Hi there
I need a new set of tires for my Highlander, 2018 AWD. It has the factory tires on there now, 30k miles but they're getting dry rot.
I'd like to put on a good pair of All Seasons until winter when I'll get a good pair of winter tires.
Any thoughts on the ones above? Toyota recommends the Defender or the Tour, NTB recommends the Tour HP
I just got a set of Michelin Defender LTX M/S and I love them. Very smooth ride, quiet. They are highly rated in most all the categories and are good in wet conditions. Look them up on tirerack.com. They have ratings and reviews.
The defender might be a lot of tire for a highlander, but it will hold up to a lot of abuse for a lot of miles. Had a set on my old Tundra and they were spectacular. Really, really good wet braking.
I have Defenders and drive them all year round--in Montana 👍
If you are going into deep snow all the time, then I would consider a set of aggressive snow tires in the winter.
Ice-some like studded but you can end up in the ditch just as well. You will find the Michelins make your vehicle
handle much much better. IMHO, they are by far the best tires made..FWIW, if it were me and they truly have dry rot, I'd have those Bridgestones off ASAP.
Michelins are rated by Michelin to have a safe lifespan of 10 years. You may have landed some old tires when you bought it (new tires that sat a long time)
Never-ever drive around on crappy tires!
Jeez, dry rot that fast? If you store it outside (when you get your new tires) I recommend using armorall super shine on them, I do that as soon as the rubber starts to look "dry" (not dry rotted) & it helps a great deal.
As for tires, go with what the factory recommends but MAKE SURE they don't come from china, etc. A good set of Michelin tires should be made in France or in the US.
If it says made in China just find a different all season with the same or better specs either made in the US, Canada or Europe.
As for winter tires, all seasons should be fine with AWD. On both my AWD & 4x4 vehicles I've never bothered with snows as I never needed them even in New England blizzards.
I had my mechanic look at it, and he said take the rest of year to wear them out, they're halfway done now. Then get winter tires and new all seasons next year.
On that note, I hate a hitch installed today; dealer (Toyota) said it would be $900 to install it. My mechanic did it for $150. True story. I made the mistake of also buying the hitch through Toyota, they charged me $600, my mechanic said I could have gotten it for half through her. Lesson learned, dealers are out to make a killing in this market on anything
If your mechanic can truly get you the part for significantly less, get that in print then return the part to the dealer & tell them that you ended up deciding to not install it, key words being "not intalled", otherwise they can pull their typical dealer nonsense & say once something is installed, regardless of it not fitting, no returns.
Now, if your mechanic can get you that part for significantly less, take the aforementioned print out to a parts store & see what you can save buying a reputable brand if it's a critical item....if not so critical, then just get a money saver with a lifetime warranty because whatever the mechanic quoted on parts chances are there's going to be a mark up regardless.
Taking it one step further, if you can find that part online with the same warranty it'll be even less abusive to your wallet.
Have the Defenders on our Pilot and love them.
Are they efficient? I'm in Maryland, where it gets cold, but bad snow is rare, and it is gone either by plows or warmer weather after a few days. My goal is a quality tire, with efficiency, the tires I mentioned are what "Toyota recommends" when I plug my car into the website.
I'd say it depends on the type of driving you will do. The Tour HP/Lattitude Tour is more street/highway and the LTX is a tad more aggressive.
I'm looking for most efficient. The factory tires are okay, they are Bridgestone ALR or something, and they're not that great. I feel
Hi.
Are the Michelin Latitude Cross available where you are? I have a set on my Grand Cherokee and they are excellent tyres. They are quiet, good grip in the wet and are pretty good off road on such as forest tracks.
I like Michelin. I have them on both my vehicles. Incidentally, my Latitude Cross were made in Poland.
