27th Oct 2005, 15:11

These are awful tires, period. Twice as expensive with less than half the expected wear. A ride like a jackhammer. Toyota may be looking forward, but only to a class action lawsuit if they don't do the right thing. Good luck to anyone who has these dangerous dogs. We replaced the whole lot at 30,000 miles with conventional tires and the result is much better performance and relative peace of mind. Too bad we had to go through a year of hell to get it!!!

10th Nov 2005, 14:37

Well I have a 2004 van bought new for my wife and 3 kids to enjoy. I soon found out what a piece of crap this van is. I have replace all 4 tires at 9000 miles with Toyota's help. It took 4 months and bye now 5000 more miles to get a new set. After 6 months I needed another set because my wife put on another 9000 miles. I then with no help from my dealer that I have been with for 20 years replaced all 4 and bought a used wheel and another tire for a spare. I put regular tires on it this time. Toyota has said its not there problem all along. I only no that if they don't do something soon I will be looking at another car company soon. Just to let you know that I have bought 15 Toyota's over my life time and just bought a new Tundra and Avalon in the past 10 months. Maybe we should all drive to Glen Burne, MD and see someone in person. Thanks for letting me complain.

17th Nov 2005, 14:59

I currently own a 2004 Toyota sienna. I am experiencing irregular tire wear on the inside of the tires. I first contacted a G oodyear supplier of the run flat tires. They told me it was an alignment problem and to see my Toyota dealer. The dealer did admit the alignment was out, but only the front. I then took it upon myself to take it to an alignment shop. Surprise! Right side was worse, but both were out. I have called Toyota and the dealer. Maybe the tire problem is more of an alignment problem? Still waiting for reply and will let you know what happens. In the meantime I hope this might help some people.

21st Nov 2005, 18:35

UPDATE:

Wanted to update you with a good story/outcome. Today I was able to get my Bridgestone runflats installed with same day service from TCI Tire Center in Baltimore. They got them for me in record time and got me in for a quick install. Also have to give kudos to my local Toyo dealership and my wonderful service manager there - started with them first thing this morning and was told a day for delivery. They called tonite saying they were in and that I could come in tomorrow for the install. My expectations were so low after reading all the negative experiences, that I think this is worth reporting. One day to get tires, while still bizarre, is a def. improvement over the 3-5 day scenario. The stars came together today and while they weren't cheap, at least I could get them and continue on with my Thanksgiving travel plans. Oh, by the way, my original Bridgestone's made it to 28,600 miles - although the threads/treads were showing, so I'm going to say 25K was probably their limit. Only the front ones wore out, the back ones still have some good life so I kept them in place. Dealership was fine with this, by the way. So for those of you with dingy Dunlops, maybe give the Bridgestone's a try. They're about $40 more per tire, but certainly sound better lifewise.

27th Nov 2005, 18:59

My wife and I looked at both the Honda and Toyota when we bought in June of 2004. There have been a handful of small issues... loose screws etc. This tire issue is disturbing. We have just 24000 miles and the tires are worn, of course from the outside in. I went to tirerack.com and found a lot of people just like me; with poor performing Dunlops.

Anyone hear of a class action suit?

1st Jan 2006, 20:57

On the AWD, a spare will not fit under the floor on the passenger side sliding door like it does on the FWD. The exhaust system on the AWD has been routed through the area where the spare goes on the FWD to accommodate the drive to the rear wheels. Therefore, if you’re looking for a place under the vehicle to carry a spare- forget it! The only solution is to store it behind the 3rd row seat or to remove the 3rd row seat and put it in the well. In either case, you will need to secure it in case of an accident. I was hoping Toyota would have redesigned the AWD for 2006 so it could carry a spare and eliminate the Run Flats, but that would be admitting a design mistake they are unwilling to acknowledge.

2nd Jan 2006, 02:33

I owned a 2004 Sienna Limited AWD and it was the worst car I ever owned.

The worst part was the Toyota service, but this car may work for some people with minimal driving and a good dealer.

The run-flat tires was the last thing to happen before we sold it, bald at 2X, XXX miles and we finially paid the $1200 to replace them at 26,000 miles.

This was just another thing to happen, but our main troubles was one problem that was caused by the transmission and awd system.

Don't get one with AWD, they simply take a regular Sienna and put AWD where the spare tire usually goes, this causes all kinds of failures that shouldn't happen and Toyota wouldn't fix them. They leave the spare tire kit in the back of the car though (for people who are still interested in the car without runflats).

The car is only a problem I say again with "major" driving. Our cars drive about 20,000 miles a year (15,000 being city driving) and the Sienna just couldn't handle it. We have a Passat that could, so we sold the Sienna at a huge loss and got another Passat (the new 2006). The Sienna is a great highway car for family trips (the laser cruise control is great), but we had a hate-hate relationship with Toyota making it hard to keep a $40k car just for the 5,000 trips we take a year.