Hi (back) . . .

Perhaps it's only me - but - no, I wouldn't consider it under any circumstance!

That 15 A fuse means it WILL blow if / when it experiences 15a.

Besides, in our Toyota, the Outlet clearly states .. 120 watts Max .. suggesting that in addition to that fuse, there may be a limitation with the wiring gauge used to that outlet as well.

And, since it is a "motor" rather than a resistance loading {lamp, etc.} there'll be electrical inrush at start up as well as perhaps a wee bit more than 15a whenever you reach that desired PSI within the tire . . . takes more "juice" at the higher pressure.

There are plenty of 120V, strictly @ home compressors available now in the Sunday Supplements or Harbor Freight, etc., for essentially the very same $$$.

You should never need to re-adjust the pressure except at home when the tires are cold, so, no need of that battery style.

everett

I guess I should just bite the bullet and take the car in to a tire repair place or the dealer. I suspect a slow leak in a couple of the tires. The worst, I hadn't even noticed until a friend pointed it out, was down to 11lbs (should be 31 or so) after about 5 months of driving.

(back) . . .

By all means - YES! And, do develop a habit of checking all those pressures at the very least monthly in future, pls..

BUT - - - equally as definitely, Not the vehicle dealer!

In my experiences, they are the LAST place to consider in the case of batteries, tires (or, repairs), wiper blades and the like.

IF one is nearby, go to an authorized Michelin tire shop - - - they have had years of experience in the proper internal repairing of radials ... never a "plug" etc..

And, they will know how to properly protect that special tire pressure sensor!

everett

p.s. - - - In the case of O.E.M. fitments, those two suspect tires may Not be worth the ~ ~ $15 - $20/each that a tire demounting & repair will represent!

You mean it might be better to replace the tires than repair them? They are the originals, with about 15K miles on them.

Also, what would be the highest cost per tire for inspection and repair of a slow leak that wouldn't set off warning bells for you? I have no idea what a reasonable cost would be.

Hi Philip . . .

Unfortunately, some O.E.M. tires only last a very limited number of miles . . . NOT your lovely SUV, of course, but on our new Corolla years ago, there were some that were unsafe @ ~ 13,500 total miles!

At that 15,000, yours should be fine yet . . .  Unless that extended interval of severe underinflation might have damaged them!  OR - they may be quite worn on the edges, as well, which will limit their proper usage lifetime.

Because of the tire pressure sensor valve stems, locally, the tire shops have all seemed to "agree" upon ~ $20/ internal repair  per tire.

Of course, there ARE many different Brands of tires that appear as O.E.M. equipment  - - -  I.E. - yours could well be Michelins? 

everett

Ours are Michelin Energy LX4 tires, and there's no pressure monitoring. I think that might have come with the next year's Highlander. So that might make them less than $20 to fix?

Great Fortune on Both!

Depends upon you local dealer - but visit one of your authorized Michelin dealers & since you DO have a pair that definitely need inspection internally plus whatever repairs {including simply a new $2.50 valve stem} - no doubt you will be able to "make a deal" or get perhaps .. Two-For-The-Price-of-One .. hopefully.

But, do arrange for this very soon . . . flats in Winter are not fun!

Pls do re-post with whatever you find out?
everett

We were going to take it to a tire dealer that has the Michelin logo in their Yellow Pages ad...but surprise, they're not authorized according to the Michelin website. So we will go a bit farther and have the auth dealer take a look.

Any chance any of this would be covered under the tire warranty that came with the car?

Sorry -

I really don't believe that it would be ... IF it may be those valve stems, there's a chance - but - 'IF' there has been internal break-down of those radial plies from the many months of essentially-flat operation {sidewalls extended, load carrying capacity greatly-reduced @ that ~ ~19/20 psi} then the opposite extreme may well be the case ... i.e. - beyond repairs at all ?

In ANY event, it would never be "free = N/C" . . . . always going to be a minimum shop charge

everett
p.s. - O.E.M. tires do NOT come standard w/ any 'Road Hazard' warranty, etc. - - -in fact, essentially, no warranty-at-all, Truth-Be-Told!  - - - i.e. - zero tread wear, only a Mfg Workmanship, very tedious / laborious to prove and, of course, NOT your case anyway..

I just discovered we have more miles on them than I thought...coming up on 25K. The "Lincoln's head on a penny" test shows the tread just a millimeter or two deeper than the top of his head. Maybe we REALLY need to bite the bullet now!

(back) . . .

For Certain! - - -

At many outlets, there ARE great Fall Sales as well as Rebates on a new set of (4)!

In the instances of COSTCOs / SAMsClubs - - - a new set Always includes a Most Attractive "Road Hazard" warranty good at all / any of their Nation-wide Stores PLUS free re-balancing / rotations / included free Valve Stems as well as lifetime free flat repairs !!

everett . . . edited @ 10:52 am to add [links] . . .
{link} = http://tires.costco.com/?whse=BC

[SAM's] = http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?catg=12151&tcid=B5_10-31-2009_HomePage-TC-tire

Everett, there's a Yokohama tire has really good owner reviews, and looks like it might be a good choice. But there are about 5 dealers in the Yellow Pages, and only 2 of those are listed on the YKH website. Should I limit myself to the authorized ones?

I was also considering ordering from Tirerack.com, but they never specifically say they're authorized.

You're 'UP' very early !

I'm sure that anything distributed @ Tire Rack is on an authorized basis. But - do include their optional fee for 'Road Hazard' in making your comparisons, as well as the local fee for new stems, EPA disposal, mounting & balance.

Those [Yellow Pages] ads are simply purchased by anyone wanting to spend the monies, regardless of whether or not there is a legitimate connection to the Brand involved.

I'd stay w/ whichever the Maker's web site lists as having the actual connection, myself.

everett

I'm up at 4am, and sometimes find myself doing compulsive research on a future purchase. My latest fascination is the Nokian WRG2 SUV, a fairly expensive tire that sounds ideal for Vermont weather. All season, but also considered a winter tire. If the local dealers charge a huge premium, the online discount dealer, MK Tire, is also an authorized dealer in New York State. I've had Nokian snow tires, and there's nothing better. Maybe the all seasons are just as good. The few comments I've seen are very positive, but this tire isn't included in CR or the Tire Rack survey.

(back) ...

Sounds very appropriate!  I assume that you've already gotten the spare set of regular wheels prior to these pending Tires?  Saves the costs of perpetually mounting / demounting / new balancing as well as possibly damaging the beads in the process!

Coincidentally - -  I "used" to hail from nearby Maine for my early years until I left for O.U. @ Norman!  .. after that, I spent ~ ~ 6 yrs in Niagara Falls / Buffalo, so the best of Winter Tires were mandatory! .. I assume that you have read this one? . . . http://www.nokiantyres.com/release?id=11194365

everett

Partly because we're very slow and careful drivers in hazardous conditions, we've gotten by with the Highlander's 4WD and ordinary all-seasons. And if it's really horrible out, we just stay home.

WIth these Nokians, we should be several steps above what we're used to, and can probably continue to do without snows.

These are the tires:
http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11955&group=2.01&name=Nokian+WRG2+SUV

So are you out of snow country now? I admit, it can be an ordeal.

YES!

Even w/ our terrific "Tornado Alley" Springs, yesterday we had a Great 79 degree day at the Zoo & a huge cook out afterwards ... I detested perpetually cold or dreary months on end!

No doubt that 4WD is about as good as it gets - - other than a Subaru, of course!!

everett