Has an underlying problem to the tire wear on AWD drive 2006 Sienna’s run flats been identified?
Yes, they’re run-flats. They don’t last very long, regardless of the vehicle on which they are installed.
Yes, the run flats wear out quicker than conventional tires. The run flats are also very expensive to replace. In fact, the run flats are lousy tires. Problem is your AWD Sienna has no place to put a spare, so Toyota put run flats on the AWD Sienna’s. Not much you can do.
If you are ok with having no spare you can put regular tires on the vehicle, but you might have to use different wheels. I know run flats don’t work on standard rims, not sure if you can put regular tires on run flat wheels?
You can install regular tires and strap the spare in the back cargo area, of course you won’t be able to carry much cargo anymore.
The run flat tires is a major downside to the AWD setup on the Sienna.
I agree with mcparadise and Uncle Turbo. I had one set of “run flat” tires and they will be my last. I did manage to get 16K out of them before the tread disappeared.
What Were They Thinking When They Left The Spare Tire Out Of These Vans Or Any Vehicle With No Spare ? I’ve Never Seen A “Sienna.” What’s The Deal With Them ?
My FWD Caravan’s got a spare. Is it the AWD ?
CSA
When you design a minivan for AWD the rear differential takes up the space where you usually put the spare. That is why Chrysler had to drop the AWD when they came out with the stow n go seats. There just wasn’t room to put everything underneath.
The problem isn’t the RunFlats. It’s that they are OE tires. OE tires typically do not wear well because they are designed to give good rolling resistance (for fuel economy reasons).
RunFlats can be made in any configuration, just like regular tires - grippy, quick wearing or good rolling resistance, quick wearing or good wearing, high RR.
Replacing them with a set of tires that are designed for good wear is the answer. The problem is that RunFlats have not caught on and the only thing currently available is the OE tire.
one caution about awd, all four tires must be the same size in circumference! meaning all four tires should be of the same manufacturer and have the roughly the same amount of thread wear! all four wheels rotates at the same speed when the car is going straight, but when you make a turn, the wheel on the outside of the curve is turning more than the inside wheel to maneuver the turn. one possible thing to do to extend the life of the tires is to rotate the more often. depending on the driving type it would be 5,000 to 7,000 mi., every oil change or every other. i rotate the tires on my cars every other oil change. on my commuter car that’s every 8,000 mi. do some research, to see if you can mount a set of non run-flat tires.