posted June 16, 2002 04:48 PM            

I took the car in to the local Toyota service shop. They tell me that a 'road force test' showed that 3 out of 4 tires exceeded the limit and were no longer round, and that this was the cause of the vibration. I then took it to an independent tire store where I was told the same thing, and that the tires needed to be replaced.

So I took them to the Bridgestone/ Firestone service and told them about my predicament. One of the techicians came out to where my car was parked and stuck his head down under the bumpers and said that the tires looked OK to him and that there was no need to look at them on a rack. He also said that "everybody says there is something wrong with our tires, and there is nothing wrong with them".

I apologize for the lenghty posting. Can the readers of the board cite their past experiences with this tire and suggest what I need to do from here on.

Thanks

posted June 17, 2002 11:53 AM         

After 30,000 miles, it is not surprising to find that some of your tires have high force variation, especially if you haven't been religious with the rotation schedule (every 6,000 to 8,000 miles). There is something wrong with your car that is causing the tires to wear in an irregular manner and I am guessing the pothole might have something to do with it.

The first thing I would do is get an alignment. Make sure they do a 4 wheel alignment since you think the rear axle may be a problem.

Then you kind of have 2 choices.

1) Live with the vibration. The recent tire rotation will probably wear a different pattern into the tires - might be better, might be worse.

2) Buy new tires.

Hope this helps.