Best tires for the Toyota RAV4
Top picks across four categories for the Toyota RAV4, anchored to the current-generation OEM size 235/65R17. 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.
Cooper
Discoverer AT3 4S
UTQG 600 with a 60,000-mile warranty; long-wear all-season compound built for the daily-driver mileage profile typical for Toyota RAV4 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 Toyota RAV4 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 RAV4 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 Toyota RAV4 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.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
800 UTQG with a 90,000-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.
Hankook
Kinergy PT
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.
Side-by-side
Pick the trade-off that matches your driving
| All-season Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S | Best budget Goodyear Assurance MaxLife | Best quiet Michelin Defender 2 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| UTQG treadwear | 600 | 820 | 800 |
| Mileage warranty | 60,000 mi | 85,000 mi | 80,000 mi |
| Cabin noise | 73 dB | 70 dB | 68 dB |
| Season class | all-season | all-season | all-season |
| Type | truck-suv | touring | touring |
OEM tire sizes by year
What size does the toyota RAV4 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1994–1997 | 215/70R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 1998–2004 | 195/80R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2005 | 215/70R16 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2006–2012 | 235/55R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2013–2018 | 225/65R17 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2019–2024 | 225/60R18 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2025 | 235/55R19 | Year-specific fitment → |
| 2026 | 235/50R20 | Year-specific fitment → |
How we ranked these tires for the toyota RAV4
We started with the latest model-year's OEM tire size; 235/65R17; 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 RAV4
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (88) · TPMS (19) · Sidewall (14) · Tread / Belt (4) · Spare Tire (3)
Reported across: 1996 – 2025 (26 years)
What owners described
Blowout or sudden deflation is the most common description, in 22% of these reports. Percentages are shares of the 93 reports covering every model year of the Toyota RAV4 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 | 22% | 20% | 1.1× |
| Sidewall failure | 12% | 15% | 0.8× |
| Pressure-monitoring (TPMS) fault | 9% | 2% | 3.6× |
| Cracking or dry rot | 5% | 9% | 0.6× |
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 5% | 8% | 0.6× |
| Bubble or bulge in the tire | 3% | 6% | 0.5× |
Mileage at failure
42 of these reports state an odometer reading. The middle report is at 23,500 miles, with 8 in 10 falling between 4,397 and 60,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Toyota RAV4. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS EQUIPPED WITH YOKOHAMA G91 TIRES, SIZE 235/65/17(NA). THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE TIRE TREAD WAS PREMATURELY WORN ON ALL FOUR TIRES AND ALSO EXHIBITED SEVERAL CRACKS. THE FOUR TIRES WERE REPLACED BY AN INDEPENDENT TIRE CENTER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 18,000. THE DOT NUMBER WAS UNAVAILABLE.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 TOYOTA RAV4 EQUIPPED WITH BRIDGESTONE RADIAL TIRES, SIZE: P225/65R/17 (NA). WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE TIRE EXPERIENCED A BLOWOUT. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A TIRE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TIRE MODEL WAS DEFECTIVE. THE TIRE WAS REPLACED WITH A SPARE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN AND DOT NUMBER WERE UNKNOWN. THE TIRE AND VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 1,900.
DRIVING ON HIGHWAY @70MPH. TIRE LIGHT CAME ON DASHBOARD. LESS THAN 2 MINUTES LATER, DRIVER-SIDE REAR TIRE FAILED. SLIGHTLY LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE AND SWERVED FROM THE FAST LANE TO THE RIGHT SHOULDER OFF OF HIGHWAY. WE COULD SMELL SMOKE AND UPON GETTING OUT OF THE CAR SAW THAT THE TIRE WALL HAD SEPARATED FROM THE TIRE RIM AND OBSERVED TIRE RIM MARKS IN ASPHALT. WE FOUND A NEARBY TIRE STORE AND HAD THE TIRE REPLACED WITH A NEW DIFFERENT NAME OF TIRE. TIRES WERE PURCHASED LESS THAN 6 MONTHS PRIOR. TIRE: COOPER HERCULES TERRA TRAC CROSS-V
The contact owns a 2017 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) warning light would activate even though the air pressure in the tires were normal. The contact indicated that the failure also occurred immediately after refueling. No further information was available. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 30,000.
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 RAV4 →
FAQ
What's the best all-season tire for the Toyota RAV4?
Should I get a cheaper tire for my Toyota RAV4?
Does the Toyota RAV4 need winter tires?
Can I run a different tire size on my Toyota RAV4?
Where can I buy these tires?
Last verified 2026-10-07.