Road hazard for tires is not covered by Toyota.

If you will take time to read the owner's manual you will find exactly what is covered and what is not. Toyota spells it out for you. Next time you will know.

Toyota Care is basically for tire rotations and oil and filter changes.

 

There should be a separate tire warranty on your new car warranty packet

 

Toyota does not make tires. The folks that DO make tires have a warranty against defects.
http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms/T-MMS-12PriusC/pdf/2012_Toyota_Prius_C_WMG.pdf
(page 30 of the PDF, page 28 of the manual)

Ford warrants tire defects for 36,000 miles then shifts you to the tire manufacturer.
http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Ford_Content/Catalog/owner_information/2013-tire-warranty-version-3_EN-US_10_2013.pdf

Chevy also warrants defects for 36,000 miles then shifts you to the tire manufacturer.
Chevy Warranty Information | Owners | Chevrolet

None of these folks are going to warrant bad driving, however.

 

No revelation..., I've never heard of a car manufacturer that did cover road hazard on the supplied tires.

 

I'd vote Costco.

 

2 or 3 year old car, get two tires for that axle, call tirewrack and get a price, call you local tire guy and see if with labor he'll match the parts price.(put the new tires on the front )

 

I got a full size spare at Discount Tire two years, ago.

They have a road hazard warranty.

25 years, ago, I had a flat on a trip to California. They repaired it for FREE!

 

I believe that has long been the car and tire industry norm -- no automatic road hazard coverage. In modern times, many retailers have been offering it, sometimes for an extra cost (e.g. Tirerack, where I recently bought winter tires for another vehicle), sometimes for free (e.g. Les Schwab, Costco, etc.). But unless you can find it specifically spelled out, it isn't there.

I remember Les Schwab advertising free flat repair, at least for 'lady drivers', from the earliest that I could understand what advertisements were. That would be nearly a half century ago. Even for tires purchased elsewhere (don't know if this still applies). When the equal rights era arrived, that was extended to men as well.

But flat repair is not the same as road hazard protection. When my current Prius suffered a tread penetration in its first year, cutting a belt and ruining the tire (but not discovered until the tread bubbled and wore through enough to leak), it wasn't covered.

 

Why is that ??

If replacing only one tire, it should be the same as what the other 3 are, or with a very similar tread pattern.......for safety. Oh, and I agree if only putting on ONE it probably should be on the back initially.

 

Old school answer:

If the back tires are old and you brake hard, the back end of your car will swap ends with the front. Many drivers would find this disconcerting.

If the old tires are in front and you brake hard you tend to go straight no matter what you do with the steering wheel. Somewhat less disconcerting.

In theory ABS should minimize both effects, EBD should eliminate them. (eventually this will be an old wives tale like 'change your oil every 3000 miles' or 'use undercoating to protect from rust')
Electronic brakeforce distribution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

It already IS an old wives tale.

Something like 70% of the effective braking takes place in the front tires.
The back end ALWAYS tends to brake free first, partly because of the weight shift toward the front.

Not likely that a small difference in tread depth will make a significant difference in anything but I want my new pair of tires on the front, where the most wear occurs and where most of the braking happens.

Taken to the extreme, if you had one new pair of tires and one bald pair, which end would you want the new ones installed on ??

 

A Florida resident writes:

You clearly don't live in snow and ice country.

Neither. In my climate, such a car should be parked until better tires can be acquired.

 

You should know if you crash into a tree Toyota wont cover that, or if you drive into a lake.

 

I'm curious why anyone would think road hazard would be covered under Toyota's warranty or make a statement that Toyota Care is worthless. You do get 2 yr/25k maintenance service for free - it's not worthless. Sorry for your misfortune DKTVAV, but the cut sidewall is on you, not anyone else. Your disappointment is understandable but misdirected. Costco has special benefits for their members because they pay annual membership fees. Don't blame Toyota for not being Costco. You can buy a road hazard warranty with a tire purchase from Tire Rack, but again, it's going to cost something.

 

For folks who still want the fresh tires on front, just let the shop position them as their policies require. Then go home and rotate to the location you desire.

In compromised traction conditions on weather-fouled roads, I prefer the more predictable handling of having all four tires as matched as possible. I rotate my own at home. This is quicker than scheduling a service appointment, taking it in, waiting around for them to finish, and driving home again. It also is an opportunity to inspect treads and brakes and other things that the shop techs won't bother to report to me.

 

Clearly I did for about 60 years......and anyway that doesn't really change the physics involved.
The better tread should go where it will do the most good.
On a FWD car, that unquestionably is the front.
With RWD, it depends on whether you value stopping or going more highly.