I am considering leasing an NX but concerned about the RFT.
In most articles and reviews I see they say they are terrible. Noisier than standard, harsher ride, wear out sooner, more expensive, etc. Are they even repairable if you get a flat due to a nail?
In your experience, is all the above true or just theoretical ranting?

 

You need to search this site, there are MANY threads on this topic.

When I replace my tires next year, the replacements will not be the run flats. They do wear too fast, are noisier and run harsher when compared with the Michelin XIce winters I just swapped on yesterday for the season. I will be getting Michelin Cross Climate 3's when they become available. For me, not only does it improve the characteristics of the drive, it eliminates the need for a 2nd set of winter tires and all that goes along with that.

For you with a lease. if it's a 3 year or less deal, just drive the car with those tires and live with it. Test drive first and if you find the performance of the car with those tires is acceptable, don't think about it again. I plan to own my NX for 6+ years so it matters more to me.

 

question - when returning lease, is Lexus requesting vehicle must have only run flat tires? From all the threads, I assume not.
Thx

 

Talk to your dealer you leased the car from always to get this stuff explained to you in detail so there's no surprises down the road.

This is a good point to bring up concerning a lease in general, and things may be different from State to Sate or Province and your country's regulations etc. There are always conditions with a lease. I've leased a few new Toyota's here in Ontario Canada, and they will always accept typical wear and tear no problem, including some stone chips, door dings, carpet wear etc. but if your tires are below provincial regulated minimum tread depth then you need to return the vehicle with new tires. Same for brake pads I believe. If there's still pad material left your good, but if your down to metal on metal they want you to pay for new pads. Just think of it as the car has to be in a condition that would allow it to pass a motor vehicle safety or certification inspection. At end of lease or if you terminate early Toyota / Lexus will arrange for you to bring in the car and have it inspected for these items for free. If there's nothing major then you proceed to end the lease. So if you go over on your allotted mileage you pay so my cents per mile or kilometre, if you're under well thank you for that.

Typically the replacement tires you choose to put on must be the original specifications but not necessarily same brand or type like run flats. Just a radial tire of dimensions 235-50R-20 or 235-60R-18 in the case of the NX. And you musn't mix and match tire manufacturer or tread patterns all 4 the same.

Deciding if you can live with run flats should be done with a good long test drive in the car. Rough roads potholes new and old pavement or cement. Tires are always really good at something but crappy at other things. There's an old phrase that 'all season' tires are really no season tires. They don't excel at anything at all they're just good all around tires for average use in most conditions.

Almost all average drivers will find these run flat Bridgestone tires on the NX acceptable not great. They are generally fixable with a plug for minor nail holes etc found on the tread surface, but if you chose to run on them while flat as that is something you can do at speeds below 50 mph then you need to know that flat tire will be garbage. It got you to the repair station and did it's job and now you say good bye and buy another one. Running it with no air will still damage the sidewall so they provide a minor benefit but do not provide any financial advantage.

 

would they last with the 1/8” minimum tread required at the end of the lease with about 30K miles?

 

That sounds terrible! If you have to replace a tire for using it as it was intended is outright crazy. Worse yet, you may have to replace not only the one with the flat but probably the one next to it if it already has some wear…

 

Yes the intent for the design is that you don't get stuck on the roadside you get stuck with a bill afterwards. Now if you only travel a few miles you may be ok. I believe the limit is 50 miles of travel at no more than 50 mph is the tire's lifespan if driving it flat. I'm not certain but the tire shop, if they know their stuff, may be able to inspect that flat tire and determine if it's still roadworthy, not sure. And yes the next step is to figure out if the other match to it, so if left rear went flat does right rear have plenty of tread, if not you should buy 2 and keep them as a set for rotation or as others have said, screw it and get a full set of regular tires and do away with the run flats.

here's a good read on run flats
https://www.tires-easy.com/blog/safe...ir%20condition.

 

I really had no problem with either the noise or the ride of the runflats. The deal breaker for me was the lack of grip on wet pavement. Twice I had to change lanes on a curving road during a rainstorm, and both times I was literally scared at the failure to grip. This wasn't fast, either -- only about 40-50 mph.

So I replaced them with Michelin CC2s and have been very happy with the change.

 

You could actually feel the loss of traction? Wouldn't the AWD system kick in to keep the car in control by sending more power to wheels with better traction?

 

Yes, I could feel the car sliding.

 

Honestly, I go poking around for tire tests online every once and a while and no one bothers testing these tires in any comparison tests, I know Bridgstone makes good performance tires but out here in the everyday use range they've been not so great. They seem to manage to offer an ok tire to the manufacturer which I'm sure is also at a good price too. But after that, just like on the NX, owners get rid of them and move on to far superior tires as their first replacements. Seems a little silly, they have a captured audience by being an OE fitment tire and they shoot themselves in the foot.

 

wow!

 

My RFT are 3 years old and recently with the snow fall before switching to my winter tires. I've driven in snow with them and 5mm tread left and it didn't slide at all. Not sure if it's because the 450h+ is heavier, but I still feel confidence when driving in them. Haven't tried 10cm of snow, but a few cm was definitely fine. I even did a heavy brake in snow to test it out and the abs did come on, but it was able to stop within reasonable distance.

 

The NX is a fine vehicle. What are your alternative choices? How much do you wanna spend ? Is the other vehicle you are looking for equipped w RFT's ...you can run but you cant hide..RFT'S are common on many vehicles.
If money is no concern, replace the tires at purchase
Are you gonna buy a spare tire?
Would you get a Kia or Hyundai just because of a replaceable item such as a tire....
if you are looking for a Rav4, the newest ones have better sound deadening than the 2025's.....
Good luck w your decision
and as suggested elsewhere there is TONS of info already....try a search on the topic

 

I'm not doubting your statement one bit, I've felt mine 'squiggle' a little too and I'm down to 4mm on my fronts when I removed them to put on my snows.

When your ABS, VSC Vehicle Stability Control or Traction Control activates because it's sensing slippage your driver screen will typically throw up a warning.