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I am to have my 06 Sienna looked at by my local dealer tomorrow after having cupping and immense "rumbling" sound from the drivers side wheel since 18,000 miles (now 25,600). Anyway I am told they will inspect and rectify at no cost other than the price of allignment. Should I really incur the cost of alignment? This is not our fault and would not be a cost at this interim if regular tires were involved!
Can anyone advise of this please?  

The owners manuel recommends an alignment once a year and tire rotation every 5k miles.  I have a 2005 sienna AWD and have the same problems.  Consider yourself lucky if you still have original tires at 25K.  My first set had to be replaced at 12K.  Its not the alignment thats causing the tire problems but should be done at normal maintenance times. The RFT program does not include free aligments.  I recently purchased the lifetime alignment program through toyota for my van.  How often did you get your tires rotated?

good luck!  

Toyota is now warrantying these junk run flats. There is a lawsuit in process. They do not hold up, cause vibrations and noises and are just plain junk. If you paid any money to have these replaced at an early interval, then call your closest Toyota dealer and ask to speak to the service manager. I am not sure if they are pro-rated or not. If the service manager is not helpful ask for the district reps number and or the 1-800 number. It is something like 1-800-ask-toyota, but I forget the exact number.  

yh:
With the regular tires (Mitchelin), the low pressure warning system will come on and off nuisantly.  I ignore it totally.  Even with RFTs, it won't come on to warn you until the tire has only 14 PSI left.  Don't count on this to protect you.  Get a tire gauge and check your pressure one or twice a month.

RFTs gotta go or you trade the vehicle away for something else different.  If you spend approximately $1000 for a set of RFTs every 12K miles, for the life of the vehicle, the cost will equal another vehicle itself.  Think about it!  

I was very close to buying the Sienna XLE Limited AWD when I started reading about all the problems with the RFT's.

I could have lived with that "failed experiment:, but if I decided to put regular tires on the Van after the RTF's wore out... I would still have the problem of NO SPARE TIRE !

What have other AWD Sienna owners been doing as far as spare tire?   Are you putting it inside the Van, or rigging something up underneath the van?

I could not see anywhere under the carraige to stow a spare.

Thanks,  Tim  

I am looking at the year end model Sienna AWD XLE with run flat tires.
As I've read all eleven nightmare pages of this forum I am very concerned about purchasing the car.  The dealer I dealt with said they did have problems with the '04 Sienna..which it seems most of you have written about.  I have also contacted tire stores in our area and asked them their views on the tires.  Each one said they could get a tire in one day...however my concern is that I would have a flat out of town and also that I'd have to be replacing them every other year and they are running around $225 each in this area.

It's really a shame because the car itself is very nice, I need an AWD van because I'm going to dog shows that are held out in the country and in horse fields.   I actually have now..a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan AWD..which they are not making now due to the stow and go seating.  This van has been terrific..has gotten me out of horse fields and mud with no problem.  It has a full spare tire.  I really wanted to get the stow and go seating and AWD..that's why I looked at the Sienna..they are the only one offering that...ha but with run flats.

So any recommendations?  Stay away from Toyota Sienna?  

It sounds like this is the van for you.  I would just cary a fullsize spare.  I will be replacing the runflats with regular tires after the warranty ends. I carry a spare at all times even with the runflats.  I don't use the stow and go seating much so I have placed the full size spare down in the well where it is designed to go.  I would place a cargo carrier on the roof and place your spare in it.  A full size spare with a steel rim will run you about $200.  Go to sienna.org and look at photos of a full size spare in the well of the rear.  Its a great van even with the runflats.  Just buy a spare from the get go and it will never be an issue when you go out of town.  Most of the horror stories you read were from people that were not prepared and did not know the vehicle they were driving.

good luck  

I just purchased an 06' Sienna XLE AWD with run-flat tires. Have the tire problems described in this thread been fixed with current Sienna AWD's, or is the problem still there? Does the warranty still apply?

Also, does anyone know about the "Tire and Wheel Protection" warranty offered when you purchase the new car. Is it worth it? For $384 for four years, they'll replace any tire that is damaged or goes flat at no cost. Is this coverage worth the expense?

Thanks in advance for your help.  

I only take the spare in the van when I'm going on long trips basically over 2 hours from home.  I have AAA anyway so they can help with any flats or towing if needed.  I put on yokohamas back in April and bought the spare rim and tire.  So far have been going excellent.  Tires don't show any ecessive ware and ride is quiet.  No wierd vibrations or noise.  Gas milage is about the same or better getting about 24-26 on highway and 16-18 in lots of stop and go traffic.  I'm not a lead foot so milage may not be typical.  So far love the van even with the tire snafu.  I put the tire in the back when on trips takes a little room but piece of mind is worth it.  

I have a chance to buy a BEAUTIFUL AWD 2004 Sienna XLE Limited.  It has 24,500 miles and they are asking $26,000.  Everything so far checks out fine till I ran across this tire thread.  My guess is the former owner had just had his RFTs replaced before he sold it to CarMax.  My first reaction was to take the car back and start looking for something else but not be able to get an AWD van.  I did speak with the local Toyota dealer and he said if I really loved this van I could just switch the RFTs for regular tires still using the same rims, and be done with the problem though of course having to lug a spare in the back.  

Having dealt with this problem already, I am hoping some of you would respond and let me know what you would do.  Would you buy this van again if the tires were regular instead of RFTs and do you like everything else about the van?

Thanks in advance for your sharing  

Zoodebo,
Keep the van!  Despite all of this RFTs craziness, the car itself is an engineering marvel.  Never had any problem after 30K miles and I am the original owner.  Regular tires will give you a smoother ride, noticeably.  and who knows after a few years, technology will get to the point where RFTs will perform significantly better than now.

For now, get a alloy rim ($220)from e-bay and tire at costco($160), and all problems or concerns will be behind you when you are on a long trip.  

I have a 2004 XLE AWD.  Today, I went to my local repair guy for an oil change and was told I needed new tires.  The wires are ready to pop on the edge.  I have 46550 mile on my car and this will be my 4th set of tires.  The first set was replaced free after my front passenger tire blew out at 10K.  The next set was replaced March 2006, my cost.  Now here I am 8 months later and I need a new set.  I am beyond mad.  My mechanic told me they would not put non run flat tires on because it would screw up the suspension and they would be liable should something happen.  I had my husband call Toyota and they said the tires could be replaced with non run flats no problem.  After all this garbage I want that in writing.  I live in NJ and I have to tell you the total repair bill just for tires was $1500.  So the first Toyota ate, the second I paid and I am not about to do it again.  I so want to sue for my money back this car is a lemon.  I cannot afford $3000 a year for tires.  I will never buy another Toyota.  

My story to a T except different states and times.I will not buy another Toyota unless they help out on this deal.  

I just returned from checking out a 2005 AWD Sienna that is for sale about an hour away.  The seller pointed out the RFT's as a selling point, but I new nothing then of the RFT issue this forum discusses.  I love the vehicle, but would like to ask intelligent question of the seller now that I've read this thread.  

The Sienna only has 7500 miles on it, so its not likely the owner has experienced an issue with the tires as described..yet.  It's in otherwise mint condition.  Assuming this vehicle is equipped with the Bridgestone or Dunlop tires in question, is there anything positive I can say or do if I intend on purchasing this vehicle to protect myself?  Will the RFT replacement program noted in this thread be applicable since I'm not the original owner?  Is the RFT replacement letter required in order to receive the replacement tires?  

I purchased my 05 Sienna XLE Limited AWD in Oct 05 after driving an 04 LE for the passed 18 months. Never did I even think to question if there was a spare or jack. I assumed that it being the top of the line it should come with everything. After about 10,000 miles the ride became alittle bumpy. I called my dealership to complain that the ride was hard and my front tires were becoming ball. At this time the service representative goes straight into his sales pitch, " You need to rotate the tires every 4,000 miles and you may need a wheel alignment". He wasn't doing me any service at this point. Trying to understand why a $40,000 vehicle
that gets an oil change every 5,000 miles would need a tire rotate every 4,000. Since the dealership wasn't being helpful, I called to Toyota corporate headquarters Customer Relations and explained my experience. After about 3 days the dealership calls back. I explain to the Relations manager at the dealership that I being the customer should hear what you can do for me, not what I'm doing wrong with my car. He then explained that I need to bring the car in. With 17,000 miles on the dashboard I was will within my warranty for replacement. He asked me to bring the car in on Monday morning. I thanked him for explaining what they could do for me,which was all that I was asking for orginal.
To make a long story short they replaced all 4 Dunlop 4000 DSST RFT with Bridgestone B380 DFTs. They explained that I need to rotate every 5,000 miles and make sure my pressure is at 35 PSI per/tire.



 I would call the dealership back as long as you are still under warranty.