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MY PROBLEMS BEGAN AT MY 15,000 MILE TIRE ROTATION(guess I was lucky compared to some of you)WHEN MY LOCAL MECHANIC NOTED THAT MY RUN FLAT BRIDGESTONES WERE SHOWING SOME UNUSUAL WEAR(cupping)ON THE OUTER EDGE OF THE FRONT TIRES AND RECOMMENDED AN ALIGNMENT. I CALLED MY DEALER TO  COMPLAIN AND WAS TOLD I  NEEDED AN ALIGNMENT WHICH I AGREED TO UNDER PROTEST. AT THE 20,000 MILE ROTATION MY MECHANIC AGAIN NOTED SEVERE CUPPING IN THE FRONT TIRES AND MAYBE I SHOULD CONSIDER REPLACING THE TIRES. I AGAIN CALLED THE DEALER TO COMPLAIN AND WAS TOLD THAT THE RFTs ON THE AWD SIENNAS DIDN'T GET MUCH MORE THAN 28,000 MILES AND THAT IF I HAD ANY COMPLAINTS I SHOULD TAKE IT UP WITH BRIDGESTONE. I LUCKILY HAVEN'T HAD A FLAT YET AND, BY THE SOUNDS OF WHAT SOME OF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED, I'M GLAD I HAVEN'T! I WILL PROBABLY GET FOUR REGULAR TIRES AND DONUT BUT I'M NOT SATISFIED WITH THE WAY TOYOTA IS NOT DEALING WITH THIS ISSUE AND PLAN TO LODGE A FORMAL COMPLAINT WITH THEM. I LIVE IN UPSTATE N.Y. AND THIS IS MY FOURTH TOYOTA AND THIRD TOYOTA VAN.

Stay away from the AWD and buy a FWD.
You are not under any obligation unless you take delivery then it is tougher.  

tone wrote:

Stay away from the AWD and buy a FWD.
You are not under any obligation unless you take delivery then it is tougher.

i have been following your thread and see that many of you are either asking for info on class suit involving the awd tire problem or want to know about legal cases  i am representinng Illinois couple with Dunlop run flat tire problem on their Sienna and will be filing class case in Illinois tomorrow for Illinois people I am going to be organizing with other firms across county to file state by state cases to bring maximum pressure on Toyota to enter good settlement for class  (yes we get paid too but I have yet to get the easy money complain about  usually it is no more than standard hourly rate sometimes less or nothing)  anyhow I would like to hear especially from people in California,  Texas, NY, Pa and Md w/ this problem  thks   howard@prossnitzlaw.com
this is legal advertising material  

I am on my 4th set of tires We have 68,000 miles.  I was at the dealer today, I inquired about the tire give away I was told by a nice  toyota parts guy I spoke to the other day (different town). He said the dealer he works at is "GIVING" a new set of run-flats to any of us that are asking.  When I asked at my dealer, they looked at me like I had two heads but my husband "TOLD" them to look into it. The next day, they said YES, the were giving a new set to all that ask.  Tires are now $270.00 a piece. Made paying $2200.00 for the e-brake probem easier to swallow.  Good luck  

Excellent news !!!  Thank you so much Catherine !!   I've been shopping for new tires and doing a lot of research on this issue and stumbled on to your post.  I called my dealer and they said yes - come make an appointment to discuss it and get new tires FREE from the dealer.  They said Toyota was being very "GENEROUS" --- I said I wouldn't call it that.  In fact, clearly there are bigger issues with this.

Anyone contact Consumer Reports ?   A "Not Recommended or Not Acceptable" rating would hit it the hardest.    I would have felt better if I got a notice regarding the tires from Toyota instead of reading it here.

FYI, this is my second XLE Limited AWD.  First got hit within 500 miles in my driveway and did not get properly repaired by the dealer bodyshop so trade it in for another.  The second one did not ride as well as the first.......now it's clear that the tires were creating the shimmy.   I've only got 10,500 miles on this and it shimmies like a rental car with 50,000 miles on it.  It's been rotated as well.  We'll see where this all goes.

Catherine wrote:

I am on my 4th set of tires We have 68,000 miles. I was at the dealer today, I inquired about the tire give away I was told by a nice toyota parts guy I spoke to the other day (different town). He said the dealer he works at is "GIVING" a new set of run-flats to any of us that are asking. When I asked at my dealer, they looked at me like I had two heads but my husband "TOLD" them to look into it. The next day, they said YES, the were giving a new set to all that ask. Tires are now $270.00 a piece. Made paying $2200.00 for the e-brake probem easier to swallow. Good luck

I have a 2004 Toyota Sienna AWD with runflat tires.  At about 15,000 miles, I noticed a roaring noise when driving.  The dealer said that it was just road noise.  At 20,000 miles, it became even worse.  The dealer said that the wheels were out of alignment slightly, and this had given uneven tire wear.  He re-aligned the wheels and I have driven it another 2,000 miles with the noise getting even worse.  We bought the Sienna because of its quiet ride, but this has totally gone.  Another dealer says that I may have to replace the tires completely to get rid of the noise.  At the price of a new runflat tire, I am thinking about simply switching to regular tires and takeing my chances on a flat.  After all, if not everyone carries the runflat tires, and if they have trouble getting them off and putting on new ones, what good does it do to replace them with another set of runflat tires and experience the same problems all over again.  I would like to know if others have had this noise problem and replaced their runflats with either runflats or standard tires.

Does anyone have any additional information regarding catherine's post above about FREE run flat tires?  I have a 2004 XLE Limited AWD Sienna and just picked up a nail...we have 18k miles on the Bridgestrone run flat tires.  I'm not excited about the prospect of having to replace all four tires with one being flat.  they have about 5/32nds of tread left.

I am considering going with conventional tires and putting in the spare kit.  The cost of the spare kit is not insignificant...but perhaps long term its still an overall cost savings.

If the dealerships are offering some sort of free run flat tire promotion I would love to know more as soon as possible.  I'm scheduled to bring it in tomorrow to have them evaluate the tire.

thanks!  

Bought 2004 LE AWD in NJ summer '04.  I just took the van to the dealer for its 30k service today.  When they called to say it was ready, they also mentioned that they had replaced all 4 tires for FREE.  Having 31k mileage on the car, the service guy said the tires had lasted as long as expected.  He mentioned that it was a "good will gesture" by Toyota on my 1st set of replacement run flat tires.  

I wanted to give an update to everyone on the outcome for me.  I called the toyota customer service number (it was listed early on this in thread) and spoke with a rep there.  I mentioned that my '04 XLE AWD van had just 18k miles on it, had picked up a nail, and that now I was going to need to replace all the tires as a result (i went into an explanation that my understanding is that bridgestone/firestone do not authorize fixes to run flat tires, and that with my tires having 5/32nds of tread that I couldn't just go and put one new tire on as it would have a slightly different circumference and my understanding with AWD systems is that is bad for them).

I mentioned that I had seen a posting on the internet from a couple of people in the january timeframe that received free run flat replacement tires.  I asked if she knew about this type of program at toyota.  she said she knew something about it, but wouldn't really give up any details.  she put me on hold for a couple of minutes and gave me a toyota case number. She told me to contact my dealer and give them that case number and see what they could do for me.  

I asked her if I should instead just go to the local firestone store and see if they could patch my RFT, even though it's advertised as something not authorized by firestone.  She said that if it was her, she'd recommend that I go see the dealer first.  This comment got my hopes up that perhaps toyota would do something.

I called my dealer, Ron Tonkin Toyota in Portland Oregon, this morning and spoke with the service manager.  he said that he had my case but he had to contact his toyota rep to see what they would be able to do for me.  He called me back a short time later and said toyota would replace two tires for me.  I was excited, but still not pleased that I would have to replace the other two.  I inquired about whether I could just replace two with an AWD van.  He said he'd be willing to go to bat for me again and run it by the toyota rep again.  I said great.  I got another call back about an hour later saying that toyota wouldn't authorize another two tires, but the dealership would cover the other two.  

My wife brought the van down and sure enough, they installed four brand new bridgestone b380 RFTs.  My wife said that they really stumbled all over themselves to take care of her and get it done as fast as they could.  The dealership didn't have the equipment to change the tires themselves so they had to take it up to the local les schwab tire center to get them put on.

Knowing that Toyota and my local dealership stepped up and replaced my four run flat tires puts a much more positive spin on the situation and I was very happy with Tonkin Toyota as a result.  

I know you're talking Toyota but I'm looking for info on flat runs and got this site.. I've been in BMW 's for years and ready to trade in to the AWD, manual, station wagon  but stopped dead in my tracks when I heard there is no spare tire ...Are they all as bad as this site claims , enough to look into different make of car ? And if Toyota and BMW are now all flat runs, wouldn't all other makes be FRT as well ? Sounds like they have us all by our short and curlies !!
I suppose I have to consider that if I find a make that has "normal" tires, that in 5 years will "normal" tires  be obsolete.. ( I'm just trying to justify sticking to BMW )  

Catherine:
I am on my 4th set of tires We have 68,000 miles.  I was at the dealer today, I inquired about the tire give away I was told by a nice  toyota parts guy I spoke to the other day (different town). He said the dealer he works at is "GIVING" a new set of run-flats to any of us that are asking.  When I asked at my dealer, they looked at me like I had two heads but my husband "TOLD" them to look into it. The next day, they said YES, the were giving a new set to all that ask.  Tires are now $270.00 a piece. Made paying $2200.00 for the e-brake probem easier to swallow.  Good luck


Dear Catherine:

Read your post with great interest: I just came from my Toyota dealer (Geis in upstate NY), where I told them about what I had read on the internet re: replacement by dealers of run-flat tires. We are now on our third set at 54800 miles. I gave them the chance to make it right and I told them I didn't think this was fair, and what we thought was fair was to (just) replace the tires with no-run flats and we would call it even. We told them we didn't want to write the consumer advocates on New York channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 11 as well as the Attorneys General of New York, California, and New Jersey and Consumer Affairs, but we would if we had to! They refused to do anything except pay for the rim for a spare after we bought four new tires that were replacements for the run-flats (these were non-run-flats) at a cost of over $735 and this was all Toyota was willing to do.  I also had a conversation with the lawyer starting the class action suit in Illinois! I even showed them at Toyota seven pages of complaints - I've now compiled over 60 complaints that I will be sending the lawyer!

Could you send me the particulars so that I can show them how stupid they are?

Thanks,  

sjswan:
Bought 2004 LE AWD in NJ summer '04.  I just took the van to the dealer for its 30k service today.  When they called to say it was ready, they also mentioned that they had replaced all 4 tires for FREE.  Having 31k mileage on the car, the service guy said the tires had lasted as long as expected.  He mentioned that it was a "good will gesture" by Toyota on my 1st set of replacement run flat tires.


Dear siswan:
I just wrote "Catherine" re: free tires from dealer - here's the message:

"Dear Catherine: Read your post with great interest: I just came from my Toyota dealer (Geis in upstate NY), where I told them about what I had read on the internet re: replacement by dealers of run-flat tires. We are now on our third set at 54800 miles. I gave them the chance to make it right and I told them I didn't think this was fair, and what we thought was fair was to (just) replace the tires with no-run flats and we would call it even. We told them we didn't want to write the consumer advocates on New York channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 11 as well as the Attorneys General of New York, California, and New Jersey and Consumer Affairs, but we would if we had to! They refused to do anything except pay for the rim for a spare after we bought four new tires that were replacements for the run-flats (these were non-run-flats) at a cost of over $735 and this was all Toyota was willing to do. I also had a conversation with the lawyer starting the class action suit in Illinois! I even showed them at Toyota seven pages of complaints - I've now compiled over 60 complaints that I will be sending the lawyer! Could you send me the particulars so that I can show them how stupid they are? Thanks,"

Could you send me information on this website?  

olympic:
I wanted to give an update to everyone on the outcome for me.  I called the toyota customer service number (it was listed early on this in thread) and spoke with a rep there.  I mentioned that my '04 XLE AWD van had just 18k miles on it, had picked up a nail, and that now I was going to need to replace all the tires as a result (i went into an explanation that my understanding is that bridgestone/firestone do not authorize fixes to run flat tires, and that with my tires having 5/32nds of tread that I couldn't just go and put one new tire on as it would have a slightly different circumference and my understanding with AWD systems is that is bad for them).

I mentioned that I had seen a posting on the internet from a couple of people in the january timeframe that received free run flat replacement tires.  I asked if she knew about this type of program at toyota.  she said she knew something about it, but wouldn't really give up any details.  she put me on hold for a couple of minutes and gave me a toyota case number. She told me to contact my dealer and give them that case number and see what they could do for me.  

I asked her if I should instead just go to the local firestone store and see if they could patch my RFT, even though it's advertised as something not authorized by firestone.  She said that if it was her, she'd recommend that I go see the dealer first.  This comment got my hopes up that perhaps toyota would do something.

I called my dealer, Ron Tonkin Toyota in Portland Oregon, this morning and spoke with the service manager.  he said that he had my case but he had to contact his toyota rep to see what they would be able to do for me.  He called me back a short time later and said toyota would replace two tires for me.  I was excited, but still not pleased that I would have to replace the other two.  I inquired about whether I could just replace two with an AWD van.  He said he'd be willing to go to bat for me again and run it by the toyota rep again.  I said great.  I got another call back about an hour later saying that toyota wouldn't authorize another two tires, but the dealership would cover the other two.  

My wife brought the van down and sure enough, they installed four brand new bridgestone b380 RFTs.  My wife said that they really stumbled all over themselves to take care of her and get it done as fast as they could.  The dealership didn't have the equipment to change the tires themselves so they had to take it up to the local les schwab tire center to get them put on.

Knowing that Toyota and my local dealership stepped up and replaced my four run flat tires puts a much more positive spin on the situation and I was very happy with Tonkin Toyota as a result.


Dear olympic: wrote siswan and Catherine re: free tires - could you send any more info on this website (names, who you spoke to, etc.)?

Dear siswan: I just wrote "Catherine" re: free tires from dealer - here's the message: "Dear Catherine: Read your post with great interest: I just came from my Toyota dealer (Geis in upstate NY), where I told them about what I had read on the internet re: replacement by dealers of run-flat tires. We are now on our third set at 54800 miles. I gave them the chance to make it right and I told them I didn't think this was fair, and what we thought was fair was to (just) replace the tires with no-run flats and we would call it even. We told them we didn't want to write the consumer advocates on New York channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 11 as well as the Attorneys General of New York, California, and New Jersey and Consumer Affairs, but we would if we had to! They refused to do anything except pay for the rim for a spare after we bought four new tires that were replacements for the run-flats (these were non-run-flats) at a cost of over $735 and this was all Toyota was willing to do. I also had a conversation with the lawyer starting the class action suit in Illinois! I even showed them at Toyota seven pages of complaints - I've now compiled over 60 complaints that I will be sending the lawyer! Could you send me the particulars so that I can show them how stupid they are? Thanks," Could you send me information on this website?  

I have an 05 awd sienna and have been rotating and aligning the car as I am supposed to. Around 10k miles I brought it in to dealer because of noise and was told it was road noise. After 14k miles I needed new tires. The tires look all chopped up but evenly chopped on all 4 tires. I did get a flat on one tire and was able to have it patched at a local tire kingdom.