Yesterday I bought two (2) new tires for our 2006 Toyota Sequoia. The other two tires are only 15 months old, have only ~18k miles on them with very little treadwear and in good condition. My wife Stacey thinks I’m nuts & the only one on earth who doesn’t buy tires 4 at a time. She also thinks this is unsafe and I should have bought 4 new ones instead of just two. Your advice would be greatly appreciated on this matter. Thanks,
td
Assuming they’re the same type of tire, i.e. you don’t have two winter tires and two summer performance tires, you’re fine.
Unless you have AWD, you are OK. I replace in pairs, except for our Subaru, and have never had any safety issues in doing so. Good condition and plenty of treadwear left means you are OK in the choice you made.
We have a 2003 Toyota 4Runner and the owner’s manual specifies that the tires should be of the same make and type (same tread design). If your Sequoia has the selectable 4 wheel drive or permanent 4 wheel drive, you probably need to follow this same specification.
When I had a tire blow out on the 4Runner, my independent dealer replaced this tire with the spare and then found a used tire of the exact make and type to replace the spare. When we replaced the original tires, I bought 4 new tires. I was going to buy the Cooper tires, but my wife was along and I had to spend another $150 to get Michelin tires.
As noted, you do need to check the owner’s manual to find out what it has to say about tires re: the drive system. Sometimes it does matter, but it is more of a wreck the car problem than a safety problem.
Other than that, it is probably more common for people to buy 2 tires @ a time rather than all four. (How did you get away w/ it 15 mos ago?)
I’ve always done four tires. It has always been the case every time I’ve bought tires that all four were worn about the same. I do know people who just buy two at a time and there’s nothing dangerous about it so long as the tires are of the same type and same size. Some AWD systems require that all four tires be as close to identical as possible, but your Toyota has a traditional 4WD system.
I will say that when am looking at buying a used car, I do give alot of attention to the tires of the car. If they are mismatched brands/, models I walk away. To me that says that the owner is on the stingy side and may have made similar concessions elseware in the maintence. Just like a person’s shoes, tires can tell alot about the car.
You must replace two tires at a time (front or rear), and put the new tires on the back end. As jayhawkroy said, AWD requires all 4 at once.
Let’s face it, the safest thing is to have 4 identical tires on the vehicle - identical meaning size, make, model, and state of wear. Anything less than that is less safe. (Put another way, has a greater risk, since nothing is 100% safe!) The further away from 4 identical tires you are, the greater the risk.
Stacey wants to reduce the risk as much as possible, so she is expressing that, hoping you will consider not only her safety, but yours, too! But a guy’s tendency is to want to save money - and a man is always wrong when it comes to arguing with a woman. In this case, she has a point.
Just consider that for the future.