Anyone on this? I was at the dealer tonight and noticed a Limited on the lot with Michelins on the 17" Rims. My SR5 with the 16" alloys came with the Dunflops. I'm wondering if Toyota switched suppliers maybe due to the wheel vibration issue the Dunflops are showing at 60-70 mph? The service advisor at the dealership said the Ford F-150's had the same steering wheel vibration issue as the new 4 Runner. Then I read Gadget's site and there it is, the Ford F-150. Thanks for your help Gadget! I can't wait to show the service advisor your article this friday when I bring my truck in . Only problem is, I don't think the dealership has a load force balancer as described in the article. Didn't see them listed on the mfg. website. We'll see what they say.

 

As I understand it the factory uses Dunlop, Michelin, or Bridgestone and you get what's available when the truck is being built.

I got the Dunflops as well and I saw another 03 at the dealer with Bridgestone.

 

i got my truck with bridgestone dueler... so far i have no problems...
I also saw when i picked my car from service that the dealer was selling 4runners with dunlops... so i think its true that toyota switches tires depending on availability in their assembly line

 

i have da bomb a$$ dunflops! and it's da bomb! literally... hahaha

toyota uses several tire mfg's and do them in batches. so you just never know which tires you'll be gettin.... all of em suck except for the bridgestone ones.... damn you lucky fools that got them...

i guess it's time for an upgrade soon for me then! hehehe

 

I also have the Bridgestones and so far... knock on wood, no complaints.

 

I think the Michelin Cross Terrains that came with mine are great. I hadn't heard any bad about these tires (here on the boards). What's do you not like about them?

 

Our 03' 4Runner Sport came with Dunlops, before we drove it off the lot. I had them swaped with the Michelin Cross Terrains that were on a SR5. Michelins have a great wear and handing.

 

I got Dunlops but why couldn't Toyota put 265/70 17 on the freakin truck, their are so many tires to choose from in that size, the 265/65 has 3 tires brands

 

I have a '03 Sport that came with Dunlop’s and had to have them changed to the Michelin Cross Terrains due to problems with vibration the first 450 miles and three trips to the dealer to fix the problem. The vibration problem was still there with the Michelins but better. The problem is almost gone now that I have 2,000 miles on it.

The Service Manager told me the Michelins are an upgrade, but the Customer Relations Manager told me that dealers have the option to order what ever tires they want. She also told me that they have had a lot of vibration problems with the Dunlop’s and she told the General Manager that they need to order their 4Runners with Michelins.

 

Dunlop, Michelin, or Bridgestone come on the 4Runners but I've been noticing Dunlops are on more of them then the other 2, when the 03 1st starting hitting dealers they all had Michelins

My Dunlops don't vibrate

 

Yeah, my vibration issued has seemed to have stopped. I have almost 12K on the odometer. The truck will be 1 yr. old in January. Don't know why the vib stopped? Haven't noticed it for a little while now. I'm also running my tires at 34 psi cold.

 

I picked my SR5 up in Feb, '03 and it had Bridgstones on it. It was manufactured in Nov '02. But as I understand it, if your ride came with the 17" wheels installed as an option they were added at the port, not installed in Japan. This might have something to do with which manufacturer you wound up with. I have got 9K on mine, and no problems at all, no vibrations, and they run great. I also got a set of REVOs mounted on OEM steel wheels for winter use, and really like them. I just came back from a hunting trip, and I couldn't believe how well they handled off road in the dirt, and on road in the wet, snow, and ice. If anything, they gripped better than the H/Ts.

 

I had Bridgestone Duelers, replaced with Cooper ATR after 50k of sterling performance. I think its just whats available when the trucks are built. Toyota shops around for the best prices, just like everyone else.

 

While this is useful information, the previous post before yours was 4yrs ago...I think the original poster may have gotten his info by now.