Tire Recommendation for 2004 Avalon XLS

[eagle04]

What tires would you recommend for an 04 Avalon XLS? I have been considering Goodyear TripleTred and ComfortTred since the factory tires, Michelin Energy MXV4, were not impressive. They are now running low on tread after 32K mi (but at par with their rating). Now I have come to find out that these have been discontinued by Michelin and newer Michelin Primacy MXV4 are great all round tires, comfort, quiet, handling, wet traction, not sure about snow traction. Tirerack.com rates them above the Goodyear TT or CT.

I've used TripleTred on STS and they are great on that car. But Avalon has a very different ride, so want to pick the right tires.

Thanks for all the insights.....

[carreraken]

I got General Ultimax HP on my 02 and am very happy with them. My priority was quiet and comfortable ride. I've put about 5K mi on them

If I had the $$, I would have tried the Michelin Primacy.

[toyotagregg]

I'm on my second set of Michelin's and wouldn't switch unless money was the issue.

[funnysam]

The OE tires are "MX4", right?

I will seriously consider Primacy MXV4...i bought 4 from costco with the 70 instant rebate last month. It's a night and day difference with my previous set tires...very quiet yet with good grip...

I was also considering tripletred..but the instant rebate got me back to the primacy's..some people claim they have problems with balancing on the tripletred..so you may have to pay attention to that..

primacy is pretty pricey..but tirerack has a $60 rebate right now, you might want to check it out.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....nSpeedRating=H

[ChiTDI]

I've got almost 15k on my TripleTreads. Quiet, safe, and good in the wet. We'll see how the next 30k proves the pudding, or not.

[eagle04]

Thanks for all the input. It seems I'll be getting Michellin's today or tomorrow. Local Costco and Sam's just offered a $70 instant rebate on set of 4, and NTB is ready to match the total price. Since I need alignment, I'll give them a try.

Michellin's are rated best all over and in reviews. There are certainly issues with durability and balancing of TT/CT's.

And, I'll be rotating tires every 5K on the Avalon from now on. For some reason, the front tires wear out much faster than other FWD cars I've had.

[dizzymon247]

I would go to American Tires AKA Discount Tires for my replacements. I'm due for a fresh set soon but being as I got laid off a month ago I won't be doing much driving. I would get some P5's from them with a $40 discount until the middle of this month.

[Riick]

FWIW, put a set of Michelin Hydroedge tires on my 2000.
Have about 25k on them and expect ot get at least another 40k
-- My last set of Michelin Harmony lasted just over 60k miles.
HOWEVER ... the Hydroedge tires have very soft sidewalls, they're "mushy"
Long lasting, good in wet, but, not for anyone who wants car to handle well.

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[thattoheath]

I too had problems with the OEM michelins on the 2004 XLS we have and switched to triple treds at 30K. I recently bought my second set of TT's. they are not at all noisy and much better than the Michelins in the wet and on snow or ice.
The pain is the inability to rotate side to side but if you rotate just front to back its OK.
I had a mark 1 (1996) XLS and yes the front tires wear worse on the Mk 2 04 than the earlier one, but generally the front end is not as good a design.
We recently drove two different Mark III ( 2007) Avalons (one we rented for week on vacation) and also a new Venza and we hated all three front end rides and interior finishing. Sorry Toyota you missed the mark here and saved some costs by cutting corners here here but lost the customer. There are no advantages anymore in buying a Avalon or Venza over a XLE Camry, apart from the leg room. Thats where we will be going next,or to top of the line Honda Accord.

[Budhah]

Originally Posted by thattoheath

Sorry Toyota you missed the mark here and saved some costs by cutting corners here here but lost the customer. There are no advantages anymore in buying a Avalon or Venza over a XLE Camry, apart from the leg room. Thats where we will be going next,or to top of the line Honda Accord.

Bought my son a 2000 Avalon with 165k miles. Rode so well that wife and I decided to buy a new car. We test drove the Honda Accord, and did not go 1/2 mile before turning around and going back to the dealer. Rough ride, and did not feel near as good as the 9 year old car with 160k+ miles. Go ahead and buy that Honda,,, and then see how much you wish you had thought again... Remember to drive the 6 cyl car. not a 4.. Nothing beats a Toyota, other than a Lexus.. unless you really shell out the big bucks. I do agree that Toyota made the cuts, but if you look at the options available, you will find everything that was removed. I think

[Riick]

Originally Posted by thattoheath

....We recently drove two different Mark III ( 2007) Avalons (one we rented for week on vacation) and also a new Venza and we hated all three front end rides and interior finishing.....

I've just been looking at used 3rd Gen Avalons, and have now driven three.
Unless the Touring version is substantially better, Gen3 is not for me.

I felt totally divorced from the environment, very little feedback from the steering wheel,
and when I wanted to change lanes, the cars seemed to say... "You're sure you want me to go over there? Oh... pause...OK."


I'm now thinking about another Gen2 - going up to a 2002/3/4 and down to 60-70,000 on the odometer. I know what to expect for the next 40-50,000 miles <smile>

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