Run Flat Tyre T180

[duncerduncs]

The other solution would be, which I cannot get an answer from anyone on. Is can I change to ordinary run flat tyres. It would be cheaper to do that and buy a new set of alloys if needs must.

The simple answer is no!

The problem isn't with the tyres/alloys, but the tyre pressure monitoring sensors (there must be a way of disabling that). You would have the warning light on the dash permanently on. Also, you may invalidate your warranty if you do.

There is no simple fix to the run flat problem, but we should all remember that the 18 inch tyres for the Freelander are not far off the £200 mark (fully fitted).

Off to bed I go...

[DavidRH]

Customer Relations are not in a position to do anything about it but pacify. An MD should be taking a small interest in what is going on in his business.

I am not concerned primarily about the price although it is painful.

My gripe is the lack of availability. A day to fit. A day to order. A day to book. If I get a puncture, there may not be a garage anywhere near me. My car could be off the road for anything up to three days. I go overseas a lot. What the heck do I do there? Is it worldwide fit or a UK issue?

I was informed when I purchased the vehicle that all Toyota garages would be stocking at least one tyre - this is not the case. (Apart from which I don't want someone elses re-cycled alloys)

[sywy]

The other thing is, what happens if you get a puncture at 6pm, 100's of miles from home? Or even over the weekend?

Are we supposed to book a hotel costing £££s until Monday, when the service depts of Toyota garages will be open?

[gray22]

Hyundai Santa fe. has full size spare alloy mounted under floor. + plus 7 seats + 2.2 auto diesel

+ 5 years waranty + 3 years rac. + £3500 cheaper than t180. not trying to stir sh*t

it also has 153 bhp :o

mmmmmmm but its still a hyundai

[vann]

Further to my post of the 3rd March, I must say that the Toyota garage which was Minories at Durham, were great.

I was with the guy when he removed the flat tyre and the steel "doughnut " ring and replaced the new tyre, only took him 15 mins to complete the job. The garage said they had a good stock of tyres !. The machines ( there seemed to be 2 ) were impressive, how they could remove the metal ring from the tyre without it, and without the hydroaulics, I have no idea, hell of a tight fit.

One worring point put to me was that sometimes they have to replace the ring if it is damaged and marked, apparantly this can happen if you drive far with a flat tyre - am I missing something here, but is that not the point of run flats ???.

I must admit I am dreading having another puncture and now refusing to visit our local council tip to get rid of the rubbish in case I pick something up. Also spending a lot of time looking for debris on the road.

My other gripe is that the car was a pig to drive (the puncture was on the rear off side) although this improved the faster you went, it was tempting to exceed the 50 mph limit. I wonder what kind of tests were done as to the safety aspect of driving with a flat tyre and if you had an accident could this affect your insurance as the handling was not good?

It is a problem not knowing which garages will replace run flats, would it be an idea to start listing these with telephone numbers - Minories of Durham telephone 0191 370 6700 could be the first - this would save others the job and inconvienience of ringing round Toyota garages to see who can help. As far as I know Toyota do not provide such a list which is most unhelpful - even the two local Toyota garages did not know who had the machines.

[Darkside]

I have been reading all the threads on T180 tyre debacle with interest. At 11,000 miles , I'm hoping for some miracle before they start wearing out. Four tyres at once-ouch!!

Couple of points for what it is worth:

Duncerduncs point is one that had crossed my mind. I owned (a couple of cars ago) a Volvo T5 - as favoured by Her Majesty's truncheon carriers. Cannot remember the tyre size,not runflats but BIG. The car, even with normal driving munched these things in 12-15 k and any brand like Bridgestone etc were about £200 per corner.

I am not saying it is right but the T180 was created to try attempt to go up against BMW etc and I did not expect the tyres were going to be cheap, though I would have appreciated a bit more info before I bought it. the major bug seems to be getting the vibe across that the tyre ONLY should be replaced if at all possible, then the cost , although hefty, is not totally ludicrous.

Second point (and excuse me if someone has raised this) relates to "normal" punctures ie. not rips to sidewalls etc. Is there any reason (help please Kingo) why T180 owners could not use Ultraseal or Slime etc? I use the former on my Motorbike and it is endorsed by many manafacturers, BMW owners club in particularrave on about it. From what I have read it does not harm the rims or the tyre, in fact one study says it prolongs tyre life due to the cooling of the inside. I appreciate it would not sort a rip but it would take away the worries of the nails/ screws and other metalwork on todays roads.

Personally, not knowingly had a puncture on the m/bike but a friend did. Nail in the centre - pulled out - instantly sealed, lost about 5 psi and good for the rest of the life of the tyre.I used slime on my push bike same thing happened. On checking before I used it on th m/bikewas told it washes off at tyre change time, not like the gunk that you use AFTER getting a puncture.

Any thoughts from those in the know ??

[duncerduncs]

The other thing is, what happens if you get a puncture at 6pm, 100's of miles from home? Or even over the weekend?

Are we supposed to book a hotel costing £££s until Monday, when the service depts of Toyota garages will be open?

Would you not be covered through club Toyota?

Roadside repairs to your car 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

If your car can't be repaired at the roadside, RAC will take you, your passengers (a maximum of 8 people) and your car to any destination in mainland UK

RAC assistance if your car breaks down outside your home

If your car can't be repaired in a reasonable time RAC will supply you with a replacement car for up to 48 hours (subject to status)

The above is from the Toyota website, so if you are unable to drive your car you could get it towed (before you all have a go at me, I know it's not ideal!)

[Darkside]

Second point (and excuse me if someone has raised this) relates to "normal" punctures ie. not rips to sidewalls etc. Is there any reason (help please Kingo) why T180 owners could not use Ultraseal or Slime etc? I use the former on my Motorbike and it is endorsed by many manafacturers, BMW owners club in particularrave on about it. From what I have read it does not harm the rims or the tyre, in fact one study says it prolongs tyre life due to the cooling of the inside. I appreciate it would not sort a rip but it would take away the worries of the nails/ screws and other metalwork on todays roads.

Personally, not knowingly had a puncture on the m/bike but a friend did. Nail in the centre - pulled out - instantly sealed, lost about 5 psi and good for the rest of the life of the tyre.I used slime on my push bike same thing happened. On checking before I used it on th m/bikewas told it washes off at tyre change time, not like the gunk that you use AFTER getting a puncture.

Any thoughts from those in the know ??

Any ideas? - anyone??

[shcm]

Any ideas? - anyone??

I'm not familiar with the sealant products, but I am familiar with pressure transducers and I have an ex TPMS design engineer sitting by me as I type this. Any kind of gunk inside the tyre is likely to damage the TPMS sensor in the valve.

Change the valves and disconnect the TPMS ECU, i.e. take the XTR puncture solution.

Cheers

[sywy]

I'm lead to believe that once you use these solutions, you cannot repair the tyre? I don't think it's very easy to clean off?

With this in mind, will Toyota have a problem with this solution all over the rubber donut?

[slip-stream]

Hi Guys

Just bought a T180 3 weeks later got a puncture on the motorway nail straight through, got the nasty shock that only toyota can replace these run flats as the tyre has to be coded to your car! when i got to the nearest dealership that can do the run flats they found the nail had damaged the run flat steel rim inside so a final bill of £334! for 1 puncture!

[Parts-King]

Got caught last year in an Avensis company car - left factory in Wakefield to get back to Portsmouth at 4:30pm on a Friday - walked to car park - flat rear - no problem I thought - jacked car up - put on spare and prepared for drive home - except it was a space-saver - 50mph max and 100 miles max - umm - so how does that help ?

Luckily we found a local tyre shop and the original was repairable before they shut !

I have now vowed never to buy a car that relies on run-flats or space-savers - no practical use at all.

Sure others will be along to shoot me - but that's just my 2p worth :)

Your going to be limited to the type of car you drive in the future, most manufacturers have a run flat or space saver type wheel in their model lineup. Personally I dont like the idea of run flats, but they are here to stay as far as I can see. I have no problem with a space saver, they make you go and get your original tyre sorted ASAP!

Kingo

[The Iceman]

I was told by the dealer that damaged tyres would be replaced and I would only be charged for the percentage of wear to the tyre. As for punctures out of hours or too far from a garage I call the RAC and get a ride home, a pain in the backside yes but not a complete disaster.

[bothwell_buyer]

1. Buy a 4.1 model - loads of options.

2. Fix tyre with poridge/porridge/porage, cooked with water for 3 hours and carried in yer handbag, inject with a shotgun

3. I wrote to Uncle Arnie once and he did reply with an off-hand naff letter

4. The Toyota MD can't read English - Mugwill is still doing the course

5. Write to tading standards - they take note when hundreds do it.

6. Possible illegal due to Competition Law - write to MEP.

Or jist poke yer warning light wi umbrella and get some decent alloys??

[sywy]

I was told by the dealer that damaged tyres would be replaced and I would only be charged for the percentage of wear to the tyre. As for punctures out of hours or too far from a garage I call the RAC and get a ride home, a pain in the backside yes but not a complete disaster.

I believe that was withdrawn a while ago, once the dealers started to get the machines in to change the tyres.

BTW, I was told the same when I bought mine, and have had a puncture since, and had to pay £200+VAT for a new tyre :censor:

[wulliebuzz]

When i bought my T180 I also purchased tyre insurance which covers run flat tyres and pays £250 a tyre up to a max of $2500 over three years. This cost me £350 and although this may not cover the full cost of each tyre it will go a long way towards them.

Wulliebuzz

[Robert6920]

Am I right in thinking that they did away with the spare wheel in order to save cost on the vehicle? If so, incredibly short sighted because it seems to me most people would have paid a few quid extra to have a (normal) spare, or perhaps even a "get you home" skinny wheel. They seem to fit the little skinnies into very small spaces and I'd be amazed if they couldn't find somewhere for it.

Most of all, I think they've taken away from the overall look of the vehicle. Their original blurb said

The rear of the vehicle has been shaped to integrate with the spare tire cover, realizing a design that

emphasizes its SUV-ness.

The 2AD-FTV engine models for Europe that is provided with run-flat tires is designed without a spare

tire cover, and provided with a dedicated back door panel and back door garnish.

The rear design varies by destination, such as a different position for installing the license plate.

It's a shame that you can't take a spare wheel etc and the appropriate door as an option

[peterpeter]

well I got a real result today.

Wife (surprise surprise) calls me up at lunch yesterday upset that she hit a curb and split the front wheel.

Goes to kwik fit, who say they cant help. So she calls Jemca in sidcup. They kindly offer a loan wheel so that we can at least drive to maidstone (25 miles away) to the nearest machine to remove the tyre...

When she goes to pick the wheel up the sales manager says..." please keep the wheel" we feel really bad that we cant help our customers so take the alloy wheel and tyre.

On top of that they washed the car too!!!!!

Now when she told me I was thinking "WTF?" must be some catch. They have given us about 500 quids worth of good for nothing...plus they gave us the old alloy back!

The cynical side of me thinks that Toyota must know this is a problem and have given a few wheels to dealers to sweeten up customers...because this would be the sort of story watchdog would feature.

However, big thumbs up to Jemca in Sidcup for their generosity. Now I ve just got to get a new tyre....any ideas where from and how much>>????

[Parts-King]

There was an exchange scheme in place, prior to dealers having the equipment to fit this special tyre/donut. As there are a lot of dealers who now have the equipment, the scheme was withdrawn

Kingo

[Rav Raver]

Just arrived on the scene after my wife was incandecent with various Toyota dealers as she tries to get a new pair of front tyres. As we discovered today, the tyres are around £160 from the dealers and they then charge vastly varying amounts for labour, which is around 3 hours!!

Apparently the franchises have to buy the specialist tyre machine at @£18,000 and then wait for Goodyear to come and train them. The rumour is that according to Goodyear it's a 15 minute job.

As Toyota developed and is a leading example using Lean manufacturing techniques, I am stunned that they have a maintenance process that takes 3 hours to change a tyre.....

Toyota UK has been very unhelpful to the Mrs. Infact most of the people have said 'get another car' or thereabouts............

What an amazing mess for them.

As to what car next when the RAV4 is due a change.. Not one with RunFlat!

A number of dealers have told us they no longer deal with these tyres... Oh, great, just what they told us when we brought the car..Not.

Prices quoted for fitted range from:

£340 Telford

£265 Sale

£249 Denton

Just replaced my first run-flat at a cost of £369.19. Is this a record? It seems so unfair that tyre dealerships cannot get tyre I need. Its a conspiracy. Toyota GB couldn't give a damn even though delaership told me lots of unhappy bunnies.

[bothwell_buyer]

See my post on the same subject under todays new postings.

Cannae unnerstan why ye dinna aw git ragether an cawse fkn mayhem and contact the BBC (well known tyre fitters)

Basically, ye kent whit ye wur buyin surely? Hoo can onywan spend £24k to £27k oan a slow compromise of a car wi runflats??? Beyond ma cumpreheshun. Ye must be aw nutters an ah must be sane aifter aw!

:P :P

Ma tyres fur ma lightweight racing alloys fur ma quarter mile standing starts come in at £60 brand new. As the tyre gets hammered, then I go for used /2nd hand tyres as all they have to do is last a quarter o a mile. An the balder the better!! As the tyre co save £3 if I take the scrap tyres aff his hands, I get them fur free.

Fur £369, ah can buy anither car aff eBay!!

[druand]

I started this thread march 2006, over 2 years ago when i was changing older Rav. I also had another thread on the same subject late 2005. A few replies sugested i was worried about something that might never happen!!!

Bought CRV 2.2 i CDTi ES, had it now for 14months-15k miles. Had 2 punctures caused by nails in both rear tyres. Repair cost inc. balance £10.00 each. Fuel consumption from day 1 is at 39.8mpg, best was 42.8 over 560 miles. CRV has A & B trips plus total mileage.

RAV 4.2 XTR, is still nicer to drive. can't wait for promised? diesel auto later this year. Big decision as to which i will part with.

[local hero]

I started this thread march 2006, over 2 years ago when i was changing older Rav. I also had another thread on the same subject late 2005. A few replies sugested i was worried about something that might never happen!!!

Bought CRV 2.2 i CDTi ES, had it now for 14months-15k miles. Had 2 punctures caused by nails in both rear tyres. Repair cost inc. balance £10.00 each. Fuel consumption from day 1 is at 39.8mpg, best was 42.8 over 560 miles. CRV has A & B trips plus total mileage.

RAV 4.2 XTR, is still nicer to drive. can't wait for promised? diesel auto later this year. Big decision as to which i will part with.

Druand ihad a choice to make between rav and crv, and i know we tend to slag them off a bit on here, but i had a honda and i honestly believe they make the best engines in the world, and my experience of their after sales customer care, was better than Mr T..I saw a statement once that frankly i didnt

believe Honda say that since they developed the Vtec,engine they have never had to replace one, anywhere in the world ever and honda do not stock replacement engine parts as they have never needed them, that to me is an impressive statement, The only thing Honda need to do is improve the looks of some of their vehicles.

[duncerduncs]

Just replaced my first run-flat at a cost of £369.19. Is this a record? It seems so unfair that tyre dealerships cannot get tyre I need. Its a conspiracy. Toyota GB couldn't give a damn even though dealership told me lots of unhappy bunnies.

Rav Raver,

Could you provide a breakdown of the this? This seems a little steep to me!

Just a quick reminder to T180 owners, the tyres can be changed without replacing the support ring. Make sure you see the support ring, as if it's not damaged by the puncture there's no need to pay for it!

[bothwell_buyer]

I started this thread march 2006, over 2 years ago when i was changing older Rav. I also had another thread on the same subject late 2005. A few replies sugested i was worried about something that might never happen!!!

Bought CRV 2.2 i CDTi ES, had it now for 14months-15k miles. Had 2 punctures caused by nails in both rear tyres. Repair cost inc. balance £10.00 each. Fuel consumption from day 1 is at 39.8mpg, best was 42.8 over 560 miles. CRV has A & B trips plus total mileage.

RAV 4.2 XTR, is still nicer to drive. can't wait for promised? diesel auto later this year. Big decision as to which i will part with.

Do yersel a favour - gie up both and build a coal burning car as thats what Ayrshire is fu of - coal.