So you rotated them at 5, and then 10k, and now they’d be due for another rotation if they didn’t need to be replaced, right?
The tires which are on the front now, would therefore have been on the front from 0-5k miles, and on the back from 5-10k miles. This means the tires on the front have 10k miles worth of front-wear on them while the rears only have 5k miles worth of front-wear on them.
As tires wear faster on the front wheels, this means the tires on the front of the car now should have more wear, not the same amount of wear, as the tires on the rear. That according to the numbers you posted they don’t, is strange.
When radials first came out with 60K miles warranties, I easily exceeded that in Ohio (glacial till gravel used for pavement). My brother in North Carolina could only get 20K miles (crushed granite used for pavement…you can see it sparkle with the sun at the right angle). He got several discounted replacement sets.
They look the same to me, but I had the tire garage do the measurements for me last week to send to Michelin for the warranty paperwork. I felt across the tires and didn’t feel any spots that were deeper, or raised. When the tires come off tomorrow it will be easier to check them out.
You can buy a mechanical tire depth gauge for about $3 at any auto parts store. They are right next to the tire pressure gauges. You can get a digital tire tread depth gauge for about $15, but to me, that is a waste of money. You should get a top quality pressure gauge and a tread depth gauge.
You should measure the tread depth of each longitudinal groove. If the tread depth is tapered from inside to outside grooves, then you may need to get an alignment.
You can’t tell if you have an alignment problem by checking your tread depth simply because you rotate your tires far too often. Frequent rotation can and will mask alignment issues and cause excessive tire wear. I use a tread depth gauge and rotate my tires on my AWD when the tires have worn 2/32".
The 5000 mile rotation interval dates way back to the 1950’s when tires only lasted about 20k miles. Rotating them at 5k then meant each tire got 1/4th of its life on each corner. Applying the same logic today would call for a rotation interval of 15k to 20k miles. Using the 2/32" tread wear also results in 4 rotations during the life of the tires.
The MXV4 tires do handle very well in the rain. Nothing handles well on wet leaves though. They can be worse than glare ice. If your vehicle has trouble in the rain, that sounds like an alignment problem to me.
Chemical mistakes will cause tires to act wrong. The next set of tires will probably be much better than the original tires. You can give up on Michelin if you want but it may not be the best choice.
The Michelin Primacy MXV-4s are really good in the snow on the hills of Connecticut. Unless the car bottoms out at about 6 inches of snow. No tire without steel studs have a hope of any traction or cornering on wet leaves. Ice doesn’t seem to be a big issue unless the grade basically makes gravity slide the car side ways. My wife’s 2003 Beetle is on its second set Primacy’s now at 137,000 miles. The original Michelins that came on the car were no longer available after 55,000 miles. The First set of the Primacys went from 55,000 to 125,000 miles. A Sienna is a heavy vehicle so check the load rating in the manual and make sure your tires are rated for the weight of the vehicle and if you always have a full house in the Sienna, I would go for a higher weight rated tire. The ones that came on your Sienna are either not rated for the load or you have an unusual mechanical problem. If your Sienna is an AWD version, it maybe an issue with tracking. By the way my wife drives like Danica Patrick so her souped up Beetle Convertible is either accelerating or decelerating so she is very hard on tires. Michelin makes great tires if properly sized and weight rated. Good Luck
I had previously replied about your Michelin tire wear issue but I see you have opted for Nokian Hakkapeliitta R Snow tires. As long as most of your driving is on snow packed roads they will be a good bet for you. Just be aware of the tire Wear Index number on them. On pavement the will wear quickly because of the rubber compound designed to work well on snow packed roads.In the spring remove them quickly or they won’t be of any value for more than one winter season. Make sure they meet the tire weight category for your Sienna and as I stated prior, if you always have a full house in the Sienna, go up to next weight category of tire, or tire life will be shorter than expected. Good Luck
I have the Michelin mxv 4 on my honda accord. They have very good grip in dry conditions. And cornering is very good, so more in line as performance tires. But I think this is why the tread goes fast. I have to replace them every 2 years. And if you got the car with 15k miles on it, not surprised with the tread. In rain it’s not very good, but that goes for any tire.
I agree. Some tires do better in rain than others. The tread pattern can make a difference.
When Goodyear’s Aquatread tires came out (with their “aqua-channel” down the middle of the tread), not many tires had a single channel that went all the way around the tire. Since then, I’ve noticed more of them have a single groove in the tread pattern.
Where I shop for tires, they usually have a rating system of 1-10 for particular features, like wet traction, dry traction, and rolling resistance. If you’re not happy with the way your tires perform in wet conditions, tell that to the person who sells you tires. He or she can recommend tires that are designed for better wet traction.
To the OP. Don’t feel bad I just spent over 1100 dollars on replacement tires for my 17 sienna at 18500 miles. I got no discount with anyone and was told basically that Toyota selected them for comfort and ride quality.
I was told that my fronts were worn abnormally and my rears were low. I did two rotations at 5k 10k. I did not do the 15k service. Was told by the service advisor that if I rotated again at 15k it would not be an issue.
I can not see how a set of tires could be worn like this unless they are not spec properly for the car weight wise.
We now have defenders which is a longer wearing tire and a cheaper tire then the oem tire. I also had the alignment done even though the van tracks straight
Only time will tell if this works. If not then I will explore suv tires
I now have a 2017 Toyota Sienna that I bought new in September of 2017. The Sienna has now traveled about 21000 miles and the tires are still good. I wasn’t really excited about buying another Sienna with Firestone tires that came on my previous 2011 Sienna, but these tires are doing o k. I have had the tires rotated every 5000 miles.
I’m not sure where to start with all this. I wish was in front of a PC instead of on my phone.
$1,100 for tires? Did you shop around or did you buy tires at a dealership?
Your car can track straight and you can still need an alignment.
If your fronts were worn abnormally, it could be a matter of alignment or it could be a matter of driving habits, but if your rears were low, you should be checking your tire pressure more often.
A longer lasting tire isn’t necessary the solution to your problems, particularly if driving habits or road conditions put your car out of alignment.
In conclusion, there are more factors at play than you seem willing to acknowledge.
I’m cheap so don’t buy from dealers. One money saver could be as follows. (It might save $100.)
Check tirerack.com as suggested. Add the cost of 4 Michelins + $16 each for mounting + shipping. That is your price goal. Most towns have a tire shop that can beat TR’s price. If you have the original warranty, they can then knock off 30% from that low price.
If you don’t want Michelins, at least you know the price point to go for. TR will allow you to compare to other brands, and you can read reviews, from other Sienna owners. This is a couple recommendations from TR for your van. https://tires.tirerack.com/search?asug=&view=list&w=2015+Toyota+Sienna
I’ve found Michelins to be a good wearing tire, but owners are complaining of short tire life on your vehicle (any brand)… though 26K is the lowest. My car has Michelins in a similar tire size, but the car is 2000 pounds lighter. (It has over 60K with decent tread remaining.)
I’m afraid you may find that no tire gets half the rated mileage. You had the van aligned. If it went w/o alignment for a while that could have shortened life. Also watch tire pressure. Most tire shops have a parking spot for pressure checks (free). I would recommend checking every 2 or 3 months, immediately if your warning light comes on.
Yeah we’ve had this discussion before, That’s about the average cost. I paid $1300 for the last Acura for Michelins and paid $1100 recently for the 17" Goodyears for the RDX. Gotta figure about $250 + a tire or so plus mounting and balancing. And prices are down a little now due to oil prices. I think the Pontiac was about $600 for smaller Generals so it just depends. You might save $100 or so going to Tire Rack or something and then with all that hassle and if something goes wrong? Tire dealers need to stay in business too so a small price to pay.