Automotive Forums

Apparently they can't re repaired once flat and they cost $250 each.
Can you put standard tires on the original rims? Will dealers sell the car with standard tires?  

Dealers probably don't change tires once they arrive on their lots.

Yes, you can put any good $100 tire on the original rim.
 

  IRONMIKE......TIRE IS AHEAD OF ITS TIME,GARAGES AREN'T READY FOR THEM AND SOME HAVE PROBLEMS REMOVING THE TIRES FROM THE RIMS,SOME SPECIAL EQUIP MAKES THE JOB EASIER.CAR DEALER WON'T HELP YOU.....CHECK YOUR WARRENTY BOOK FOR RUN FLAT TIRE DEALER...,FIRESTONE OR DUNLAP ARE USUALLY ON THE AWD SIENNA..I HAVE AN 04 SIENNA LE AWD.WORE THE RUNFLATS OUT AROUND 15,000 MILES.YOU MUST DEAL WITH A RUN FLAT TIRE DEALER,REGULAR DEALERS CAN'T HELP YOU..AFTER ABOUT 30 DAYS AND LOTS OF CALLS THE FIRESTONE FOLKS CAME THRU WITH 4 NEW REGULAR TIRES AND A TEN HOLE RIM AND USED TIRE FOR A SPARE.THE FIRESTONE FOLKS ARE READY TO HELP ,BUT THEY ARE IN NORTH CAROLINA AND THEY KEEP REFERRING YOU TO DEALERS IN YOUR AREA...FIND AN HONEST DEALER YOU TRUST IN YOUR AREA..BE FIRM AND PATIENT....THE SIENNA IS A GREAT RIDE,BUT TOYOTA DROPPED THE BALL ON THE CHOICE OF TIRES..GUESS THEY WOULDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE PROBLEM TIRES UNTIL WE TELL THEM..DALE

Thanks for the advice Dale.   I have been speaking to a tire dealer.   They told me that some of the run flats induce vibration due to the movement of the gel in the tire after the vehicle has been parked for a long time.  Did you experience noticable vibrations during your first (and last) set of run flats?

Here is my story. I bought my brand new Sienna XLE Limited last August. I drive from CA to WY a couple times a year and wanted a safe, smooth ride for my family. I chose the Sienna and spent the first winter very happy - we live in WY Jan, Feb and Mar. April we returned to CA, and by the end of April had out first FLAT. I was alone with my daughter, 12:30 AM, on a Saturday night, when my ride felt rough and after about 5 miles the tire indicator came on. I pulled off the freeway, I80 in Sacramento, CA, to the nearest gas station and called Triple A. While waiting I began to look for my spare tire - EVERYWHERE. Pulled out the manual, read about my run flats and realized I did not have a spare. Triple A came and to make a long story short I decided to risk the 80 miles home. We made it - scary as hell going 40miles an hour on I80 - by 3:30 AM.

first thing Monday morning I called the dealer and expressed my dissatisfaction with this tire design. They were unsympathetic and sent me to Bridgestone. Bridgestone of San Francisco, did not have a tire. The closest one was in Chicago they said and soonest I could get it would be Friday. I was without my car all week. Fri AM I called to be sure the tire had arrived and it had not. Tracking it showed it would be there by Monday. I called Toyota again, expressing my disbelief that they could sell such a "new" product without making sure it was in stock. They put me on hold, had me talk to several supervisors, managers, all who said apologetically they could do nothing - the tires were under Bridgestone warranty.

Monday I get my new tire at the mere price of $345.

I am not happy.

Three weeks later I get my second flat. This time I am in Monterey for my goddaughter's college graduation, when indicator light goes on I have great disbelief that this could really be happening again. Soon I determined it was indeed happening again. I call my Toyota dealer and tell them I can't believe this but I have another flat. He says go to the Monterey Sullivan's Tire Store and let them know to patch my Run Flat as I am only traveling 10 miles this time and it is reparable, but make sure not to plug it but to patch it, and it can be repaired. Again to make a long story short, Sullivan's tells me they do not carry run flats, they cannot repair a run flat, and there is no other tire made the same size as my runflat to put on. The closest run flat is in San Jose CA and I will have to wait a day to get it. I needed to return that night as my children were with a sitter and I had an early morning appointment. Again to make the story short about the hours of research, phone calling, arguing, and thinking - I ended up going to the Monterey Toyota Dealer, talking them into selling me a Dunlop regular tire that is the right size for my car for $135 and taking it to Sullivan's who agreed to put in on for me. Toyota would not as they would not be liable for my driving a car with a regular tire on it without a spare.

Sullivan's said if they were me they would get rid of this car as they see on average one a week in there with a flat - one week a lady came in three times.



I decide Toyota will now surely help me out. I go back to them. It soon became clear they were not going to help me. Meanwhile it is time for my 20,000 mile maintenance. I bring my car into a Toyota repair garage as I am too angry with my Toyota Dealer to continue using them for my servicing. When I pick up my car they show me my tires. My RunFlats need to be replaced as they have worn unevenly and where they have worn they are bald! I cannot believe as this shows even the tires that did not go flat now need to be replaced at $345 each. NO THANK YOU! and they will last no longer than 20,000 miles. Why pay so much for such a lousy product?



It is suggested I have not kept the air pressure or alignment. Upon inspection it is agreed my alignment is fine, my tires have been properly, and on time, rotated AND, being that my husband, is a PILOT - He and I check the tire air pressure, always, as though it were an airplane ready for take off.



I have been speaking with the Toyota 1 800 customer service line and Bridgestone 1800 and to date have received no sympathy or help. Toyota is calling me back on Monday.



I have to make the drive to WY on July 25th and if nothing else is offered I have already decided I will be putting Dunlop regular tires on my Sienna and purchasing a spare tire as the jack etc. are already on board. I am disappointed in Toyota and Bridgestone and open to advise as to what to do next.  

Well Katherine I think you handled the situation very well so far.  You shelled out a lot cash for tires that you shouldn't have to.  At this point it looks like neither Toyota nor Bridgestone are doing anything but giving you the run around.  I think you have either the choice of trying to reach higher up in the corporation's ranks and make a big stink of it all (which is real pain).  Or dump those run flats and get replacement Dunlops like you said, from a reputable tire shop (I like America's Tire Company) and make sure to buy the extra road hazard insurance on them.  

I called Toyota at 800-331-4331 and registered a complaint. They acknowledged the issue and recommended I contact Dunlop at 800-548-4714. Dunlop referred me to a local authorized runflat dealer, but said the most they would do is prorate the tires to an expected mileage of 30000. I will be calling Toyota back to request full cost replacement. I requested full price refund on the van, but was told that would have to go through arbitration.

Please call both Toyota and Dunlop and register your complaint. The Dunlop rep said she had not heard of any complaints. The more people that call, the more they will listen.
 

I BELIEVE THAT DALE IS RIGHT...THE IDEA THAT TIRES CAN RUN WHILE FLAT TAKE THE FEAR OF DRIVING CROSS COUNTRY OUT .....I HAVE A TOYOTA AND I HAVE 35,6+ MILES AND THE TIRES ARE SHOT.

MY PROBLEM IS TO FIND SOME OTHER RUN FLATS THAT ARE AVAILABLE IF I DO NOT WISH TO PURCHASE THE DEALERS!

I CANNOT EVEN READ THE BRAND NAME. ANY IDEAS????

DO I BUY THE PIRELLIS THE BRIDGSTONES OR THE YOKOHAMAS????THE COST OF PEACE OF MIND AND NIGHTIME SAFETY CANNOT BE  AN ISSUE?
THANYOU

BLONDI

Yes!

I have only had my Toyota Sienna XLE Limited Edition a little of a year and has had, not one, nor two but three flats!

Currently stationed in England and is trying to contact the local dealership who has only seen one other vehicle like mine. My vehicle has a little over 15K miles and already we've been told the tires are worn and should be replaced. This is absurd!  I could've bought a KIA for a whole lot less money and recevied a better warranty and tread life on my tires. Now, it will cost me approximately $792.00, shipping included to purchase more run flat tires that may wear out in the same amount of time. Good on Toyota for thinking of our safety, but what about the long term and the incurred costs to the customers in such a short period of time??

Maybe, they should spend less time on their designs and a little more time on the reliability of the accessories that are needed to keep their vehicles on the road and the costs to their customers for replacements.

I can already forsee long waiting periods on the phones and alot of sour attitudes.

Thanks for letting me vent.
 

I think we need to develop a venue where we can network. This is Katherine again. Since responding to ironmike I have continued to post my story and complained to Toyota with the following results.



Toyota remains irresponsible and complacent.



Joe Duecy of Channel 4 news here in San francisco aired my and another families Toyota Run Flat story on August 25th. He has a hot line number to call for anyone else who has a story 1-800-414-5766. Toyota called me immeciately after this, referred to my prior July case number, listened to my update, offered NOTHING, asked me to be sure to let Bridgestone know of my complaints. I said Toyota was a lot bigger than me why don't you let Bridgestone know of the complaints - I bought a Toyota - not Bridgestone RFT's. Very frustrating and discouraging.



I have removed all my RFT's and have a regular tire with NO SPARE. I actually feel much safer. In July Toyota customer service said they were getting the Sienna a spare but to date no one has one.



From another website the following has offered to pull everyone together for a group action - rgrillo@nyc.rr.com. I would hope we could get Toyota to listen before a class action suit as then a lot of money goes to the legal fees and it take a longer time to get results.



There is a very recent posting - 8/25/05 - I forget which site, of a San Francisco family who were all in their Sienna on the highway when their tire BURST INTO FLAMES!



It has also been adviced to go to the government site and post. I misplaced the address but have posted.



That is where I sit at this time. I am posting this to encourage everyone to post everywhere. Until it is expensive enough for Toyota I am afraid NOTHING will happen. Our power is in our numbers and I do not want to wait for the alternative which will be a fatality or two.....  

ironmike wrote:

Thanks for the advice Dale. I have been speaking to a tire dealer. They told me that some of the run flats induce vibration due to the movement of the gel in the tire after the vehicle has been parked for a long time. Did you experience noticable vibrations during your first (and last) set of run flats?  

On behalf of a Sienna AWD owner, I filed a class action lawsuit against Toyota and Dunlap in the Superior Court, Alameda County, California. We are alleging the run-flats aren't working as consumers reasonably expect and as represented by Toyota and Dunlap, which is part of Goodyear. I'd be interested in hearing Sienna owners' experiences with the tires. Please email me at mark@kabolaw.com.
Mark F Anderson  

Please e mail @ JCChapln @optonline.net regarding you run flat problems. I may be able to help.

thanks,

J. chaplin  

I have a 2004 sienna AWD with Bridgestone run flats and have 31,000 on them now with very uneven wear so need to be replaced. I tried to get an alignment done at my local garage about 10,000 miles ago but their machine was not able to handle it. They told me there was no way to adjust camber so i thought i was stuck with the situation - anyway, I realize now I will have to use a dealer to get alignments done.

So, i dropped the ball myself by not getting an alignment done by a dealer sooner - I think if I had, the tires would have been good for 40,000 miles or so - not good enough, given what the tires cost.

My big problem with them is cost of replacement and availability - what good is being able to run 100 miles on a flat if you cannot find someone with a new tire within 100 miles?  

JCChaplin wrote:

Please e mail @ JCChapln @optonline.net regarding you run flat problems. I may be able to help.
thanks,
J. chaplin