While in the care of another staffer, our 2007 FJ suffered a blowout. Using the full-size spare conveniently located on the rear door, he executed a roadside tire change. But the corpse was too shredded for us to be able to determine why it had popped. A new tire, for which we had to wait overnight, set us back $154.95 including mounting, balancing, tax and disposal fees.
We don't really know what happened...
Its a pity, because statistically speaking, our blowout was probably preceeded by a slow leak that went undetected. Around here we check tire pressure every two weeks or so, but since off-roaders tend to go places where pointy things are laying on the ground, we could have picked something up and not realized it. TPMS systems are designed to alert drivers to such slow leaks, therefore preventing blowouts caused by the tire overheating that results from driving on a low tire. On the other hand, our staffer might have hit a piece of unseen shrapnel and had a massize puncture. We'll never know.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 18,001 miles
rsholland says:
03:29 PM, 11/ 6/06
I'm not absolutely sure here (and I don't want to start rumors), but I seem to recall Toyota was having a problem with tires on early FJs.
rsholland says:
03:31 PM, 11/ 6/06
Ah ha! I was right—and Edmunds even reported on it!
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=116333
jerrywimer says:
04:48 AM, 11/ 7/06
But because of the state of the tire that blew out they'll never know if it should've been handled under this recall.. :-{
rsholland says:
08:12 AM, 11/ 7/06
True, but they should get the other tires checked, to be safe.
actualsize says:
11:03 PM, 11/ 7/06
I'll have a look.
crashtestdingo says:
03:37 AM, 11/19/06
I thought that whenever you have to replace a tire, you should replace the other tire on the same axle as well, so that the two tires have the same amount of wear. Did you leave the spare on, put the new tire on the opposite side, and make the old tire from that side the "new" spare?
cardog7 says:
11:04 AM, 12/ 8/06
Gosh, let me see, a vehicle designed to go off road into all kinds tricky terrain may need to have the tire pressure reduced. Maybe we should ask someone in the auto business or a four wheeler before we print something we have no clue about. Tire Pressure Monitors are for street use only, and are quickly becoming a pain in the rear for anyone who lives in the colder regions. That is why filling up the tires with Nittogen is becoming part of the winterization process.