Toyota offers to replace Dunlop runflats on Sienna in US

Washington DC - Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. is offering owners of 2004-06 four-wheel-drive Toyota Sienna minivans replacement tyres or reimbursements to resolve a class-action lawsuit involving run-flat tyres on those vehicles

The settlement would ensure that Sienna owners who paid for replacement tyres are reimbursed the same - for three years or 36,000 miles - as those owners who qualify for an extended warranty that Toyota has put on the tyres, according to Mark Anderson, a San Francisco class-action lawyer.

The proposed settlement would resolve a class-action suit that alleges run-flat tyres - principally Dunlop SP Sport 4000T tyres made by Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. - on 2004-06 Toyota Sienna minivans wear prematurely or unevenly. The tyres were used on 50 000 vehicles, a company spokeswoman said.

The class-action suits originally were filed in September and October last year in California and New York, respectively.

From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)