[RedLdr1]

I contacted Michelin last Friday about tires for my 2008 Limited. I had already read here, and confirmed on the Michelin website, that the OEM size is currently unavailable. None the less I wanted to find out what their intentions might be.

According to the rep I spoke with calls for 08+ Highlanders tires are not uncommon.... Surprise, surprise, surprise!! And he confirmed the OEM tire size is not currently available. However, he did enter my contact info in to the system which is used to show interest for a particular tire.

I encourage everyone who wants a Michelin tire choice, in OEM sizing, to call Michelin at 1-866-866-6605 and get on the list. Michelin marketing is driven by demand and if we can show the demand exists maybe we can get a better option than the rim protector crap OEM'ed by Toyota...

 

[MellowGuy]

Can a Highlander be changed between 17" and 19" rims after purchase? The Toyota web site seems to say no.

 

[RedLdr1]

Can a Highlander be changed between 17" and 19" rims after purchase? The Toyota web site seems to say no.

If you do a search on the forum you'll find several threads where this has been discussed and done... Here are links to a couple of threads to get you started...

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=288881

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=291719

 

[summerwind]

I called...hope we get others here to do the same.
They documented the request and seemed to take it seriously

SOOOO HL OWNERS LETS GET THE POWER OF THIS FORUM IN ACTION BY CALLING Michelin at 1-866-866-6605rder:

FYI. The P245/55R19 is also used on the 4 cylinder Venza as well so it is no longer unique to the HL

 

[AnthonyF]

Use 255/55R19

The recommended replacement from Toyo is the 255/55R19. I have replaced my horrible worn out stock Open Country A20s with the Toyo 255/55R19 and there is a world of differance. The stock tires were made to Toyota specs. for Toyota and were horrible in light snow and rain and wore out in 18,000 miles. After contacting Toyo they gave me 40% of the new tires and they come with a 60,000 mile warranty vs no mileage warranty on the stock tires.

 

[summerwind]

Agree the Toyo 255 may be an option but it would be nice if there were a few other manufacturers to choose from besides Bridgestone and Toyo

 

[RedLdr1]

Disclaimer: Please excuse me if this comes across as a rant. It is not meant to be but I have to admit I'm a bit ticked over this situation.

I currently have 10K miles on my 2WD Limited. The tires are down to 6/32 on all four tires and wearing evenly with no visable alignment issues or cupping. The tires were converted to NitroFill at 200 miles and have been rotated at 5K and 10K by my dealer. The Toyo warranty book allows for up to 7,500 miles between rotations. The tire pressure is checked monthly at a minimum. I am a fairly conservative driver averaging 21MPG commuting in Atlanta metro traffic. Since I average 18K miles a year commuting I will need new tires in less than a year. That is totally unacceptable on a properly maintained vehicle.

I have no intention of paying Toyo anything to replace their sorry product with another product from them. Regardless of who specified what their name is on the tire and they first line warranty the tire, not Toyota. If Toyo allowed the A20 to be produced to substandard specifications, as many here have implied, why should I assume their other tires will be any better? Plus no one has had Toyo's new tire on long enough to even begin to guess at the tread wear they will offer.

I was just on Toyo's website and noticed the only two places the A20 tire is listed is under Press Releases announcing Toyota had selected it for the Highlander, and under Rate Your Tires. It is not listed for sale anywhere on the website that I could find. A site search for "Open Country A20" or just "A20" results in a "Your Search Yielded No Results" response. A call to my local Toyo dealer confirmed the A20 is unavailable. It would appear the A20 had a pretty damn short marketing life as well as tread life.

Toyota delivers some vehicles with decent tires but they sure missed the boat on the Highlander. The comments about tires here and over on Edmunds.com have undoubtedly cost Toyota some sales....and rightfully so. I would not recommend buying a vehicle that will require an expensive tire upgrade in less than 20K miles.

Once again I urge everyone who wants a decent tire offering to call Michelin at 1-866-866-6605 and encourage them to offer a OEM sized tire.

 

[summerwind]

Additionally per TireCalc going to the 255 size from the stock 245 size causes a 1.5% speedometer error. When the speedo reads 60 mph you are really going 60.9 mph.

Link to TireCalc ==> http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Specification--Sidewall--Radius--Diameter--Circumference--Revs/Mile--Difference
245/55-19------5.3in---14.8in----29.6in-------93.0in----------681---------0.0%
255/55-19------5.5in---15.0in----30.0in-------94.4in----------671---------1.5%

 

[eddiefromcali]

The 255 would help because the speedos are off anyways. We need them to slow down since theyre too fast as noted on other threads. Im just worried about how close the 255 would be to the strut since its tight with the A20s right now. I talked to my dealer about the tires and they directed me to Discount Tire since theyre the nearest Toyo dealer. In their words "Since Toyota didnt build the tire, we cannot warranty it." Seems like a plate full of bullshit since they decided to put it on their vehicle. Its like when you buy a home, the builder doesnt actually build all aspects of the home but does warranty it. If you have a problem with the plumbing, you dont go straight to the plumber, you go to the builder and they contact them to fix it.

 

[luck123]

The 255 would help because the speedos are off anyways. We need them to slow down since theyre too fast as noted on other threads. Im just worried about how close the 255 would be to the strut since its tight with the A20s right now. I talked to my dealer about the tires and they directed me to Discount Tire since theyre the nearest Toyo dealer. In their words "Since Toyota didnt build the tire, we cannot warranty it." Seems like a plate full of bullshit since they decided to put it on their vehicle. Its like when you buy a home, the builder doesnt actually build all aspects of the home but does warranty it. If you have a problem with the plumbing, you dont go straight to the plumber, you go to the builder and they contact them to fix it.

Right now the A20s in the rear are less than an inch from the strut (rough guesstimate using my fingers). Widening the tire by 10 mm means 5 mm closer (just over of 3/16 ") to the strut. I don't think that should be an issue, but don't know the dynamics of the suspension under hard cornering. It could be enough to cause contact in the right conditions. Any body with 255s willing to test?

 

[deadrx7conv]

From the looks of it, mine will be worn out by the end of summer(~25k).
For the northeast roads, weather conditions,..... 25k isn't too bad for this crappy tire.

I think that these OE tires are VERY PSI sensitive. A little low and they wear out very quickly. I tend to prefer my PSI on the high side by a couple PSI to make up for normal leakage.

I am definitely considering the 255 tire. 3/16" is a mile of clearance. Just check out some of the ghetto 'self-clearancing' wheel/tire selections some of the kids are driving with these days.

Pirelli Scorpions ATR or Goodyear Ultra Grip SUV are the 2 that I'm considering in the 255 size.

For stock size, I won't even look at A20's. I see that Open Country A/T's are now available.

With the highlander/venza using this 19" size, and with these tires wearing out quickly, Goodyear would be foolish not to release a tire in the OE size.

I have 4 months to decide on whether I should dump the 19" rims. 18's should look good too and offer more options. 245/60/18 are much cheaper in that size offsetting the cost of bling. Ebay the 19's and break even. What to do?

Even the Venza 20's offer more selection in 245/50/20. I wonder if the owner of the new Venza in the company parking lot would notice the 'swap'? But, I don't think 20's would do too well with the unpaved roads of the northeast.

 

[nov0798]

I have always had excellent results with Continental tires. I wrote them asking them about a tire for our vehicles, and here is their response.

Response (Joe) - 04/17/2009 04:44 PM
Dear BRIAN,
[Web Inquiry: 090416-000018]
Thank you for contacting Customer Relations at Continental Tire North America.
At this time, Continental Tire has no forecast that includes manufacturing a 245/55R19 size tire. We appreciate your request.

HMMM! :sosad: