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Toyota Highlander Tires and Wheels

788 messages,  Last post on Apr 28, 2013 at 4:42 AM

You are in the Toyota Highlander Forum.

What is this discussion about? Toyota Highlander, Tires, SUV

Messages Page 51 of 80

#495 of 788 Re: Disappointment [mdhutton] by wl12

Jan 11, 2010 (7:22 pm)

Replying to: mdhutton (Jan 08, 2010 9:44 pm)
Like most people here I have found out I had a problem when the car lost traction in snow and I thought I am not going to recover. Then I checked the tires and just did not want to believe my eyes: they were nearly bald.
 
Why didn't I check that before? Well, I had Toyo tires on my Nissan Maxima in the past and they lasted for over 100k km (62k miles). At 55k km (34.5k miles) on my Highlander it just did not register as a problem. Not until now, anyways. And Toyota being such a reputable brand, making highly reliable cars and all that ... They wouldn't have anything substandard on their vehicles, would they? Surely not the tires on a car, which costs $60k Canadian on this side of the boarder. Then I started searching the net and found this tread. Wow, what an awakening!
 
Well, I visited Toyota dealership and complained about Toyo A20 tires on my HL Ltd. 2008. They couldn't find anything wrong with the tires, just worn out, needs replacement. Toyo A20 a bad tire? All OEM tires are like that and need to be changed early, etc. These people are well trained. After all if I killed myself in that blizzard it would have been attributed to careless driving, bad road conditions, restricted visibility but not to the inferior tires. Right?
 
Now, here is the reason I am posting:
 
At the dealership I was told that I don't need to use 245/55/R19 size. As long as I am within 3% of the original parameters I am OK. Warranty will not be voided, car components will not be damaged, simply there is no problem. Since Toyo Open Country HT are not available here at the moment, and I did not want them in the first place, I ordered 255/55/R19 Michelin Lattitute Tour HP 111V tires. These tires are fairly expensive in Ontario but I shopped around a bit and Toyota agreed to match the lowest price in the area. The spare Toyo A20 will stay as a spare and can be used with Michelins for a short emergency drive. So, I will buy tires from Toyota and Toyota will install them for me.
 
This not only deals with all the worries regarding warranty or what is left of it but dispels bigger worry that even slightly larger or smaller tires could do real damage to transmission, suspension, etc. and could leave me with a huge price to pay sometime down the road.
 
It stands to reason that there must a safety buffer built into the system if only because people drive with under inflated or over inflated tires, the diameter is getting slightly smaller with time, tires lose their shape for various reasons. If I wasn't told a lie and this margin is really 3% it should be large enough to accommodate other sizes. Of course, the closer to the recommended size the better.

#496 of 788 Re: Disappointment [mama2ally] by paw123

Jan 11, 2010 (7:24 pm)

Replying to: mama2ally (Jan 11, 2010 2:51 pm)
Live in Oregon. Went skiing a few times, few inches of new snow on top of packed snow. No issue at all.

#497 of 788 Update on Yokohama Geolander H/T-S by grahampeters

Jan 11, 2010 (8:38 pm)

G'day
 
I have just got back from having my tyres rotated and four wheel alignment. My 2004 Kluger went through its first set of Toyo tyres in 40,000km (25,000miles) and I was never impressed with them. Replaced with Yokohama Geolander H/T-S and now have 85,000km (about 53,000 miles) on them. Will need to replace in about 5,000 to 10,000 km but wear has been excellent and mud/snow grip remains superb even at reduced tread depth.
 
Definitely wiil replce with Yokohamas again
 
Cheers
 
Graham

#498 of 788 Michelin will offer 245/55R19 tire soon by wl12

Jan 12, 2010 (11:27 am)

I just called Michelin at 1 866 866 6605. I was told that very soon now Michelin will introduce new tires in various sizes. This includes 245/55/R19 tire specifically engineered for Higlander. The new tire should be on the market this March!
 
The guy I talked to said that Michelin is aware of high demand for this size. He also said that Michelin does not recommend using oversized tires on vehicles because it usually does void the warranty. I mentioned to him that at Toyota dealership I was told that there is no problem here as long as the tire is within 3% of the recommended parameters. He said that in this case its fine.
 
Well, I already ordered Latitude Tour HP 255/55R19 because in Ontario I need reliable tires and I will never last till March with these bald Toyo A20s. But if I don't like the tire and the proper size is available out there then it should not take a lot to trade the slightly used one for the new recommended tire.

#499 of 788 YES. That's good news. by beachfish2

Jan 12, 2010 (12:47 pm)

"I was told that very soon now Michelin will introduce new tires in various sizes. This includes 245/55/R19 tire specifically engineered for Higlander."
 
Oh happy days. (Insert dancing Snoopy "happy feet" pic.) Thank you, and thanks to Michelin, etc. Somebody had to tap this market.
 
I like good tires so much that the '06 Avalon that I'm in the process of selling to a coworker needed tires a couple of months ago. The 17" factory tires only lasted 41k miles. I put Bridgestone Turanzas with Serenity on it and 4 of them ran me $790-something. Great tires, made a very good car better.
 
I definitely will have good tires on my new Highlander and the sooner the better if they're highly rated for rain and standing water. I can walk to work if it snows, or ices up which is what Richmond usually gets.
 
John

#500 of 788 Re: Michelin will offer 245/55R19 tire soon [wl12] by mama2ally

Jan 12, 2010 (5:56 pm)

Replying to: wl12 (Jan 12, 2010 11:27 am)
This is awesome news. I've ALWAYS been a MICHELIN fan. I wonder what the availability will be. I only hope I can last until March. I made it thru last winter, but I have many more miles on my Bridgestones. And I'm slipping & sliding all over the place this winter. We had a ton more snow last winter, but this winter is worse. Must be the wear.
Does anyone know if there a tire trade show like most other industries have?

#501 of 788 Re: Disappointment [mdhutton] by darlox

Jan 13, 2010 (9:47 am)

Replying to: mdhutton (Jan 08, 2010 9:44 pm)
>The OEM Bridgestones (Dueler H/L Alenzas) are just as bad as the Toyo A20s....maybe worse.
 
Just a quick correction here...
 
The OEM Bridgestones are the Dueler H/L 400s. The Dueler H/L Alenzas are not available in 245/55 R19 size.
 
Not precisely sure what the technical difference between the 400 and Alenza models are, but there is a WORLD of difference in practical terms. I ended up putting 255/55 R19 Alenzas on my '08 HiHy, and they're excellent. They're also rated in the Top 5 of tires in that category, as opposed to the bottom 5 like the 400s.
 
I'll also confirm, independently, that I was told by two different dealers in my area that warranty is not an issue going to a 255/55 R19. It's not a "certified tire" by Toyota for that vehicle, but it's well within safety tolerances, and they see plenty of '08+ vehicles coming in with them. They, at least, had never denied a warranty claim as a result.
 
There's another thread HERE talking about this (towards the end) in greater technical detail, including details of my own research and experiences here.

#502 of 788 Re: Michelin will offer 245/55R19 tire soon [wl12] by steven1357

Jan 13, 2010 (10:28 am)

Replying to: wl12 (Jan 12, 2010 11:27 am)
When I read your response, I immediately E-Mailed Customer Support at Michelin with that same question. Their answer I received just today is noted below:
 
"According to your email you are searching for replacement tires for your 2010 Toyota Highlander size P245/55r19, we do apologize at the present time we do not build a tire in this size and have no indication as to when we may introduce that tire size in the replacement market. Please check back with us at a later date for any yupdates."
 
So, I would not count on Michelin coming through any time soon.
I just purchased my 2010 Limited on 12-23-09 with the Bridgestone Dueler 400 tires. Hopefully, they are building those tires better now. But, if not, I have more time than some of you guys for someone to step up & build a replacement tire in that size.

#503 of 788 Maybe by beachfish2

Jan 13, 2010 (11:15 am)

I wouldn't let one hopefully uninformed CS rep dampen the party. Maybe the person used to work the phones for the IRS and learned to just pick answers out of thin air.
 
John

#504 of 788 Re: Michelin will offer 245/55R19 tire soon [wl12] by gnowak

Jan 13, 2010 (11:47 am)

Replying to: wl12 (Jan 12, 2010 11:27 am)
I spoke to two representatives from Michelin and they do not have new tires coming out in march and no 245/55/19 size. I was hoping you were right

Messages Page 51 of 80

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