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Run-flat tires draw complaints and a class-action lawsuit

Run-flat tires draw complaints and a class-action lawsuit

Posted Dec 22nd 2005 7:00AM

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Flat tires suck, but apparently that’s not enough to keep some owners of the Toyota Sienna minivan from complaining about wear problems with the Dunlop run-flat tires found on models equipped with 17” wheels. In fact, a group of owners have actually gone so far as to file a class-action lawsuit against Toyota and Dunlop, alledging that the tire wear issue consitutes a product defect. What’s not made clear is the expected life of a normal set of tires on the same vehicle; obviously, issues with suspension geometry, alignment, or a driver that has mistaken the vehicle for a sports car could all contribute to greatly reduced tire life. Admittedly, though, it would not be fun to shell out over a grand every 10-20,000 miles or so - at least not on the family’s people mover.

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Jim Singerling

We had to replace one Dunlop Run-flat tire at 6,120 mi. and after 17,000 we had to replace all four. Toyota Service Manager told us to shop for "Run-flat" tires and save $100 per tire. After shopping they only cost us $310 ea.

I am not comfortable that Toyota makes any claim or warning the this "high-end"/top of the line AWD vehicle of theirs (Sienna LTD-AWD) should only get 6,000 miles on a tire and all needing to be replaced after 18,000.
If I knew where to join the class-action law suit, I may take that option. The Toyota dealer offers no consideration other than recommending that we but the replacement tires elsewhere.

January 03 2006 at 10:13 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Richard Warren

So the rubber wears out, get over it, better performance generally means softer rubber, which equates to faster wear,but better handling. Note I said generally!

Instaed of just bellying up to the bar and laying down the cash, call the tire company, complain. A couple of years ago I had a set of Michelins that went 13,000 miles called and wrote Michelin, they had some compund problems and authorized another set of tires at no charge. The second set went 17,000 miles, called again and gave me the 3rd set with a 400 dollar credit towards new, that set went 34,000.

Over the years I've had some tire problems and a visit with the company and a letter generally got action pretty quickly.

December 24 2005 at 10:46 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

rob

While I don't agree with the class action lawsuit, the OEM tires are junk. My Dunlops were shot around 9k. I can't imagine shelling out $1,000+ bucks every year on these crappy tires. They just aren't ready for the market in my opinion - poor wear, poor traction, poor mileage, and very loud. No one in the Denver area could get any for over a week and furthermore two-thirds of the tire shops would take off the run flats in the first place (don't have the "right" equipment excuse). So, instead, I junked all the run flats and got some regular tires. I also bought a non matching full size rim w/ tire cheap online. But there's nowhere to put the spare. I only take it along on a long roadtrip by tying it to the roof. An inelegant solution, but it works. Don't buy a car w/o room for a spare if you go out of the city much, it's a pain in the *** instead of a safety/convenience thing the dealers tell you it is.

December 22 2005 at 10:11 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

the friendly grizzly

#18: Some ignition systems are designed to use a regular plug, and run quite satisfactorily with them. Platinum plugs are not some whiz-bang miracle of astronomical proportions. They are simply another way of getting the spark into the combustion chamber, and they enjoy longer life in most cases.

On three different Chrysler products (two 2.5 litre NA Acclaims, and one 3.3 litre Intrepid) I tried platinums in place of the 88 cent Autolites that had been working so well. The two 2.5l engines developed a slightly rough idle and I could observe no change in mileage or performance. The Intrepid, using the very plugs Bosch called for in their own chart, had the car coughing and booping and gagging, sounding like Mel Blanc's immitation of Elmer Fudd's jalopy. Back to the standard plugs, and the engine ran like it had before: smooth and well. (Turns out Bosch's own chart was wrong).

One may get 100K on a set of platinums; I have in my Chevy truck so far; the truck calls for them and came with them. My brother has gotten 200K or more on platinums in HIS Chevies, and his mileage is all "work" mileage with heavy engine loads.

But if a car or truck doesn't call for them, why bother? Unless the plugs are extraordinarily hard to get to, I'd rather spend (88 cents x number of cylinders) every 40 or so K niles, than several bucks each for 100K.

Just me, and my viewpoint, for what it may or may not be worth.

December 22 2005 at 9:35 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

the friendly grizzly

#6, I note your comment about a shop not "authorized" to do an alignment on your Honda. What authorization are you talking about? Either they can align the vehicle or they can't.

I'm not being snide here, I really DO wonder what is meant by "authorized" to align a Honda.

December 22 2005 at 8:09 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

MikeW

Only the honda odyssey touring (top of the line) comes with michelin PAX. The problem is that there is no place to store an extra wheel-honda uses the internal mounting space for a storage nook.
Toyota has a dealer installed retrofit.
Why bother with a mini spare, just put a full size one (what would you do with the flat full size one anyway) inside.

December 22 2005 at 7:40 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Gardiner Westbound

.
The major tire manufacturers supply original equipment tires to satisfy car manufacturers' specifications. In many cases the major specification is they be as inexpensive as possible. If the manufacturers save even $1.00 per car, in a 15-million car sales year that's a very significant savings.

The cheesiest item I have heard of so far comes from Chrysler Corporation. Some or all new Chrysler products use standard spark plugs that must be changed much earlier than platinum tipped plugs.

December 22 2005 at 5:05 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Sigivald

Heck, I get 25k miles on the cheapest tires I can buy at Les Schwab, that I rarely check the air on, and never rotate, on a 30 year old Mercedes with bad front alignment.

I admit I'd be very, very annoyed at $250 a piece to replace, rather than $60, even if they run while flat.

December 22 2005 at 4:52 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Corey Ward

Issue seems familiar.... my Vette only comes with Goodyear Runflats, they lasted as long as expected. Why not sue??? Again, they lasted as long as expected, I did my research, I already knew the "estimated" tire life, the cost of replacement, and I ALWAYS kept the proper tire pressure, something many people don't do.

December 22 2005 at 4:45 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Pudge

bernie...see that's where you're wrong. Do a little research and you'll see that the Quest takes a 225-65-16 and the only tire meeting that size on Tirerack (or anywhere else I called) is the same Goodyear Eagle LS-2. Take a look at Tirerack and see what $113 a tire gets you in the reviews. Most people are not satisfied. In doing my own research I found that most people like Kuhmo's quite a bit and I found them at a local Sears for $80/tire instead of the $135 they wanted at the time for the Goodyears. Every car that I have owned with Goodyear OEM tires has seen horrible OEM tire performance. I could always upgrade the tires to something better for less. Spending more money does not always mean you are getting a better product. As I stated 38k miles was probably 5k more than I should have driven on them as I searched for alternatives to the crappy Goodyears. I would expect that kind of wear if I didn't rotate the tires, but this was with rotating them every oil change. Generaly crappy performance. Tell me bernie, what would you have bought? The same crappy tires or upgraded whether it cost more or less? Step right up everyone, name your ride and let bernie tell you the tires you should have bought based on the price of your vehicle.

December 22 2005 at 4:25 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply