I need some help choosing winter tires for my 2014 Venza LE. My current all-season tires are 245/55R19, but I’ve found some different sizes that I’m considering. Some websites suggest different sizes, while stores like Costco won’t let me change the size at all.
I tried asking the Toyota dealership but haven’t had any luck getting in touch with them. Here are some of the sizes I’ve been looking at: 235/60R18, 225/65R17, 245/60R18, and 245/65R17. Will any of these fit my car? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Tao said:
If you’re not planning on changing your wheels, you’ll have to stick with 19-inch tires.
The 17-inch and 18-inch winter tires would need new wheels altogether.
Got it, I plan to change the wheels as well if I go for a different tire size. A friend of my dad is offering me a good winter tire package, so I’m just trying to figure out if I should get a different size, since the price varies. But if I stick with the original size, can I just swap the wheels from my all-seasons to the winter tires? Will this affect the lifespan of the wheels? I live in Ontario, so we get a lot of snow during the winter.
Yes, you can definitely swap the tires at the start and end of each season with no issues, although there might be some wear or scratches from the mounting and unmounting process. A lot of people get a second set of wheels and permanently mount their winter tires on them, so they just swap the whole wheel/tire combo at the change of each season.
It’s a little more expensive up front, but if you have storage space, you’ll quickly make up the cost since you won’t have to pay $150+ every time you swap the tires. One thing to keep in mind is the TPMS sensors. You’ll need a second set of them and they’ll have to be synced to the car, or you could just go without them for the winter and deal with the light being on.
Some dealers or tire shops offer a package with basic steel wheels, or you might even find used wheels from a Camry or something. Then you can use a narrower and taller tire with the same outer diameter, like 245/65-17. Here’s a forum post with someone using 17" Camry wheels on a Venza (with 5 pictures). Just double-check the fitment before going this route, but it’s what I would do.
I’ve seen articles about people getting cheaper wheels for winter use, especially if the current wheels are really expensive. It also makes it easier to change them since you don’t have to mount the tires twice a year.
I haven’t looked too much into it myself because in Oklahoma the winters aren’t usually bad enough to need winter tires. If the roads are bad, I just don’t go out. I mean, even if you think you can handle it, there are always those other drivers who like to go too fast and that’s dangerous.
Check out Wheel-size.com. You can compare the largest diameter of OEM tires on different rims (I didn’t check if 17” rims fit on your car).
Also, try Kaltire in Canada.
A skinnier tire with a taller sidewall (like 17” or 18”) on steel rims is usually better since they can handle potholes and curbs with less damage.
For example, on the Corolla Cross, the 225/60/18 tire (available for Nokian WRG5) matches the diameter of the OEM 215/65/17. The OEM size in Canada is 225/55/18, but the diameter of 18” is slightly smaller than 17”.
Stick with the same tire size. There’s really no reason to change it. The car is made to fit that size only.
If you’re buying new wheels and swapping them, keep in mind that the tire pressure light will stay on unless you have new sensors installed and programmed for the new wheels.
If you use a tire size other than the stock one, your warranty will be VOID.
I’ve seen so many cases where people swapped their tires just because they wanted to, and then ended up damaging the AWD or wheel bearing, and their claim got denied. Then they complained to the dealership about it.
It’s just not worth it!
Don’t do it, unless the warranty is already expired and you’re okay with paying for repairs yourself.
Please don’t yell at the dealership if they deny your claim.
@Voss
Swapping tires won’t destroy anything unless you’re being careless or making a mistake.
If you use correctly sized winter tires with the same tread width and outside diameter as stock, there shouldn’t be any issues. Running two summer tires and two winter tires could cause problems, though.
It’s totally fine to swap to a different size, as long as it’s done right.
@Frances
None of that matters when the warranty is involved!!
Why won’t anyone listen? If it’s not OEM, the warranty is VOID. No exceptions! No recourse!
Aaarrrggghhh!
I’ve been a Toyota service advisor for 11 years, and I’ve been a technician too. Please believe me, if it’s aftermarket, we can’t help with the repairs.
