Best tires for the Ford Flex
Top picks across four categories for the Ford Flex, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 235/55R19. Every recommendation is selected from our 22,000-tire catalog by ranking on UTQG treadwear, mileage warranty, cabin-noise rating, and season class; no commission-weighted reordering.
Daily driver
Best all-season touring
Long warranty, low noise, balanced ride. The one-tire compromise that works for 80% of owners.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
UTQG 820 with a 85,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Flex owners.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
UTQG 640 with a 60,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Flex owners.
Michelin
Defender 2
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Flex owners.
Cooper
CS5 ultra touring
UTQG 800 with a 80,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Ford Flex owners.
Lowest cost per mile
Best budget
Best price-per-warranty-mile in this size. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options, not safety.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
820 UTQG with a 85,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Continental
TrueContact tour
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Cooper
CS5 ultra touring
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Michelin
Defender 2
800 UTQG with a 80,000-mile warranty works out to roughly 0.00¢ per 100 miles before install. Best price-per-mile in this size; no premium-brand markup.
Lowest cabin noise
Best quiet
Tread patterns engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning. Pick this if you commute long highway distances daily.
Michelin
Defender 2
68 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cooper
CS5 ultra touring
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Michelin
CrossClimate 2
70 dB cabin-noise rating per the EU tire label; library-quiet. Tread pattern engineered to break up the harmonic peaks that cause highway droning.
Cold-weather grip
Best winter
Dedicated winter or all-weather compounds that stay pliable below 7 °C. Necessary for >5 snow days a year.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season Goodyear Assurance MaxLife | Best quiet Michelin Defender 2 | Best winter Toyo Celsius CUV |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 820 | 800 | 520 |
| Mileage warranty | 85,000 mi | 80,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | 70 dB | 68 dB | - |
| Season class | all-season | all-season | all-weather |
| Type | touring | touring | truck-suv |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the ford flex use?
Recommendations on this page are anchored to the latest model-year's OEM size. Confirm yours against the driver-door placard before purchase.
| Year | OEM size | |
|---|---|---|
| 2008–2011 | 235/60R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2012 | 235/55R19 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2013–2019 | 235/60R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the ford flex
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 235/55R19; and filtered our catalog of 22,000+ tires to those offered in that exact size. From there, four parallel rankings:
- Best all-season ranks on a weighted score: tire type matches passenger car segment, season is "all-season", premium brand bonus (Michelin / Continental / Bridgestone / Pirelli / Goodyear / Nokian).
- Best budget ranks on cost-per-warranty-mile; the lower the better. Premium brands get no bonus here.
- Best quiet ranks on the EU tire-label dB rating; lower is quieter.
- Best winter filters to tires marked 3PMSF severe-snow rated or all-weather class, with a small premium-brand bonus because winter-compound R&D is capital-intensive.
For sedans and compacts, the all-season touring tire below is the best default; long warranty, low cabin noise, reasonable cost per mile. Switch to the quiet pick if highway droning is a deal-breaker; switch to the winter pick if you see significant snow each year. Use the side-by-side comparison above to weigh the trade-offs against your specific driving; highway-heavy, winter-state, performance-oriented, or budget-constrained.
NHTSA-reported issues for ford flex
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Reported across: 2019 – 2019 (1 year)
What owners described
Blowout or sudden deflation is the most common description, in 13% of these reports. Percentages are shares of the 15 reports covering every model year of the Ford Flex that include a written account; a single report can describe more than one problem, so they do not total 100%.
| Reported problem | This subject | All tire complaints | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blowout or sudden deflation | 13% | 20% | 0.7× |
| Sidewall failure | 13% | 15% | 0.9× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 13% | 8% | 1.6× |
| Bubble or bulge in the tire | 7% | 6% | 1.1× |
Mileage at failure
14 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 20,800 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 12,000 and 39,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Ford Flex. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
HANKOOK OPTIMA 19" TIRE SIDEWALL FOR FORD FLEX. I PURCHASE A BRAND NEW 2011 FORD FLEX ON 5/5/11 WITH 19" HANKOOK OPTIMA TIRES. 2 DAYS AGO, MY SIDEWALL BUSTED AS I ENTERED MY DRIVEWAY, WHICH RAISED, BUT THAT I HAVE DRIVEN OVER HUNDREDS OF TIMES WITH MY INFINITY FX35 TIRES WITHOUT A PROBLEM. I DON'T BELIEVE THE BRAND NEW SIDEWALL SHOULD BUST IF YOU GO OVER A BUMP WRONG.
Complaints are voluntarily submitted to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation and are not verified by NHTSA; they represent owner-reported problems, not proven defects. Counts can be useful as a relative quality signal across comparable tires or vehicles.
Tire recalls & safety complaints for the Ford Flex →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Ford Flex?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Ford Flex?
Does the Ford Flex need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Ford Flex?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-10-07.