DUNLOP SP4000 TIRES Complaints

DT: THE TIRES ARE WEARING OUT PREMATURELY, THESE ARE THE RUNFLAT TIRES. THE TREAD IS MOSTLY GONE, AND THEY HAVE ONLY 15,000 MILES ON THEM. CONSUMER CONTACTED TOYOTA AND THEY AGREED TO REPLACE THE TIRES WITH MICHELIN REGULAR TIRES. CONSUMER STATES THAT THE VEHICLE IS TAKING LONGER TO STOP WHEN APPLYING BRAKES BECAUSE OF THE WEAR ON THE TIRES. TOYOTA HAS BEEN COOPERATIVE IN HELPING THE CONSUMER TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM WITH THE TIRES. THE TIRE FAILURE IS ON ALL 4 TIRES.*AK *SB

LOWER SIDEWALL OF DUNLOP SP 4000 DSST RUN FLAT TIRE (INSTALLED AS ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT ON 2004 TOYOTA SIENNA XLE AWD MINIVAN) WAS PUNCTURED BY A NAIL. THE VEHICLE WAS DIFFICULT TO DRIVE/HANDLE UNDER THESE CONDITIONS AND WAS BARELY ABLE TO BE DRIVEN TO A TIRE REPAIR FACILITY DESPITE THE FACT THAT VEHICLE OWNER'S MANUAL SAYS THE VEHICLE CAN BE DRIVEN UP TO 100 MILES AT SPEEDS BELOW 50 MILES PER HOUR. BASED ON THIS PRESUMPTION, TOYOTA DOES NOT EQUIP THE VEHICLE WITH A SPARE TIRE. TOYOTA ALSO RECOMMENDS CONTACTING THE DEALERSHIP FOR ASSISTANCE. THERE ARE SEVERAL PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PHILOSOPHY: (I) NOT HAVING A SPARE TIRE IN THE CASE OF A PUNCTURE SUCH AS THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO STRAND THE DRIVER AND PASSENGERS IN A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SITUATION; (II) DRIVING THE VEHICLE UNDER THESE CONDITIONS CAN CAUSE FURTHER DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE AND RISK THE SAFETY OF THE OCCUPANTS; AND (III) SOME TOYOTA DEALERSHIPS (SUCH AS OURS) ARE NOT EQUIPPED TO REPAIR AND/OR REPLACE THESE TIRES. WITH RESPECT TO THE TIRES THERE ARE OTHER PROBLEMS AS WELL: (I) THE TIRES EXPERIENCE RAPID TREAD WEAR (SEE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS LISTED AT WWW.TIRERACK.COM) REQUIRING CONSTANT REPLACEMENT; (II) WITHOUT CONSTANT MONITORING OF THE TIRE WEAR, DRIVING THE VEHICLE BECOMES UNSAFE; (III) THE TIRES ARE GENERALLY IN SHORT SUPPLY AND IN CASES SUCH AS OURS, WHERE THE TIRE COULD NOT BE REPAIRED, VEHICLE OWNERS HAVE TO WAIT AT LEAST A WEEK TO OBTAIN REPLACEMENTS; (IV) BECAUSE OF THE EXCESSIVE TREAD WEAR, WHEN DAMAGE SUCH AS OURS OCCURS, IT BECOMES NECESSARY TO REPLACE AT LEAST TWO TIRES; AND (V) THE TIRES ARE OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE, AVERAGING BETWEEN $200-$300 PER TIRE. *JB

HAVE A TOYATA XLE AWD VAN WITH RUN FLATS AND TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM. THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING DOES NOT WORK. FRONT PASSENGER TIRE HAS A LEAK WHICH COULD NOT BE FOUND 2 WEEKS AGO. THE SYSTEM WAS RESET, ALL TIRES PRESSURED UP BY THE DEALER 2 WEEKS AGO. THERE IS A 20 PSI DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE LEFT AND RIGHT WHEELS AND THE SYSTEM DOES NOT LIGHT UP IN THE DASH. 3 WEEK AGO, WE WENT ON A 2000 MILE TRIP, BEFORE WHICH I NOTICED THE PROBLEM OF ONE TIRE BEING LOW IN TIRE PRESSURE AND THE SYSTEM NOT WORKING. THE DEALER HAS NO FIX ON THE PROBLEM AND SAID TOYOTA DOES NOT HAVE ANY TSB'S ON IT. NOW DUSE TO THIS DEFECTIVE SYSTEM, THEY HAVE FOUND A LEAK WHICH MAY BE CLOSE TO THE SIDEWALL ON THE TIRE AND CANNOT BE REPAIRED AND IT BEING AN ALL WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLE, I AM BEING ADVISED TO PUT 4 NEW RUNFLATS AT OVER $1200 WITH LESS THAN 16000 MILES ON THIS VEHICLE.

(1) DRIVING ALONG IN TOWN, APROX 5 MPH 2) TIRE WENT FLAT, SEEMS AS IF SOMEONE STUCK A KNIFE THROUGH IT, BUT IT WAS FINE UPON LEAVING MY HOME (ONLY HAS 1,866 MILES)/ (3) NOT COVERED BY WARRENTY, HAVE TO PURCHASE NEW TIRE. *AK

DURING INSPECTION DEALERSHIP INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT ALL FOUR TIRES HAD TREAD SEPARATION. THE PROBLEM WAS NOT RESOLVED. DUNLOP SP4000, 215/60R16. *AK *NM

VEHICLE WASN'T EQUIPPED WITH A SPARE TIRE BECAUSE THE FACTORY TIRES WERE MADE TO BE DRIVEN 100 MILES WHEN FLAT. (NAR) *PH *CB

WHILE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND TURNED OFF FRONT TIRE EXPLODED. CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS UNDETERMINED. *AK

LEFT FRONT AND RIGHT REAR TIRE HAD TREAD SEPARATION WHILE DRIVING.SP40, SIZE P205/70R15.PLEASE INCLUDE DOT #.*AK

THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED IN MARCH 29, 2000 WITH 3,636 MILES ON IT. WITH LESS THAN 20K MILES, THE TREAD SEPARATED ON THE LEFT FRONT TIRE ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2000. ON FEBRUARY 9, 2001, I TOOK THE VEHICLE IN TO BE SERVICED, INCLUDING A TIRE ROTATION AND BALANCE, 4-WHEEL ALIGNMENT. WHEN I WENT TO PICK UP THE CAR, THE RIGHT FRONT TIRE TREAD HAD SEPARATED AND THE TECHNICIAN HAD PLACED THE SPARE ON THE VEHICLE AND ADVISED THAT I NEEDED A NEW TIRE. WHEN I TOLD HIM IT WAS THE SECOND TIRE IN LESS THAN A YEAR OF OWNERSHIP, HE SAID I NEEDED TO CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER. ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 10, 2001, I HAD A THIRD OF THE ORIGINAL TIRES TREAD SEPARATE ON THE LEFT FRONT SIDE JUST 10K MILES AFTER MY ALIGNMENT. NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW WHAT IS CAUSING THE TIRES TO WEAR EXCESSIVELY ON THE INSIDE AND SEPARATE. WHEN I TOOK THE CAR IN TO REPLACE THAT TIRE, THE TIRE DEALER INFORMED ME THAT THE LAST OF THE ORIGINAL TIRES WAS WEARING AND VERY SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE SAME TYPE OF TREAD SEPARATION. BY THE END OF THE DAY TOMORROW, I WILL HAVE SPENT OVER $600 TO PURCHASE NEW TIRES FOR A VEHICLE THAT HAS LESS THAN 31K MILES ON IT. PLEASE HELP! (TIRESIZE: 215/50R17)