on every set I purchase going forward, and pays for itself on the very next set of tires I purchase – two years from now, not one as with the Toyos. |
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