2002 Buick rendezvous tire sizes & fitment
Approved tire and wheel sizes for the 2002 Buick Rendezvous, sourced from manufacturer fitment data and refreshed monthly.
Approved fitments
| Tire size | Rim size | PCD (bolt pattern) | Offset | Load index | Speed rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 215/70R16 OEM | R16 | 5x115 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 215/70R16 OEM | 6.5x16 | 5x115 | 52mm | 99 | S |
| 225/60R17 | 6.5x17 | 5x115 | 52mm | 98 | S |
2002 Buick rendezvous wheel bolt pattern & specs
| Bolt pattern (PCD) | 5x115 |
|---|---|
| Wheel thread / lug size | M12x1.5 |
| Center bore | 70.3 mm |
| Source | bolt-pattern.com |
Best by use case
Four tires, four jobs
Best all-season
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
all-season touring, UTQG 820, 85,000-mi warranty
Best budget
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
Lowest cost per mile in this size; UTQG 820
Best quiet
Goodyear
Assurance MaxLife
70 dB cabin noise (EU label); quietest in this size
Best winter
Toyo
Celsius CUV
All-weather; ice/snow grip
See the best tires for the Buick Rendezvous, ranked by category →
Tire recalls & safety complaints for the Buick Rendezvous →
Plus-size and winter-downsize options for every Buick Rendezvous factory size →
Compatible alternative sizes for 215/70R16
Sizes within the ETRTO ±3% overall-diameter safe-fit tolerance. Each row links to the size's own page.
| Alternative size | %Δ OD | Category | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
235/75R14 |
0.10% | alternative | Safe |
205/80R15 |
0.23% | winter narrower | Safe |
185/75R17 |
0.27% | plus 1 | Safe |
195/70R17 |
-0.37% | plus 1 | Safe |
235/70R15 |
0.37% | alternative | Safe |
For the full list of alternatives with comfort/handling impact, see 215/70R16 upsize options. To check an arbitrary size pair, use the tire compatibility calculator.
Check a different size against this vehicle
Type any tire size below; we'll compute its overall-diameter delta against the OEM 215/70R16 and verdict using the ETRTO ±3% rule.
Common upgrade paths
- Plus-1: 185/75R17; one rim size up, 0.27% OD change. Sharper steering, mild ride penalty, modest cost premium.
- Plus-2: 225/55R18; two rim sizes up, -0.38% OD change. Noticeable ride penalty, higher pothole risk, meaningful tire-cost premium.
Use the plus-size calculator to evaluate any rim step against the OEM size.
How to choose tires for the 2002 buick rendezvous
The 2002 Buick Rendezvous ships from the factory on 215/70R16 tires mounted on R16 wheels. 2 approved fitments are documented for this model year, allowing some flexibility between performance, comfort, and winter compounds. The Compatible alternative sizes table above lists every safe substitution within the ETRTO ±3% overall-diameter tolerance.
Tire choice on the Buick Rendezvous comes down to three trade-offs that matter more than brand loyalty: load index (must equal or exceed the OEM number), speed rating (must match or exceed the placard), and UTQG treadwear (higher means longer life, lower usually means stickier rubber). Owners replacing factory tires with the same compound class, for example all-season for all-season, generally see no change in ride characteristics or fuel economy. Switching categories (performance summer to all-season touring, for example) is where the trade-offs show up at the contact patch.
For 2002 Buick Rendezvous owners considering a plus-size upgrade, the safer option is a Plus-1 step (one rim size up with a 10-point aspect drop and ~10 mm of additional section width). Plus-2 is technically viable on this chassis if the alternative-sizes table lists a Plus-2 candidate within tolerance, but expect a meaningful ride-harshness penalty and a tire-cost premium of 30–60% per tire relative to the OEM fitment. For winter use the recommended pattern is one width step down (e.g. from a 235 to a 225) with the aspect ratio bumped up to preserve overall diameter; narrower tires apply higher contact pressure per square inch on snow, which translates directly into shorter braking distances. The plus-size calculator evaluates any specific rim step against this OEM size.
Before purchasing, verify the tire size on the driver-door placard of your specific 2002 Buick Rendezvous, since trim levels and option packages can shift the original fitment from what is documented here. The placard reading is the authoritative source per FMVSS 110, and dealers will reference the placard rather than aftermarket catalogs when validating warranty claims.
NHTSA-reported issues for 2002 buick rendezvous
Top issue category: Tires (General)
Most reported: Tires (General) (2) · TPMS (1)
Reported across: 2002 – 2002 (1 year)
What owners described
Loss of control, rollover or collision appears in 18% of these reports; about 2.2× as often as across all tire complaints. Percentages are shares of the 11 reports covering every model year of the Buick Rendezvous 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loss of control, rollover or collision | 18% | 8% | 2.2× |
| Bubble or bulge in the tire | 9% | 6% | 1.5× |
In owners' own words
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA about Buick Rendezvous. Reports are published by NHTSA as filed and are lightly cleaned here only to remove intake codes.
WHEN TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, THE LOW TIRE WARNING COMES ON. STOPPING AND CHECKING FINDS NO LOW TIRES. IT HAS NOW HAPPENED SO MANY TIMES THAT WE NO LONGER STOP TO CHECK. IF WE REALLY DO HAVE A DANGEROUSLY LOW TIRE, WE COULD HAVE A TIRE FAILURE LEADING TO AN ACCIDENT. DEALER CAN'T FIND ANY PROBLEM AND IS DOING NOTHING TO FIX THE PROBLEM. BUICK CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS OF NO ASSISTANCE.
THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 BUICK RENDEZVOUS. THE VEHICLE HAS GOODYEAR INTEGRITY, SIZE P225/60/R17 (NA) TIRES. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO VIBRATE EXCESSIVELY. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT SPEED WAS NOT A FACTOR. A MECHANIC INFORMED HER THAT THE TIRE TREAD WAS ABNORMALLY LOW AND HAD A LOW OF 3 AND A HIGH OF 4. IN ADDITION, THE TIRE BELT FAILED. AFTER CAREFULLY INSPECTING THE TIRE, IT WAS NOTICED THAT THE BELT ON THE TIRE CONTAINED LARGE BULGES. THE MANUFACTURER WOULD NOT ASSIST BECAUSE THE TIRES WERE USED AND OUT OF WARRANTY. THE TIRES WERE REPLACED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 28,312.
I OWN A 2007 BUICK RENDEZVOUS. I WAS HAVING SEVERAL PROBLEMS WITH THE AIRBAGS LIGHT KEPT COMING ON. THE BATTERY LIGHT KEPT COMING ON AND REPLACING THE TIRES EVERY MONTH. THE CAR WOULD SHAKE HORRIBLE AND WE HAD THE CAR ALIGNED. ON JULY THE 17 2010 MY SON HAD AN ACCIDENT AND SUFFERED A HEAD INJURY AND CUTS TO THE FACE. THE TROOPER SAID HE DID NOT HAVE ON A SEATBELT, BECAUSE HE WAS PARTIALLY EJECTED. YET THE NURSE REPORTED THAT HE HAD SEATBELT MARKS FROM ACROSS HIS SHOULDER TO HIS CHEST WHICH INDICATED HE HAD ON HIS SEATBELT. I BELIEVE THE SEATBELT CAME UNLOCK AND THAT HOW HE GOT THROWN OUT. THE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. I HAD GMC TO CHECK IT AND THEY SAID THERE WERE NO PROBLEMS AND THIS IS NOT TRUE.
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.
Frequently asked questions
What size tires fit a 2002 Buick Rendezvous?
What is the bolt pattern of a 2002 Buick Rendezvous?
Can I run a different tire size on my 2002 Buick Rendezvous?
Where can I buy tires for my 2002 Buick Rendezvous?
What is the recommended tire pressure for the 2002 Buick Rendezvous?
Can I fit winter tires in a different size on my 2002 Buick Rendezvous?
How often should I rotate the tires on my 2002 Buick Rendezvous?
For broader tire questions; replacement timing, UTQG, EV-specific tires, winter swaps; see the tire FAQ.
Sources for this page
- Vehicle owner's manual tire & wheel placard; door-jamb placard on the Buick Rendezvous is the authoritative source for OEM tire size, load index, and cold-inflation pressure for your specific trim.
- NHTSA SaferCar; recall lookup for the 2002 Buick Rendezvous.
- ETRTO 2024 Standards Manual §2.3; overall-diameter math used for the alternative-size verdicts above.
- Tire & Rim Association 2025 Yearbook; load-index to maximum-load reference.
Last verified 2026-10-07.