DUNLOP SP4000 TIRES Complaints

5 DAYS AFTER PAYING HARR TOYOTA OF WORCESTER 2000.00 FOR A 60,000 MILE CHECK UP, BRAKES AND MY THIRD SET OF RUN FLAT TIRES. I EXPERIENCED A BLOW OUT ON THE HIGHWAY WHICH WAS CAUSED BY IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF THE TIRE. THIS WAS NOTED BY TOYOTA OF NASHUA WHO THEN REPLACED THE TIRE WHICH AGAIN BLEW OUT 60 MILES DOWN THE HIGHWAY. THIS IS THE THIRD SET OF TIRES I HAVE HAD WITH 56,000 MILES ON THE CAR. NOT INCLUDING THE TWO I HAD TO REPLACE DUE TO INFERIOR WORK. THIS IS INSANE AND VERY DANGEROUS. MY FAMILY'S LIVES WERE ENDANGERED TWICE IN ONE DAY! EVERY TOYOTA MECHANIC I SPOKE TO COMPLAINED ABOUT THE TIRES. AFTER GETTING NO SATISFACTION FROM EITHER DEALERSHIP I WROTE A LETTTER TO YUKI FUNO THE CEO OF TOYOTA WHO KINDLY SENT THE LETTER BACK TO HARR WHO HAS STILL DONE NOTHING! UNBELIEVABLE THAT THEY ARE ALLOWED TO SELL SUCH AN INFERIOR PRODUCT AT SUCH A HIGH PRICE THAT IS NOT ONLY EXPENSIVE BUT DANGEROUS!!! ALSO UNBELIEVABLE THAT A CEO OF A COMPANY IS AWARE HE IS ENDAGERING PEOPLE'S LIVES AND DOES NOTHING ABOUT IT.

2006 TOYOTA SIENNA W/RUN FLAT TIRES SHOWED SIGNIFICANT PREMATURE TIRE WEAR. ALL SERVICE MAINTAINED WITH TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND UP TO DATE. DETERMINED THAT AT 19.400 MILES THE WEAR SHOWED TIRE BELT CREATING A SAFETY HAZARD UNKNOWN TO THE DRIVER/OWNER UNTIL NORMAL SERVICE VISIT. THE VIN WAS OUTSIDE THE EFFECTED VIN LIST ASSOCIATED WITH SUPPLEMENTAL TIRE WARRANTY COVERAGE SPONSORED BY TOYOTA RELATED TO IDENTICAL PROBLEMS WITH PREVIOUS AWD SIENNAS. TOYOTA REFUSED ASSISTANCE IN REPLACING TIRES. DUNLOP PROVIDED PRORATE OF 48% FOR REPLACEMENT. TIRES WERE VIEWED AS UNSAFE BASED ON PREMATURE WEAR THAT WOULD NOT BE NOTICEABLE TO OWNER/DRIVER WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEMS WITH RUN FLATS. TOYOTA REFUSED ANY SUPPORT SINCE VIN WAS 5000 OUTSIDE THE EFFECTIVITY OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL WARRANTY. FAILURE OF TIRE DUE TO PREMATURE WEAR COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE, AND ULTIMTAELY LOSS OF LIFE. RESEARCH VIA INTERNET REVEALED OTHER PREMATURE WEAR PROBLEMS THAT WERE ALSO OUTSIDE THE VIN EFFECTIVITY LIST ASSOSCIATED WITH THE SUPPLLEMENTAL WARRANTY. ONLY TIME WHEN A TIRE FAILURE WILL RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT AND POTENTIALLY LOSS OF LIFE.*AK

THE DUNLOP RUN FLAT TIRES ON THE 2006 SIENNA MINI-VAN ARE HORRIBLE. AT 10,000 MILES THEY WERE WEARING VERY FAST. THEY ARE LOUD ON THE ROAD, AND RIDE VERY ROUGH WITH VIBRATION THAT CAN BE FELT IN THE STEERING WHEEL AND THE GAS PEDAL. THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP SAID THE VIN DIDN'T QUALIFY FOR REPLACEMENT TIRES.*AK

THE TIRES ON OUR 2005 TOYOTA SIENNA MINIVAN HAVE FAILED TWICE: ONCE IN APRIL 2006 AND AGAIN IN JANUARY 2007. BOTH TIMES THE LOW TIRE PRESSURE INDICATOR DID NOT WORK . WE WARNED TOYOTA THE FIRST TIME THE SENSOR DIDN'T WORK AND THEY CHECKED IT AND SAID IT WAS WORKING FINE. OUR TIRES FAILED AGAIN, AND THE INDICATOR DID NOT LIGHT THIS PAST TIME AS WELL. TOYOTA HAS SAID WE MAY HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS LATEST SET OF TIRES. *JB

A NAIL PUNCTURED THE PASSENGER FRONT RUN-FLAT TIRE ON OUR 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA AWD. TIRE PRESSURE SENSOR DID NOT ILLUMINATE. TIRE THEN UNKNOWINGLY DRIVEN ROUGHLY 100 MILES AND SUBSEQUENTLY HAD TO BE REPLACED DUE TO UNEVEN WEAR. VEHICLE WAS LESS THAN ONE YEAR OLD. DEALERSHIP REFUSED TO COVER ANY DAMAGES, IN FACT, NO SUPPORT FROM TOYOTA WHATSOEVER. TIRES LASTED APPROXIMATELY 20,000 MILES BEFORE ALL FOUR HAD TO BE REPLACED. AGAIN, NO DEALER SUPPORT. PURCHASED IN OCT 04 FROM REINHARDT MOTORS (MONTGOMERY, AL), WITH CONTINUED LACK OF SUPPORT FROM RICH HENDRICK TOYOTA (FAYETTEVILLE, NC). *NM

MAJOR TIRE WEAR LIKE THE NUMEROUS OTHER COMPLAINTS. REPLACED WITHOUT WARRANTY AT 23K MILES. IS THERE A MINIMUM NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS NECESSARY FOR INVESTIGATION? THESE TIRES OR THE TOYOTA SIENNA HAVE A MAJOR PROBLEM! INVESTIGATE IT PLEASE BEFORE PEOPLE ARE INJURED LIKE THE FIRESTONE ISSUE. *JB

I HAVE RUN FLAT TIRES ON MY 2005 SIENNA (PURCHASED OCTOBER 2004). I ALSO BOUGHT A SET OF WINTER TIRES & RIMS) IN DECEMBER 2004 AND SINCE THEN I AM ALTERNATING THEM 6 MONTHS OF THE YEAR. HAVE CURRENTLY 21,000 MILES ON MY VEHICLE. THE DUNLOP TIRES ARE ALMOST WORN OUT, ALTHOUGH I PROBABLY PUT ON THEM MO MORE THAN 12-13,000 MILES. PART OF THE REASON I BELIEVE IS THAT WHEN I BOUGHT THE CAR(EVEN WHEN I TEST DROVE IT) I NOTICED A ROUGH RIDE AND A PULL TO THE LEFT, BUT COULD NOT WAIT FOR THE DEALER TO ORDER ANOTHER CAR, SO I TOOK IT HOME (I BOUGHT IT FROM A DEALER OUT OF TOWN). ALSO I WAS BLAMING THE TIRE THREAD GEOMETRY FOR THE ROUGH RIDE, AND THE DEALERSHIP OFFERED ME TO CHANGE THE TIRES FOR THE CHEAPER ONES BRIDGESTONE, BUT I HAD TO PAY LIKE $80 FOR THE OPERATION, SO I DECIDED NOT TO. THE ROUGH DRIVE CONTINUED UNTIL I DECIDED TO TAKE IT TO MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP WHO FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS MISALIGNED. THE DID A FREE ALIGNMENT BUT THE CAR WOULD STILL PULL TO THE LEFT. THIS, I WAS TOLD, WAS NORMAL, SINCE THE TIRES HAD BEEN WORN UNEVENLY, SO NOW THEY HAD TO GET THE NORMAL WEAR AGAIN. NOW THE CAR NO LONGER PULLS, BUT THIS COMES A THE COST OF HAVING EXCESSIVELY WORN TIRES. I SEE THAT THIS IS NOT AN UNIQUE CASE. *NM

2005 SIENNA AWD. HAD A FLAT TIRE FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS BUT DID NOT NOTICE IT (ONLY DROVE IN TOWN, NOT INTERSTATE SPEEDS). THE WARNING LIGHT APPEARED BUT DISAPPEARED, AND THEN IT WAS INTERMITTENT (IT LOOKED LIKE IT WOULD TURN ON ONLY AFTER SOME DRIVING.) LUCKILY THIS DID NOT DAMAGE THE TIRES, BUT I WONDER WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPEN IF I WERE ON THE INTERSTATE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE AND EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM (NO WARNING LIGHT). I SEE THAT A RECALL MAY BE IN PROGRESS. *NM

REGARDING NHTSA ACTION NO. PE06010, I HAVE A 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA XLE LIMITED WITH AWD WITH THE TIRE PRESSURE WARNING SYSTEM (TPWS) FOR MY DUNLOP RUN FLAT TIRES (SP 4000). I HAVE EXPERIENCED PUNCTURES IN TWO OF MY TIRES ON SEPARATE OCCASIONS. BOTH TIMES THE TPWS ONLY ACTIVATED WHEN THE PSI WAS ABOUT 5- TO 15. THE DEALER INDICATED TO ME THAT THE MAGNETIC SYSTEM WILL ONLY ACTIVATE ONCE A TIRE'S HEIGHT BECOMES LOWER DUE TO AIR LOSS, AND THE MAGNETIC FIELD IS "TRIPPED". THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE RUN FLAT TIRES DO NOT LOSE THEIR HEIGHT DUE TO AIR LOSS UNTIL THE TIRE IS NEARLY DEPLETED. SO, THE TPWS ESSENTIALLY CANNOT PROPERLY FUNCTION AS INTENDED, AT LEAST WHEN RUN FLAT TIRES ARE INSTALLED. AS TO THE DUNLOP RUN FLATS, THEY HAD TO BE REPLACED AFTER ONLY 19,700 MILES. I KNOW NUMEROUS OTHER CONSUMERS HAVE HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES. TOYOTA ACKNOWLEDGED THE PROBLEM AND RELPACED MY TIRES WITH A NEW SET OF 4 RUN FLATS AT NO CHARGE (OTHER THAN INSTALLATION). TYPICAL PRICE IS $250 PER TIRE. CREDIT TO TOYATA, BUT NOT SURE WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN THE NEW SET FAILS. *NM

AFTER ONLY 19,000 MILES OF USE, THE RUN-FLAT TIRES ON MY TOYOTA SIENNA HAVE BEEN WORN AWAY SIGNIFICANTLY TO A DANGEROUS LEVEL. THE DEALER HAS RECOMMENDED ONLY REPLACEMENT WITH THE SAME EXACT TIRE MODEL, AS NO OTHER TIRE BRAND OR MODEL MAY BE USED WITH THIS VEHICLE. AT ONLY 6,000 MILES ONE TIRE HAD FAILED SPONTANEOUSLY WITHOUT TRIGGERING THE LOW-PRESSURE WARNING SYSTEM. I HAD BEEN TOLD BY DEALER THE NON-VISIBLE EDGE OF TIRE (SIDE FACING TOWARD THE VEHICLE) HAD WORN THROUGH THE TREAD COMPLETELY. THAT TIRE WAS REPLACED AT MY COST, ASSUMING IT WAS A UNIQUE AND ISOLATED INCIDENT. I SEE NOW THAT THESE TIRES ARE INADEQUATE. *JB