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I bought a 2004 LE Seinna AWD in 2004.  I've put 77,000 miles on it.  I average over 36,000 miles per set of tires.  Never had a blowout, though I've had a nail activate the low pressure warning.  I've always had Bridgestone B380 tires.  Maybe Bridgestones are better than Dunlops.

For me, run flat tires have worked exactly as advertised.  Yes, I wish I could use the less expensive regular tires, but there's no place to store a spare.  Storing it inside takes up lots of space and could be dangerous if it came loose during an accident.

I rotate and balance my tires every other oil change.  It's expensive, but my safety's more important than beating Toyota out of a free set of tires.

If I notice any shimmy or vibration at high speeds or if my Seinna doesn't track absolutely straight, I get it serviced right away.

They'd never admit it, but I suspect that the previous complainers don't pay much attention to tire pressure, tire balancing, tire rotation or high speed tracking.

I love the AWD Sienna.  Handles better than the 1998 Ford Explorer I had before.  Bottom line is, if you want an AWD minivan, there's no alternative.  It's not perfect; the engine is underpowered and the sliding doors can freeze shut if they get wet in cold weather.  

I have had a 2005 Sienna AWD with run flat tires for about 14months now. Bought a demo with 6000 miles on it.  Had a flat at 11000, the other tires had much wear, so I replaced them with conventional tires for about 600 bucks.  About that time, I read of the class action suit and sent toyota my bill for the replacement tires. Just received my check from Toyota.  While Toyota botched the situation initially(i.e. putting the run flats on the car, no provision for spare tire, etc.), they did the right thing by paying for replacement tires. I bought a spare wheel and tire which I put in the luggage compartment when I travel and I have a AAA membership, which includes service calls if my wife gets a flat tire. Not an optimal solution, but workable.  Certainly best to avoid run flat tires if you can.  

Hi I have a 05 awd wondering what michelins you put on and do they ride handle and are they quiet  i live in P.E.I. Canada the dealer told me michlin did not make a tire to fit it my e mail is deedoucette@hotmail.com
thanks  

It not only the run-flat tires.  I have a Sienna XLE with all season 17in tire (non RFT).  At my 30k service (actual 34k), they tell me I need to replace them immediately.  These all season suppose to last 6 years.  The service guys says it is normal for these Sienna tires to require replacements around 30k of use.   Should I push thru their warranty dept or just buy Michelin.  Will never go with Bridgestone again or Toyota if it uses Bridgestone tires.

Michael  

The assumption that the hundreds or thousands of us who have trouble with Toyota Sienna AWD vans with RFT is based on lack of service or attention to proper maintaniance is ill placed. Sounds like a company line. The entire Sienna AWD sytem/storage is based on no spare & RFT. The tires have gone bad after 17k. $1100 + to replace. Toyota refuses to pay. They said the problem tires were replaced in late 06. Here is the rub. TOYOTA IS SELLING AWD MINIVANS TODAY WITH TIRES THAT WILL WEAR OUT IN 17-24,000 MILES AND ARE TELLING NO ONE. The problem continues and tire techs at Toyota have told me to get rid of them, drive good radials and deal with AAA or get a spare.  

The claim that these tires fail due to lack of preventative maintenance is ridiculous and false. My wife drives a 2006 Toyota Sienna LE AWD with the Dunlop RFT's. At 7500 miles, including proper inflation and a rotation at 4500, I noticed a vibration through the wheel and excessive tire noise. The inner tread on every tire was cupping and wearing out. At 9000, the local dealer said they "may be" out of alignment. They aligned it and rotated the tires for free. At 12500, its getting worse but Toyota and the dealer said they will replace these tires for free when the time comes. I'm just going to run them as long as I can stand it and then replace. I've called Toyota and they seem to be well aware that these tires are bad. Otherwise, the van is great.  

there is a major problem with some runflat tires having too soft of a tread compound.  it is not a problem with the vehicle but with the tires.  you can put regular tires on an awd sienna and a spare tire kit is available from your toyota dealer.  The toyota dealer where I take my car told me that the tire manufacturer will stand behind their product and the dealer had replaced lots of sets at little (pro rate) or no cost to the customer.  these tires can be driven on flat up to 50 miles.  however you should check your tires when the warning light comes up or the dash.  if the tire pressure drops below 14 psi, damage to the sidewall can occur if driven on and the tire may need to be replaced.  DO NOT IGNORE YOUR TIRE PRESSURE WARNING LIGHT.  IT MAY COST YOU!!!!  

Do all AWD Sienna's between 2004 and 2008 come with run flat tires or are there some that came with standard tires? My dealer said there's a spare conversation kit that goes in the hatch. Does anyone have experience with that (i.e., how much room it takes)?

thanks  

This problem definitely continues.  I have a 2006 AWD Sienna purchased in May of 2006.  My nearest dealer is over an hour's drive away and is nearest location that can deal with these tires.  At 5000 miles, my local shop told me that the car was out of alignment on all wheels and the tires were shot.  I made the trek to the dealership where I'd purchased the car (over 3 hours away).  Turns out the car was never in alignment and they blamed it on something to do with how the car was tied down to the car carry and the run flat tires.  Toyota replaced all 4 tires and had to install an new Ibeam to get the car into alignment.

I had my first flat at around 8000 miles in December '06 and it was repaired.  Three months later, I had 2 more flats that were caused by little punctures in a row along the tread.  These were replaced on a prorated warranty by Dunlop.  BUT, I had to seek out this information and be aggressive to get this done.  The dealership knew nothing about a warranty and Toyota 1-800 offered not responsibility.  Oh, I should say that the pressure sensors on my tires have not worked correctly yet.  For the first flat the sensor did not come on until after I had reinflated the tire twice.    The second time with 2 flats, they did not come on at all.  Now, I have a 3rd flat and the sensor did not come on again...ever.  

A week or so ago, I determined that the two tires not previously replaced were starting to make excessive road noise.  I'd been told this would happen as they wore further than the two new tires on the front.  I checked the tires and noticed that they are worn almost to the wear sensors.  These tires have only 22,000 miles on them.  Having done my research before, I called Dunlop to set up another case on the short life of these tires.  When pressed, the agent told me that the normal tire life expectancy would be 35,000 to 40,000 miles.  But of course, he did not commit to anything on my wear.  I needed to drive the 1 hour plus to get the dealership to tell him my tires were shot.  However, I had called the dealership for a quote and knew that they did not have any instock.  This morning on the way to work, I noticed a LOT of road noise and that the car was not handling well.  I'd felt this before. Then, I fishtailed on a patch of ice and was REALLY upset.  When I got to work, I checked the tire and it had NO air pressure.  I called and ordered those 2 new tires figuring I'd deal with Dunlop later.  I tried to fill the tire air and it would not hold.  I immediately called the dealer and said, I was coming the 1 hour drive now, because I did not know if the tire would be driveable in several days.  OH, and the sensor NEVER came on.  I called Toyota to open another case with them as well.  Now, I'm driving a $55 a day rental for I don't know how many days and I don't know if they will pay for it.  The dealer had no rentals available and were ready to close.  They found me one elsewhere.

I'm not only dealing with an unsafe tire issue, but the Toyota safety sensors are also not working.  I am FED up!  

I have a 2005 Toyota Sienna XLE AWD with 20,000 miles on it.  I have had to replace 7 tires on it just THIS year!!!!!  The first 4 were replaced in February due to road noise/vibration and poor gas mileage.  My gas mileage has NEVER improved.  In September I got a screw in my right rear tire and had to replace it.  Two weeks later my left rear tire malfunctioned and wouldn't hold air.  I had to replace that one.  Approximately 1 month later (now) I picked up another nail, in my right rear tire!  These tires are worthless, and EXPENSIVE!  You cannot repair them and they don't resist punctures like most other tires.  I have been unsuccessful in receiving much sympathy from the dealer, and Toyota just says "Oh, well we've never heard of such a problem!"  Ha!  So long Toyota!  And to think, I traded in a perfectly fine Honda Odyssey (with way better gas mileage)for this mess.  Boy was that a mistake!  I'm cutting my losses now and ditching the van as fast as I can!  Can anyone tell me how to join a class action suit or other to recoup some of my losses?  I am going to take a tremendous loss when I trade my supposed gem in, and it won't be with Toyota!!!!  

You may be in luck. Your Toyota Sienna may be covered by a class action law suit that covered Siennas from 2004- early 2006. Your should check to see if your van is covered by the suit.

My Sienna was built a few months later and is not covered by the suit. I replaced my run flats before even having 10,000 miles on the vehicle. Toyota should be ashamed of themselves for not covering these tires. I will never ever buy another Toyota again. My dealer was rude and the customer service at the customer care center was not existent. What a shame.  

we took our 2006 sienna for its 1 year inspection here in ny (to an independent Goodyear shop we use for oil changes, brakes, etc).

To our surprise they said that we needed 4 new tires.

After hurling several expletives to no one in particular, we decided to keep the "bad" tires on and bring to the dealer.

Dealer said that tires were fine, no problem, only have about half the tread is worn (which is still not so great with only 12K miles).

Anyone else have this experience, with dealer saying one thing and another "trusted" (we think) source saying total opposite?

Given the safely (ie  lawsuit *** issues involved, would think that Toyota would not mess around and tell you your tires are ok when they are not.  But based on posts I have seen here, I am not so sure about that...  

That is so true!
I switched to conventional and carry a real spare ( not the donut tire) on long trip.  

I don't see why you have to buy five new rims?  All you have to do is take the RFT off and replace them with conventional tires.  I did that to my AWD LXE at costco.  But you have to show them that you have a spare tire for them to work on your van.  What I did was that I bought a cheap rim and put a tire on, and show that to costco.  The positive side is that your conventional tires will last longer and the availability is higher, but the negative side is that it takes room in the back for the spare tire.  What I do now is I only carry it on long trip.  Don't let them talk you into spending unnecessary money on new rims.  

Get new conventional tires from Costco.  They fix flat free for life (life of the tires ok!!)  And they will replace new one at a prorated price if the tires cannot be fixed.  Go Costco!!!