[__serge]

Yes, this does not look good. At least show this to to tire shop

 

[macE734]

Agree with _serge; does not look good. Check all tires to see if this is the only spot. Check the date of manufacture to see if it's deteriorating due to age. Maybe it's from a "road hazard" and is under warranty unless it's the OEM.

 

[dtown40]

I don’t know what the deal is with Toyota factory tires, but they are crap. The Michelins that came on the car new only lasted less than 30000 miles. I don’t drive aggressively at all and had them rotated every 5000 miles. I had the exact same tire on my last Highlander and got over 75000 on those.

 

[Going Away]

I believe the automobile manufactory provided tires are not the same level or quality that are available for retail sale.

 

[kimmy_wacky]

I don’t know what the deal is with Toyota factory tires, but they are crap. The Michelins that came on the car new only lasted less than 30000 miles. I don’t drive aggressively at all and had them rotated every 5000 miles. I had the exact same tire on my last Highlander and got over 75000 on those.

Mine barely hit 10k miles. . . And then this happened! It's still under bumper to bumper warranty but I wonder if there's any options to change a different brand.

 

[Predgold]

I believe the automobile manufactory provided tires are not the same level or quality that are available for retail sale.

Yeah, just read any tire review. Too many people say the same thing for it not to be true especially when they post pics showing the evidence.

 

[98CamryLE]

I don’t know what the deal is with Toyota factory tires, but they are crap. The Michelins that came on the car new only lasted less than 30000 miles. I don’t drive aggressively at all and had them rotated every 5000 miles. I had the exact same tire on my last Highlander and got over 75000 on those.

Like most manufacturers, Toyota uses lower quality tires than what you'll get directly from Michelin or Goodyear. I'm not sure if they get factory seconds or just lower quality tires- but they are all pretty bad in comparison to what you buy directly from a tire retailer.

Worse, good luck getting a tire manufacturer to warranty a tire that came on a brand new car if it wears out prematurely.

Every single Toyota that I've ever purchased has come from the factory with tires that have been absolutely horrible. They wear out quickly, they handle poorly, and/or they have horrible wet/snow traction. Toyota, like most, chooses tires not based on what the consumer is going to like- but rather the tire that is going to provide the best mileage balanced with cost.

 

[kimmy_wacky]

Update on my tire issue. Since the dealer wasn't helpful about it. Last resort was to call Michelin customer service and boom I'm getting at least 50% off credit. So basically I'm gonna pay around $130-150 after tax and installation.

 

[steelersfan47]

Good that you are getting assistance.
After zooming in on the pic, it looks like something was hit that caused damage to the tire.

 

[lipster1]

Looks like a rogue curb hit the tire pretty hard.

 

[Predgold]

Update on my tire issue. Since the dealer wasn't helpful about it. Last resort was to call Michelin customer service and boom I'm getting at least 50% off credit. So basically I'm gonna pay around $130-150 after tax and installation.

Yeah, nothing the dealer can really do since it's a Michelin issue. 50% off seems pretty fair since they could have done nothing I suppose.

 

[kimmy_wacky]

As per my local dealer (Michelin's authorized dealer) manager specifically confirmed that it was a "cosmetic defect".

 

[toto]

Like most manufacturers, Toyota uses lower quality tires than what you'll get directly from Michelin or Goodyear. I'm not sure if they get factory seconds or just lower quality tires- but they are all pretty bad in comparison to what you buy directly from a tire retailer.

It's not a quality issue. It seems the industry has shifted to putting "starter tires" on new cars, very similar to how you get starter cartridges with new printers. The OEM version of a tire often does not have the same mileage expectation for tread wear as you'd get from a retail version of the exact same tire. Getting 20K-25K miles out of the original tires is becoming the norm.

It's a total waste of materials for 95% of the tire, and if this is really happening then I'm sure the EU will crack down on the practice. Or maybe we're just lucky in North America with this. We have enough trouble with recycling tires, so putting tires with less life expectancy on new cars just increases the number of used tires in the world.

 

[Pappabear]

It's not a quality issue. It seems the industry has shifted to putting "starter tires" on new cars, very similar to how you get starter cartridges with new printers. The OEM version of a tire often does not have the same mileage expectation for tread wear as you'd get from a retail version of the exact same tire. Getting 20K-25K miles out of the original tires is becoming the norm.

It's a total waste of materials for 95% of the tire, and if this is really happening then I'm sure the EU will crack down on the practice. Or maybe we're just lucky in North America with this. We have enough trouble with recycling tires, so putting tires with less life expectancy on new cars just increases the number of used tires in the world.

That has been going on since the beginning of time with new vehicles and tires!

 

[Buckhill63]

My 80 year old mother is on her second CRV. The first one (2017) got 14,000 miles on her first set of OEM tires. Her second CRV (2021) got a nail in an OEM tire at 9500 that was unrepairable. The other tires were already down to 4/32, so we just put new ones on. She never drives on the highway or over 55MPH anymore. My son’s 2021 RAV4 has 25K on his OEM tires. Probably will need new ones soon. My wife’s 2018 Highlander got 30K on her OEM tires, but they were REALLY shot... So, as bad as Toyota OEM tires are, Honda might be worse...