What I do and a lot of other people do, me it is cars is to buy some nice aftermarket rims for summer and put your winter tires on you steelies. If you have never had dedicated snow tires you will be amazed at the difference they make. If you get any real weather where you live all seasons will be a sad substitute for good snow tires. (and I bet you do as it seems you are a Canuk) You can do as you say but you will be paying to mount and dismount twice a year and most likely a rebalance also. I just use two sets of rims saves all that and I can swap them myself.

 

I live just across the river in Gatineau....if you plan on keeping this vehicle for a while , it is well worthed to buy 4 steel wheels and have your winter tires mounted on them....saves you all the mounting and balance fees plus possible damage to tires and TPMS sensors...you can also switch tires in your driveway when you are ready and saves you the time and hassle of getting an appointment at the garage when the snow comes...
I also purchased 20 tapered lug nuts without the washer(they fit better on a steel rim) at Costco for 50 cents each

I do not have TPMS sensors on my steel rims so my LOW TIRE pressure light is on all winter but it does not affect anything and you eventually don't notice that light

 

Im wondering if my 19" will fit at my 3rd row to avoid buying another sensor and low pressure warning light after buying a winter package.

Getting a headache too if i need to buy in costco or at the dealer which im comparing their tire maintenance and etc.

 

Im wondering if my 19" will fit at my 3rd row to avoid buying another sensor and low pressure warning light after buying a winter package.

Getting a headache too if i need to buy in costco or at the dealer which im comparing their tire maintenance and etc.

You can buy 17inch wheels and tires for the winter and you can buy them wherever you want , no need to do business with the dealer or Costco
( I just purchased the nuts there because they fit better on steel rims and, the OEM nuts with the washers don't have to see winter conditions...not shure I understand the 19 inch fit at 3rd row thing

 

I've read/been told, repeat mounting and dismounting a tire from the rim will damage the bead. Also, there's the time and cost of taking the vehicle in to have the tires mounted and unmounted and rebalanced 2 times per year.

With a separate tire/wheel/TPMS, you have the added upfront cost; TPMS are $55Cdn each (you'll need one for each wheel). But if you can swap out the tires yourself, you're better off. Also, because of the TPMS, you can either get yourself a TPMS programmer (Google Quickset), or have your tireshop reprogramme for you. Local to my area, for the dealer to "pull the ESN" for each and programme, is $109 + Tax. After they have the ESNs "stored" in their system, each reprogramming is $50+ tax. The "Quickset" cost approx $160+ tax and can be used for more than one vehicle. The Quickset can't pull ESNs from the TPMS itself. It will pull the stored ESN from the ECU.

What I did was get the Quickset before getting my snow tires put on the vehicle. Pulled the ESNs from the ECU. Stored that in the Quickset. Got my snow tires mounted and had the tire shop reprogramme the ECU with the new ESNs. Then, when I got home, used the Quickset to pull the winter tire ESNs from the ECU.

TPMS complicates things.

Cheers

 

Swapping tires seasonally just adds to the cost of the swap, and the time wasted twice a year. If you don't mind that cost, there really is no reason to buy another set of rims, especially if you don't have storage space, or don't care for the TPMS hassle. Another option, you can buy TPMS sensors for your winter package, and simply reprogram the vehicle every time you swap.

With the 3rd row down, I had no problem fitting 4 tires in the hatch. But, the inside of the vehicle smelled like 'tires' for a week.

I run snow tires year round. Its not worth the hassle/space/tpms headache/... to visit the tire shop often, or swap wheel/tire combos twice a year. For the summer, I run extra PSI to reduce snow tire wear and squirmy feel.

Any tire shop should be able to do a tire swap. And, any tire shop should be able to reprogram TPMS too.

 

^^^You spend time in Florida and run snow tires year round? You must not be there much. I would do all seasons before I would run snow tires year round personally. Much less over inflated that would really suck in an even moderate rain. If I was going to go in that type of way I might use the Michelin Hydro Edge as I had a couple sets of those before and they were unreal in rain, and also very grippy in snow. Not to the point of snow tires but better than the usual all season tires were.

 

A third option to consider would be an "all-weather" tire such as these Nokians.

http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11955&group=2.01&name=Nokian+WRG2+SUV

I have not tried these exact tires, but I have a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta R SUV (245/ R65 17) as a dedicated winter tire (mounted on a second set of rims) which are excellent in snow and on ice. My second choice for winter use would be Michline Xi2's.

 

Thanks guyz. With everyone feedback and my thoughts, i will have to buy a set of winter tires then but it really frustrating to deal with the tpms sensors. Maybe i will buy the sensors for now and let the dealer reset it then after few months i will have to buy the quickset.

 

My factory steelies are 6.5 inches which is the narrowest I have ever had. He is saying they are only 6"? They might be I suppose I don't have a HL to check.

My Camry came with 215/60/16 stock I find it hard to believe that a HL couldn't handle a 1.2 inch wider tire than a Camry on steelies.

 

I have my 245/R65 17 Nokian winter tires mounted on 17" aluminum alloy rims that I purchased as a package from a local very respected tire shop. These rims are hub centric with OEM bolt pattern and off set. These rims were listed at CDN$110.00 each but because I purchased the winter tire pkg I got them for $90/each which is only $10 more than the steelies.

Batu8, I believe that the dealership is giving you a line of BS, after all, they are focused on selling only what they have available to sell (this applies to any manufacturer). I would suggest that you source out a tire shop in your area and discuss with them what your specific needs are. These people work with tires and wheels all day long and IMO are probably more knowledgeable that the dealership.

 

Batu8, I believe that the dealership is giving you a line of BS, after all, they are focused on selling only what they have available to sell (this applies to any manufacturer).

Syntecguy, I couldn't agree more

I noticed there are several TN users in Ottawa area, for their info, be careful when dealing Kanata Toyota.

 

+1 ^^^

 

I will try in belair and let you know what they will give me.

 

batu8, I installed the Nokian Hakkapellitta R SUV winter tires on my 2012 HI Sport. It was a toss up between the Nokians and the Michelin Latitude X-Ice2. Both have similar advertised winter specs. The Nokians won simply because they were discounted more than the Michelin's. (only expect a approx 10-15% discount with Michelin, they continue been a very good brand, but at a premium price).

I have only had the Nokians on for approx two weeks and have noticed a reasonably quiet ride for a winter tire (keeping in mind the HI is not marketed as a luxury SUV so do not expect "tomb-like" quiet ride with any tire). I have not experienced any winter conditions as of yet in the Toronto area, however, since you are located in the Ottawa (valley?) area you would appreciate what a premium winter tire will do for you.

Check out the site
http://www.nokiantires.com