2nd Apr 2005, 21:00

Our 2004 Sienna AWD had 4 bald tires after 15,000 miles. Dealership at first tried to tell me that it was my fault for not rotating them. I pursued the issue and they finally ended up replacing all 4 tires (after 2 weeks of driving in the winter with 2 small children on mountainous snowy roads). Also had problem with alignment, then balancing, then hit a nail. Dealership REPAIRED the tire at no cost. I called CA office to complain of tire situation and they acted like mine was the first complaint. I agree that some kind of litigation may be necessary. How do we do it?

13th Apr 2005, 07:33

I have a Toyota Sienna LE AWD 2004. My one was hospitalized on day one. Plus this recall and that recall and engine light and fan motor noise. I feel we are victims of TOYOTA. My colleague saying "You guys spending money for experiments of toyota.". The RFT tire wear abnormally fast.

30th May 2005, 11:35

We ordered a 2004 Sienna XLE Limited AWD van in August of 2003, which was delivered in February of 2004, for the $41,500 MSRP price. I had no idea it had no spare tire, although I knew it had run-flat tires.

It arrived with Bridgestone 240 BB rated B380 RFT's. These are currently listed at $212 each, without installation, and the Dunlop RFT's at $194 each at www.TireRack.com.

My RFT tires had 5-6/32" tread remaining at 17,900 miles when I went to my local Discount Tire dealer, where I bought a used Lexus chromed allow wheel of the same size for $100, and 5 Goodyear Fortera HL tires, 225/60-SR17 size, including no-added-charge rotation and balance every 5,000 miles, and free repair or replacement of any damaged tire, for 60,000 miles. They were installed the next day, at a total cost of about $900. These are not run-flat tires; the only RFT I could find that fit this vehicle are the Dunlop or Bridgestone. Many luxury vehicles and the Corvette now come standard with RFT tires, and presumably no spares.

The Toyota dealer informed me that they can install a spare tire and wheel of the original equipment size of the RFT for $900 using a Toyota kit, in the larger left side 3rd row seat well, permanently preventing that seat from folding flat into the storage well behind it.

The non-run-flat Goodyear Fortera tires, rated 540 AB, appear to handle more responsively on both dry and wet pavement, ride quieter and smoother, and stop shorter than the original Bridgestone RFT tires.

The threat of being stranded while waiting to find a replacement RFT at about $194 to $212 each, excluding tax, surcharges, and installation and balancing, through Tire Rack or Discount Tire, no longer concerns me. It is sad to lose the storage space because of the size of the added spare tire and wheel inside the van, but the possibility of increased safety and reliability overall make the choice worthwhile, in my opinion.

Also, the tire dealer twisted one left rear wheel stud off when doing a rotate and balance at 5,000 miles on this vehicle, and the dealer twisted off another wheel stud on the right rear at 15,000 miles. It cost $96 to replace the first at the dealer's service shop, paid by the tire store where the incident occurred; there was no charge for the one the dealer service shop broke off. I believe these were defective wheel studs from the manufacturer; the tire store uses torque-limiting (torque sticks) wrenches when installing the lug nuts, and finishes with a manual torque wrench set to the manufacturer's specs. The dealer's service shop is similarly careful.

Resale value is from $25,000 to $31,000 after one year, according to Kelley Blue Book, which is a huge depreciation in that time for any Toyota vehicle.

We gave up about 3-4 mpg in actual gas mileage, compared to that of another family member with a 2004 8-passenger Sienna LE van; the AWD model gets about 17 mpg in town and 20-21 mpg on the highway at interstate speeds. The Front Wheel Drive LE with the same engine got about 20-21 mpg in suburban driving, and 23-25 mpg on the highway on the same 2,000 mile trip.

19th Jun 2005, 17:51

We have a 2005 Limited Sienna (all options) that was well over 40 grand. Part of the attraction WAS the run flat tires and tire pressure monitoring system.

Well we've got only about 10,000 miles and already one major problem as my wife was driving around for who knows how long (probably weeks) with a totally flat tire. The tire pressure system NEVER indicated a problem despite -0- PSI in the tire. The dealer says "you just have to check them frequently."

Even if you check them every week (and who honestly does that??) or even -daily- you still could have a problem and drive home at above the max recommended speed (55MPH) and have a blowout.

Bottom line: this system is NOT safe and I would NOT recommend buying it for that reason alone. We are seriously thinking about getting rid of a less than 1 year old 40K+ car. I will never buy Toyota again.

3rd Jul 2005, 23:27

We bought a 2004 AWD Sienna last year. Tires shot at 20,000 miles. We griped to the dealer and he arranged to have Dunlap replace the tires at dealer cost ($125/each). The Goodyear dealer has suggested that we consider buying regular tires and a "donut" spare 20K miles from now.

The seat belt in the middle seat had to be repaired-- twice. We complained to the dealership, and we were assured that our broken seatbelt was a remote problem and the regional service manager would be contacting us. Well, it's been 5 weeks and he hasn't called. I am afraid that Toyota quality and service of the past is just that - a thing of the past.

All in all- I would not buy another Sienna.

5th Jul 2005, 09:39

I am thoroughly amazed at seeing all these identical experiences to our own. My wife is especially upset with our Sienna and actually reluctant to drive anymore, given our having two major road incidents in the last year, plus having to replace TWO complete sets of tires in only 34k miles. My task for today is to call Toyota and demand a trade in of some kind. We have absolutely had it, literally everything posted here from "you have to rotate your tires more often" to "we can't find run-flat tires anywhere, you have to order them". Just unbelievable! We are still brand loyal to Toyota because of the overall dependability of our past cars, but I think the run-flat and AWD combination on the Sienna is a flop, and Toyota is pushing back hard to avoid owning up to it in a decent manner (IE to warn potential buyers or include a tire replacement package warranty or something reasonable).

15th Jul 2005, 20:39

The comments on these pages were all very helpful to me, as I spent today running between my Toyota dealer and tire stores (won't mention names). Everyone I spoke with had a different theory as to why I needed to replace my tires after 17,000 miles on my AWD Sienna. The dealer blamed the tires, the first tire store blamed the dealer, and the second tire store blamed the assembly line- something about these cars hitting the road poorly aligned, etc. The stories got funnier as the day wore on. It did take all day, but I finally cornered the manufacturer (Dunlop) and insisted that they give me a good deal or I'd buy the cheaper Bridgestone tires. I provided my service records- Toyota didn't want to admit to being at fault- and Dunlop gave me 50% off four new tires at the tire store- cheaper than Bridgestone, but still way more than I should have had to pay. Do I have to do this again at 34,000 miles? I keep all records, and I have everything in writing- I plan to send it all on to Toyota USA because this is simply unacceptable. Hopefully there will be a resolution before that- you know what they say about the "squeaky wheel"!