NHTSA Complaint #11494264 — 2021 TOYOTA 4RUNNER

Yokohama 245/60r20 Geolander G96 that came with my brand new 2021 Toyota 4Runner Limited I purchased in December 2020. Over the last several weeks every 7 to 10 days I have needed to put air in all 4 tires. Then I was driving on a smooth paved street arriving at work my low pressure warning light came on. I got out and had a flat tire. I found the inner sidewall failed at only 28,000 miles. I didn’t hit anything on the road, or hit a curb etc. just normal driving on paved roads. Putting on the spare I took my 4Runner to the Toyota dealership a few miles away. The service technician at our local Toyota dealer today stated they, “are seeing this issue as a common problem with this particular tire on Toyota 4Runners in our Colorado Cold climate, is causing the rubber to become excessively brittle. Even with normal use, the smallest stones/sand used in our highway plows/sanding trucks cause catastrophic premature tire failure. They may be fine for use in California warm clients but not here in Colorado.” This explains why recently every 7 to 10 days I have needed to put additional air in all 4 tires. The rubber is prematurely becoming brittle/rot in cold weather thus not properly sealing the air. The technician recommended going with 4 new tires from a different manufacturer, stating the problem will continue with the other 3 Yokohama tires and likely a new Yokohama tire as well. He agreed the tire should be recalled as this is unacceptable especially for a tire with a M+S (mud and snow rating), only 28,000 miles on and properly taken care of. At $400+ per tire this is a huge expense and clearly a HUGE safety issue in cold climates. In cold weather having to refill tires with air every 7 to 10 days is a real hassle as well. Good thing I have my own air compressor at home. I only drive with the correct air pressure per my owners manual as stated on my drivers door. The Toyota dealer drew a white chalk square around the tire failure area.