Best tires for the Toyota Highlander
Top picks across four categories for the Toyota Highlander, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 235/65R18. 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.
Nitto
Nt421q
Reinforced sidewall all-season compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
Toyo
Celsius CUV
Reinforced sidewall all-weather compound; balanced ride, grip, and tread life for everyday driving.
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 Toyota Highlander 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 Toyota Highlander 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.
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.
Michelin
Defender LTX M/S
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
Nexen
Aria AH7
Lowest sticker price in this size that still meets the OEM load index. Trade-off is shorter warranty vs premium options.
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.
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 Nitto Nt421q | Best budget Goodyear Assurance MaxLife | Best quiet Michelin Defender 2 | Best winter Toyo Celsius CUV |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 640 | 820 | 800 | 520 |
| Mileage warranty | - | 85,000 mi | 80,000 mi | - |
| Cabin noise | - | 70 dB | 68 dB | - |
| Season class | all-season | all-season | all-season | all-weather |
| Type | truck-suv | touring | touring | truck-suv |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the toyota highlander 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–2003 | 225/70R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2004–2006 | 225/65R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2007 | 225/70R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2008–2010 | 245/55R19 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2011–2013 | 245/65R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2014–2019 | 245/60R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2020 | 235/65R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2021–2026 | 235/55R20 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the toyota highlander
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 235/65R18; 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 SUV 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.
SUV-specific tire models (CrossClimate, CrossContact, Defender LTX) have reinforced sidewalls designed for the chassis mass and often a wider tread for better wet traction at higher curb weight. 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 toyota highlander
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (110) · Sidewall (16) · TPMS (16) · Tread / Belt (11) · Spare Tire (3)
Reported across: 2001 – 2024 (24 years)
What owners described
Blowout or sudden deflation is the most common description, in 18% of these reports. Percentages are shares of the 114 reports covering every model year of the Toyota Highlander 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 | 18% | 20% | 0.9× |
| Sidewall failure | 15% | 15% | 1.0× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 12% | 9% | 1.3× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 11% | 8% | 1.3× |
| Pressure-monitoring (TPMS) fault | 8% | 2% | 3.3× |
| Tread or belt separation | 4% | 13% | 0.3× |
Mileage at failure
80 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 21,000 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 7,904 and 61,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Toyota Highlander. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER EQUIPPED WITH MICHELIN LTX M/S2 TIRES, SIZE: P225/75/R16 (NA). WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD AN ABNORMAL NOISE COMING FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE. IN ADDITION, THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO SHAKE. UPON INSPECTION, THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE TIRE BLEW OUT AND THE THREAD SEPARATED FROM THE BELT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE TIRE WAS NOT REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 98,000 AND THE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 20,000.
2016 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER WITH OEM TOYO 245/55R19 OPEN COUNTRY M&S 103T TIRES AT ABOUT 70 MPH ON I95 SOUTH BOARD NEAR BRUNSWICK GA (EXIT 38?), A LOUD BANG WAS HEARD AND THEN THE BUMPING MADE IT OBVIOUS A TIRE HAD FAILED SO THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED WELL OF THE ROAD NEAR AN EXIT. THE LOCAL STATE HIGHWAY ASSISTANCE TRUCK (CHAMP) STOPPED AFTER ABOUT 20 MINUTES AND THE TOYOTA RESPONSE SERVICE TRUCK SHOWED UP ABOUT 20 MINUTES LATER - THE TIRE WAS CHANGED AND WE PROCEEDED ON OUR WAY - MANY THANKS TO THE "ROAD RANGER" AND HIS TRUCK AND EXPERTISE! THE TIRES HAD ABOUT 28,500 MILES ON THEM - ESTIMATE ABOUT 55%OF ORIGINAL TREAD AND ARE MARKED: DOT 78HH CND 1016. THERE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN A HOLE IN THE SIDEWALL THAT CAUSED SUDDEN LOSS OF PRESSURE.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER EQUIPPED WITH ACHILLES DESERT HAWK UHP TIRES, SIZE: 285/40R22 (NA). THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE SIDEWALLS WERE SEPARATING FROM ALL FOUR TIRES. THE CONTACT ASSOCIATED THE FAILURE WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18T013000 (TIRES). THE CONTACT CALLED TIRE TOWN AUTO SERVICE (LOCATED AT 627 OLD SPANISH TRAIL, SLIDELL, LA 70458, (985) 643-7092) AND INFORMED THEM OF THE FAILURE. THE TIRES WERE NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE TIRE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE TIRE AND VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 20,000. *LN CONSUMER STATED PLEASE SEE ATTACHED PHOTOS OF TIRE SIDEWALL SPLITTING. I HAVE TRIED EMAILING THE COMPANY TO FIND OUT ABOUT RECALL OR TO GET A REPLACEMENT. THESE TIRES ARE DEFECTIVE AND CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.
MY FRONT TIRES, (FROM A SET OF FOUR), HAVE PARTS OF THE TREAD SEPARATING FROM THE TIRE BODY. THE RUBBER UNDER THE MISSING PIECES OF TREAD HAS A TEXTURE LIKE POPCORN. THE INNER SURFACE OF THE RUBBER IS SHINY AND SMOOTH. *DT IT IS NOT FROM GOUGING, FORCE, OR ABUSE TO THE TIRES. IT IS AS IF THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS USED TWO DIFFERENT BATCHES OF RUBBER THAT WAS NOT INCORPORATED TOGETHER CORRECTLY, AND IS NOW SEPARATING FROM ITSELF. THIS IS CLEARLY A MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND SHOULD BE RECALLED IMMEDIATELY! IF A TIRE FAILURE OCCURS FROM THIS DEFECT AT SPEED, IT COULD CAUSE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT, ROLLOVER, HEAD-ON, SERIOUS INJURY/DEATH. PLEASE REVIEW HIS MATTER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR PICTURES OF THE DEFECT, SINCE THE WEBSITE HAS NO WAY TO UPLOAD THE PICS.*DT*JB
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 Toyota Highlander →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Toyota Highlander?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Toyota Highlander?
Does the Toyota Highlander need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Toyota Highlander?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-10-07.