Automotive Forums  Where Car Enthusiasts Go to Discuss Cars Online

To ALL who have wriiten about Toyota AWD Sienna Run-Flat Tires - here is a letter sent to all stations in NYC area Consumer Advocates, channels 2,4,5,7,9,11!

Dear Consumer Advocate:
Yesterday, I took my 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan with 54,800 miles in for servicing and inspection (GEIS Auto in upstate New York) and was told that it would not pass inspection without replacement of the four RUN-Flat tires that are required for the car – Toyota will not sell the car without these tires and there is no spare. I spoke with the service director, Jeff Neckers, who we told that we believed this was unfair since the tires are obviously defective (http://forums.automotive.com/community, and www.carsurvey.com) since this was the third set in less than 55,000 miles. What we thought would be fair would be for Toyota to replace the Run-Flat tires with non-run flat tires at no charge (less expensive) since we had seven pages of proof that the tires were defective and could show several instances where other dealers had already replaced the more expensive Run-flat tires for other customers around the country (Toyota Warranty bulletin #WAB2029 - CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE POLICY - SIENNA AWD WITH DUNLOP TIRES and Parts and Service Bulletins - PSMB2004-24/PSMB2003-54 -SIENNA AWD SPARE TIRE). These are Canadian bulletins, but should be the same or similar for the States as well. GEIS Auto said they would call Toyota and see what they wanted to do. Toyota would only deign to give us one tire and rim to be used as a spare (which had to be ordered) after we bought four brand new non-run-flat tires at a cost of $735.00 and the car passed inspection. We told the service director that, while we did not want to write to Channel 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 11 consumer advocates and the Attorneys Generals of New York, New Jersey, and California, we would! After getting home, and being pissed-off to the highest “pissticity”, I did additional research and discovered that the problem is much larger than I had ever imagined! I have compiled over 60 pages of E-mails from the websites, noted above and contacted two lawyers, Roger Bernstein (212- 338-9188) and Howard Prossnitz (312- 960-1800), who are handling a Class Action suit against Toyota. There is also a scheduled meeting with Toyota’s General Counsel set for 3/6/06. I also discovered that a colleague of yours on the west coast featured a story on the AWD Toyota Sienna after being contacted by a woman from the websites AND a reported case of a Sienna’s rear run-flat tire exploding and catching on fire with a family inside. I’m not a car expert but isn’t the rear tire near the gas tank? Sounds like shades of the Pinto to me! According to my information, some people are being told that they cannot change to non-run-flat tires without changing the rims ($2000) and all sorts of deceptive practices and Toyota will take no responsibility for the problem! This is a car that Consumer Reports has given its highest rating to and is the best-selling minivan?
Please follow-up and do a story on the Run-flat tire/Toyota minivan controversy!
Sincerely,  

Katherine, I have had the same frustrating problem with my Sienna. Have you had any luck getting anything out of toyota? The dealer here in Bend Or. is giving me the runaround. I got a flat on interstate 5 near Bakersfield Ca in the middle of the night. To make a long story short, I had to have my $40,000 minivan with 5000 miles on it towed to Bakersfield to buy a regular tire since no one has these garbage tires in stock.  

I didn't have Dunlop tires on my sienna. I have the Bridgestone run-flats. Do we just contact these two lawyers to get in on this lawsuit? I can't believe that Toyota would just try to ignore this situation. I had the most helpless feeling being stuck in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere with my wife and two very small children with no spare. The more useless excuses that Toyota gives me, the more pissed off i get.  

I bought a set of new rims and put Blizzaks on for the winter and they run/handle just fine (superior for the winter, no matter what drive you have) so I can't imagine why there would be any problem with any other regular tire.  The dealers are only going to sell what the factory puts on them.  

"...and contacted two lawyers Roger Bernstein (212- 338-9188) and Howard Prossnitz (312- 960-1800), who are handling a Class Action suit against Toyota. There is also a scheduled meeting with Toyota?s General Counsel set for 3/6/06."

The above quote is from a posting on this site several weeks ago.  Today is March 7. Any updates to report on the meeting with Toyota General Counsel that took place March 6 ???

(Today happens also to be when I first learned of this Toyota-tire issue when my 2004 sienna AWD could not pass a NY State inspection because of the crappy Brigestone TFL tires - 20,000 miles)  I bought it new October 2004 at Fox Toyota, Auburn, NY.  

Do I understand correctly that Toyota Sienna AWD rims will support regular tires without problem??

This is the sixth Toyota I've purchased out of a showroom in the last 20 years.  If Toyota doesn't do something to make this "right", it will be the last.  

Hi, I am new to this forum. What brought me here is the same topic of discussion. I have a Sienna Ltd AWD 2005, I was fortunate to get 37k miles out of the first set of four run flat tires and now my Sioux Falls Toyota dealer recommends ASAP replacement. They offer a 1250$ package for run flat tires which includes tax and road hazzard coverage (does not include wearing out) as well as labor charges. These tires are available on line for 700 without tax and 90 dollar road hazard coverage, but this does not include mounting and any other labor. My concern is that I may not be lucky enough the next time. Should I be filing complaints with Toyota or the tire dealers as well? Besides that can anyone give opinions, it appears that some people did have very unfortunate experiences with run flat so your answers can be very well expected.  

Hi- I am from Tacoma; have 2004 Sienna AWD; had flat couple months ago-was able to patch it, then found out I shouldn't have been able to do that.  It's fine so far, tho I now need need 4 new RFT as mine are seriously worn w/ less than 23K miles on the car.  Upset about design-was not told about this when I purchased car.  Have had only Toyotas since first started to drive and have been pleased w/ performance/reliability/service in Ca and now WA. Was told by my Toyota dealer several months ago to replace RFT w/ all-season regular tires w/ spare...at my own cost. Unfortunately, I have no room for spare kit- cart kids, sports gear, instruments, etc. Cannot fit in garage if I put on roof rack or on back of car; would love spare to fit inside like my old Previa(what a great van...probably should have kept it!!).  That is why I bought the new van -for updated safety precautions and the space!! Did not know about class action lawsuits at the time- any legal activity happening in WA state?  Are all dealers replacing RFT "for free"?  Will call mine ASAP! Thanks!!  

Last week the run-flat tires on my 2004 AWD Sienna couldn't pass NY State inspection @ only 20K miles.  Plus, tires were noisey, and worn in unusual fashion.  I called Brigstone customer service and was told the tires were "made to the specs given to us by Toyota" for AWD Sienna original equipment tires.  Brigstone said Toyota (and other car manufacturers) routinely do this so vehicle meets EPA mileage standards, handling requirements, etc. I complained to Toyota dealership who contacted Toyota "regional" officials, and received approval to install 4 new run-flats on my Sienna free of charge. I had it doen couple of days ago.  (The dealership is Fox Toyota in Auburn, NY.)  I've owned Toyotas for many years.  They are a very good vehicle.  But it looks like Toyota screwed up bigtime with the run-flat tire specs they issued to tire manufacturers.  The results are terrible.  In my case, and to their credit, Toyota corrected the problem at no cost to me (so far).  I was told the run-flat tires issue is a hot topic at the monthly service manager meetings held by Toyota.  Might be useful for those of you affected to convey this to your dealership service department to seee if your REGIONAL Toyota folks will stand by you.  

I have a similar story.  A Dunlop tire dealer was able to plug my run flat last summer.  All was well until another tire got punctured.  This time, the tire dealer told us that all 4 tires needed to be replaced after 19K miles.

Both the Toyota dealer and Dunlop initially implied that I was responsible for the premature tread wear, as it is critical that the tire pressure is checked at least monthly and the tires are routinely rotated.  I informed them that I had maintained the tires, and the tire pressure warnining system (TPWS) was supposed to indicate when a tire gets low, but only activates when there is 5 to 15 PSI left in the tire.  A Dunlop rep. told me the tire should last 40K.  Yeah, right.

I complained to Toyota by calling the toll-free warranty number in my owner's manual.  They contacted the local Toyota dealer, and get this, Toyota agreed to replace all 4 tires at their cost ($258 per tire), if I would pay for mounting and installation (at a cost of $30 per tire).

So, I'm set for now, but I'm not sure what happens when this set goes bad.

Note:  The NHTSA launched an investigation in Feb. 2006 on the TPWS used in the Sienna - Investigation No. PE06010.  Also, in late 2005, class actions were filed against Toyota and Dunlop in NY and Calif. concerning the run-flat.  

hi everybody. this is the first time im writing on this forum. Actually i am doing a research on run flat tyres and was wanting to interview some people in UK about their experiences in using run flat tyres.
Can anyone possible help me out with contacts of users of run flat tyres.
I would trully appreciate the effort.
You can email me back on gunteshwar.singh@apollotyres.com  

hi everybody. this is the first time im writing on this forum. Actually i am doing a research on run flat tyres and was wanting to interview some people in UK about their experiences in using run flat tyres.
Can anyone possible help me out with contacts of users of run flat tyres.
I would trully appreciate the effort.
You can email me back on gunteshwar.singh@apollotyres.com  

I have a 2004 XLE AWD with just over 19K on it.  At 9K I picked up a nail in the passanger rear tire.  Everyone said can't fix it when it was on the van.  I took it off the van to I believe it was Firestone and say patch this without telling them it was a run flat, and they do and it cost $15 and only when the guy brings out the tire after being patched does he say he didn't think it could be patched because it was a run flat.   Any way I put 10K on that tire and now again I picked up another nail but this one is right on the corner of where the tread and sidewall meet so the predicament is how many tires to replace.  The rest of the tires look in great shape with at least 10K left.  Pricing 2 Bridestone RFT which are on there would be close to $600 with mount.  Decided to go the non-RFT route.  Purchased (5) Yokohama Avid TRZ for $88 a piece from tirerack.com and paid $56 for shipping so ruffly $99/tire.  Toyota wanted $124/tire.  Purchased 17 inch rim from Hubcapwheel.com (something like that) for $269 which toyota wanted $448.  So for $768 I have (4) new tires and a full size spare I'll take a long for longer trips otherwise around town that is what I pay AAA for.  I have to get the tires mounted $15 a piece and then an alignment for $79.  So all said and done it will run about $950 but the tires are rated for 80K.  Toyota's spare kit cost $1300+ (quoted by toyota parts person) and the tire isn't even a full size tire.  If anybody wants 3 Bridgestone RFT with at least probably 5-10K miles left on them I'll keep them when I change them out and send them to you for $20/tire other wise I'll just pay the disposal fee.  I'll let you know how the new tires handle.  

my name si dudu obailukan so i want to you to send am  

Hi Katherine
 I am with you all the way. You should have been told
about the tires that come on your new vehicle up front
if you asked or not. I know this doesnt help much. But i am releasing an article on what to ask when buying a car.
On the tire situation toyota should have had a road hazard protection policy on your tires you should check with them and try to get reimbersed
If anybody is interested in knowing what to ask when buying a car please post in the forum
Bruce  

What do you need to know about run flat tires.
They are special purpose tires and if your vehicle doesnt come with them that is good. They are expensive and
hard to find. The only run flat tires i would suggest are the performance sizes due to their stiff sidewall design.