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Toyota Highlander Tires and Wheels

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

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

Messages Page 71 of 79

#701 of 788 Re: Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 [mtngrl08] by pole5

Jan 15, 2012 (1:42 pm)

Replying to: mtngrl08 (Nov 13, 2011 8:47 pm)
I had the Toyo tires replaced on my 2008 Highlander at 29000 miles. Very disappointed with the quality of these original tires on the vehicle. In my opinion, Toyota is paying the price (will and should continue to) for all their sins of cutting the corner with quality. The premium customers pay to buy a toyota is not worth anymore. This happened, if you see, to other arrogant Japanese manufacturers like Sony etc, I am not buying another Toyota again!!

#702 of 788 Continued poor tire wear on '06 Highlander Hybrid by ndabunka

Jan 21, 2012 (8:30 pm)

Replying to: pole5 (Jan 15, 2012 1:42 pm)
We replaced the OEM Goodyear Integrity tires 22K miles due to poor wear with GY Fortera's which lastest a small bit longer...28K miles before they too needed replacement. In November we replaced those with one of the VERY FEW (at that time) Low Rolling Resistance (LRR) tires, the GY Assurance.
 
These now have slightly over 35K miles (2 years, 2 months) so they've lasted a bit longer than the others but these are "suppose" to be 65K tires so the fact that they likely have less than 5K miles left on them makes me wonder if Goodyear tires are simply JUNK? The GY dealer here has been great giving us credit for un-available miles on the prior tires so I have nothing against him or his shop. It is the Goodyear products that simply seems to be nothing but JUNK (at least in our experience).
 
Before anyone ask, this shop does all the oil changes and tire rotations as prescribed and there is no unusual wear. Due to the on-going tire wear issues, we have had Toyota themselves run all the alignments at regular effort. None have been out of spec. We've had the dealer check with regards to any recalls but they have not shared anything. This is a 4WD version of the Limited HiHy.
 
Now that there are about a "gazillion" other LRR options, we will likely go with something other than Goodyears due to all these issues. I think that the GY dealer even said that he can give credit towards a different brand but my wife is about ready to simply drop the "get credit" fiasco and just go buy a different brand.
 
My concern is "are ALL Highlander Hybrid owners experiencing these same issues with premature tire wear?"

#703 of 788 Re: Goodyear 19"Fuel Max [pkassolis] by ndabunka

Jan 21, 2012 (8:38 pm)

Replying to: pkassolis (Mar 20, 2011 6:40 pm)
No - We are not. We bought ours in Nov 2009 and after 35K miles they are nearly work out. Now, these were the ones prior to the CS version so there may be some change there but the original Assurance tires aren't living up to anywhere NEAR their 65K mile requirement. They are also quite "soft" so handling has never been very good with these. Will NEVER buy them again.

#704 of 788 Just an FYI by capriracer

Jan 22, 2012 (7:03 am)

Most tire wear occurs in the cornering mode. So the thing that has the most impact on tire wear is what I call "Turns per Mile" - that is how many turns you make compared to how many miles you drive straight ahead.
 
Doing the math, the GY Integrity has a treadwear rating of 460 and you got 22K out of them.. The GY Fortera has a rating of 600 and based on the ratio between the ratings, you should have gotten a bit less than 30K - so 35K is pretty close.
 
I don't have a lot of data on this, but I think 1.0 turns per mile is about average. Compare yours and see if the math doesn't get you a better number.
 
Also, vehicle alignment specs are too wide to assure good tire wear. Take the toe for example: The typical range is in the 0.20° range. This should be 0.06°. That's 3 times the difference.
 
So you need to look at what the vehicle actually has and not accept "In Spec" as an answer.

#705 of 788 Re: Just an FYI [capriracer] by ndabunka

Jan 22, 2012 (8:20 am)

Replying to: capriracer (Jan 22, 2012 7:03 am)
Thanks for the reply but you appear to have mis-read my post. The Fortera's got 28K miles before having to be replaced, not 35K. The
 
Assurance tires that we have on this SUV "NOW"/today have gotten 35K (so far and probably have another 5K left). The Fortera tread rating is 600 and according to the manufacturer SHOULD have been good for 60K miles. Are you trying to state that the Manufacture did not calculate in "turns per mile" (TPM) into their equations when they established them? If TPM are important, what is the "average" TPM that was used to calculate the MFGs recommendations? I guess it would be possible that we had exceeded the MFG's projections but about 60% of my wife's driving is interstate (so few turns)
 
If the Fortera is rated as a 60K tire and the Assurance is a 65K tire, then the wear for each of these "should" have been pretty darn close, right? The extra 5K rating on the Assurance is only 3.333% so using your math on these, the Fortera "wore out" 28K miles so the Assurance should have worn out 28,932 miles. However, they are ALREADY 35K miles and likely have at least another 5K before they are worn out so they look like they are going to last 40K miles which doesn't work well with the analysis you presented but thanks for the attempt.

#706 of 788 Re: Just an FYI [ndabunka] by capriracer

Jan 23, 2012 (5:43 am)

Replying to: ndabunka (Jan 22, 2012 8:20 am)
You're right. I did mis-read your post. If I am reading this correctly, you had a set of GY integrity's that lasted 22K, Fortera's that last 28 K, and Assurance's that lasted 35K (so far). That mean you have 85K on the vehicle now - right?
 
Now, let's talk treadwear warranty. The difference between a guarrantee and a warranty is subtle. A warranty is kind of like an insurance policy and the terms of the warranty spell out what happens if you don't achieve the mileage. Typically, treadwear warranties require regular rotation (to even out the wear rate differences front to rear) and that the tire show even wear across the tread face (to deal with misaligned vehicles) - and if the tire wears evenly by more quickly that perscribed by the warranty, a prorated adjustment is made based on the difference between the warranted mileage and what was actually achieved. For example, a 60K tire that only gets 40K will result in a 33% credit towards the next set of tires.
 
From the tire manufacturer's perspective, it is known that this "turns per mile" thing that greatly affects the wear rate. A tire manufacturer may provide a warranty that is conservative - that is, it understates the actual average - or it may provide a warranty that overstates it. That is where the treadwear rating comes into play.
 
The treadwear rating is based on a test. It is OK to understate the rating, but it is illegal to overstate it. The folks setting the warranty mileage should consider how the rating looks in portion to the warranty - but that doesn't always happen.
 
But the "TPM" thing is also a pretty gross assessment. It doesn't take into account that tires also wear even when the vehicle is basically going straight. 2 years ago, my daily commute changed from a 10 mile, 1.0 turns per mile to a 12 mile, 0.5 turns per mile. I am sure I am not going to get twice the mileage out of the tires. What the TPM calculation does is give an idea if the rapid wear being experienced is the result of the way the vehicle is used.
 
Based on what you've posted - 3 different tires and all more rapid that the warranty - I would suspect that this COULD be a source.

#707 of 788 Re: Just an FYI [capriracer] by ndabunka

Jan 23, 2012 (7:51 am)

Replying to: capriracer (Jan 23, 2012 5:43 am)
Thanks for the additional follow up. The "travel" in this vehicle is INDENTICAL to the travel in previous vehicles (Lexus GX470, Lexus RX330) over the prior 12 years. The benefit of living and working at the same places over that same period. The tires on those cars never wore out prematurely but then again, they were not Goodyear brand and they were on different vehicles.
 
I do understand warranties and GY has given us credit for the un-used tires. In calculating backwards, it turns out that the from the 22K mark to the current ~85K mark has cost us $166.56/tire so while it is fairly aggravating to have to continually claim mileage credits, at least they are there to keep the cost somewhat viable.
 
I still think that this has something to do with the truck itself rather than our driving experience. During the "Fortera" period Toyota DID perform a recall on the power steering rack on this particular car (Note: The alignment was very tight to specs the entire time so should not have been a factor but who knows).
 
Since this recent post, I have learned that there is speculation by other Highlander Hybrid owners that these tires may have been designed by Toyota as too narrow as a way of getting better fuel economy at the penalty of better fuel mileage (i.e. 225 may be too narrow to permit this vehicle to get the Mfgs projected mileage out of them). Perhaps it works OK for some who have extended periods of highway travel (e.g. 1hr+ commutes to work or 4 hour trips to clients) but for my wife who has a 35 minute drive down the interstate 4 days a week and then the balance of the time short jaunts hauling the kiddos around, they just don't work the way they should.
 
I'll stop my rant now and go back to shopping for replacement tires. Thanks again for the replies.

#708 of 788 2006 Highlander , Looking for new tires by mike647

Jan 26, 2012 (8:36 am)

2006 Highlander Had Goodyear Intregrity tires , I bought truck in 2009 and Truck han Nexgen Tires on it. Neither tire lasted past 30,000 miles
 
What Tires should I look For ???? or avoid ???
Thank You

#709 of 788 Re: 2006 Highlander , Looking for new tires [mike647] by j06

Feb 02, 2012 (9:51 am)

Replying to: mike647 (Jan 26, 2012 8:36 am)
If you are looking for all-season tires... then go with Yokohoma Geolander or AVID TRZ...
 
my HL has Geolander.. already 30K on it.. I think will get another 20K ...
 
smooth,quiet, good in rain and light snow.. horrible for Heavy Winter..

#710 of 788 Re: 2006 Highlander , Looking for new tires [mike647] by j06

Feb 02, 2012 (12:12 pm)

Replying to: mike647 (Jan 26, 2012 8:36 am)
Avoid List
 
Bridgestone Dueler
Continental 4x4 Contact
Goodyear Integrity
Hankook Dynapro
Michelin Symmetry
Yokohama Geolandar H/T G92C (The one I have is Geolandar H/T-S G051 )

Messages Page 71 of 79

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