Hello Everybody,

I am new here and want to get some insight into this awd run flat tire craps that toyota has offered us. I bought my 2005 Toyota Sienna AWD more than 4 years ago. My first set of run flat tires was replaced at 20K miles and the second set has a about 17K miles on it and the front passenger tire blew out this pass weekend. What is the deal with this? Who is responsible? If anybody has any advice, please post.

Thank you!

Everything I've heard about the run-flat tires is negative. They wear out fast. They can show uneven wear even when rotated regularly. They are noisy. I bought an AWD Sienna last year and needed to replace the tires soon after. I opted to get regular tires along with a 12V compressor, a can of Fix-a-flat, and increased my AAA membership to Plus. The ride is much quieter and I think it is safer to have good tread (I got 80,000 mile tires) for a long time rather than perennially running on low tread before having to buy tires again. The run-flats were a bad choice for Toyota, especially for an otherwise great car.

The run flat tires were standard on the AWD Siennas. The problem with the AWD vans is that with drive shaft to the rear axle, the fold down seats, the fuel tank under the van, and the rear A/C and heater lines is that there is now no room left for an under-carriage mounted spare tire. Toyota reasoned that the solution was to outfit these models with run flats, which we all now know are not very good wearing tires and are very expensive to replace (the AWD models also seem to be extra hard on regular tires, and all AWD vehicles should have all 4 tires replaced at the same time, especially if there's more than 15,000 miles on the set). Several folks have solved the problem with the run flats by using regular tires and then purchasing a spare tire kit from Toyota, which fits in the cargo space behind the rear row of seats on the wide side (driver's side, the 60 split side). The problem with this solution is two-fold: 1.) reduced cargo space behind the rear seat, and 2.) you can now no longer fold down that side with the tire in taking up so much room. Also, the Toyota kit is somewhat expensive. You can find donut spares at salvage yards that fit on the cheap and just store them in the back, but they tend to want to flop around. Some folks have also mounted a spare tire on the roof cargo rack, which obviously has its own drawbacks. I have just been chancing it with no spare and regular tires, but lately I've been considering ponying up the cash to buy the spare kit (I picked up a nail a while back but it was a slow leaker in the tread and I was able to easily plug it myself). I don't usually need all that room in the back anyway, so the Toyota spare kit makes sense. I just wish it were cheaper! One could always carry a can of fix-a-flat, but this stuff has its own problems by making an absolute mess inside the tire and on the inside of the wheel - it's a total pain to clean up later, and wheels are expensive to replace.

Other than the tire issue, the weak power sliding door cable design, the sub-standard A/C system with no refrigerant filter, being sensitive to O2 sensors getting old, and the driver's door check plate breaking twice (the second time the dealer completely replaced the door on Toyota's dime), this has been a great van. The van's 3.3 liter engine is definitely a little under-powered for a vehicle this size (I've driven big Ford V8's most of my life that are torque monsters that actually move more car faster with better fuel economy), but otherwise this has been a great family car. I've tried to make my AWD van spin in ice and snow and the traction control system refuses. We feel really safe in our van and you can't beat it with 3 kids. All makes/models have issues, it just takes a lot of patience to work through them. Toyota is no different. Forums like this one are awesome as they allow owners to support one another.