Tire Rack Consumer Reviews

Initial Review, 12,000 Miles on Tires
June 30, 2012

Why is this the OEM tire for the 2011 4Runner Trail Edition? It is not designed for gravel roads let alone off-roading, which the vehicle is more than capable of handling. I bought this SUV last July, and since then have done some light off-roading and a couple hundred miles of gravel road driving, along with some commuting and short road trips. Its performance was nothing to write home about, but it was about how I expected given it's mild-looking appearance. On road, it performed reasonably, with a smooth and quiet ride, and decent gas mileage. My opinion of the tire changed dramatically last week when, during a road trip to Glacier National Park, the low tire pressure light came on in the instrument cluster. I pulled off the road and immediately heard a hissing from the right rear tire. After investigating, I found a small rock wedged in the swiftly wearing tread. I pulled it out, and it had pierced through the tire completely. Mind you, this was a paved road that I had been driving on for a couple hours and there was only limited (maybe 10 miles) of gravel road driving a couple days earlier in the trip, so I can only assume by the amount of air escaping, that the damage had been done on that day. There were lots of other small rocks stuck in the tread as well, and after looking more closely, saw lots of cuts and tears in the tread. Luckily, I had an air pump in the back, and the closest town was about 5 miles away, so I was able to buy a tire repair kit and continue with my vacation. For the amount of gravel driving I have done, I would not expect the amount of wear on a passenger tire that I had on my Dunlop Grandtreks. This should not be on Toyota SUV's period let alone the Trail Edition.