Toyos not winter tyres. Ouch!

[user 816]

I have done nearly a 1000 miles last 3 days in all directions of the UK. The Toyos I find are pretty good laterally so not much problem with slides but the braking is diabolical with them, especially with the over-sensitive ABS virtually switching the brakes off, the regen. braking is really helpful in this weather though. The weight of the car doesn't help it stop of course.

Yesterday I entered one 100m layby on the A14 at a pretty moderate speed and was so unable to slow I thought I was going to have to exit again and miss it out completely, thankfully I kept it pretty straight. :shock:

I would love winter tyres but cant justify them on a company car myself. Our company did a trail on our field fleet a few years back and arranged seasonal swap outs to winter tyres for all. It found there was no effect on our accident rate. Simply, when people didn't have them fitted they either worked more from home, postponed meetings for the few days it snowed or drove with even more extreme care. The company abandoned the scheme.

 

[NightPHEVer]

Perhaps the UK government could provide us all with a spare set of alloys with winter tyres fitted, and that might prove cheaper than the cost of clearing up all the snow and the dinged cars, and compensate for all the lost man hours of everybody either staying at home or getting stuck, or clogging up A&E.

 

[Bladevane]

I've looked at winter tyres in the past but like many of us in the UK could not justify the cost of them or have somewhere to store them. However I see tyre manufacturers now do an All Season tyre such as the Vredestein Quatrac 5 which are not much dearer than the fitted Toyos and seem to have good efficiency, noise and all round grip ratings. I will certainly look more into this option when I have to replace my tyres.

 

[Muddywheels]

First sorry to see your post Dusz - been in your position myself and it's awful. Glad no-one hurt though

My last non 4x4s were a Mondeo and a Jag x type - I crashed both within 5 months of new due to snow and ice. My Lexus RC has hardly moved since November

I bought winter tyres because I had issues with all season on Range Rover Sports so I wasn't trusting the Toyo summers

I was considering Michelin cross climates all year round next because it's been 8 years since we had anything like this round here - I fitted them to my daughters fiesta last year and she says it's been massive help

We normaly avoid traveling if its bad but after being forced to drive for hospital this year I'm going to keep with winter and summer combo - finally managed to get another set of alloys reasonably on eBay which will make it easier than swapping tyres over twice a year

I have a garage for storage now but previously kept them in a shed. Some garages store them for you

Cost wise I look at it tyres last twice as long due to 6 months use so it balances out plus I have a £600 excess so 1 accident avoided on snow/ice is cost of tyres and another I'm saving money

 

[Dusz]

Maby, I too have been driving for almost 46 years, have competed in motorsport for a short period and have most probably covered in excess of 600,000+ miles. This is my first proper accident. You might think that when I was competing in 12 car rallies I could not have been quick enough but in my final season I was joint driver champion and never finished below 5th in inter club events with two other clubs with drivers who had stage rally prepared Escort twin cams and BDA's etc. So I think my driving record is pretty good.
In the 70's and 80's when I lived on the Hampshire coast I used to enjoy using a snow covered empty squash club car park for skid practice. Sadly, I hadn't had the opportunity to do this with the Outlander until this fateful corner. Controlling 2 tonnes in a skid is a lot different to a lighter car. I am sure that the older narrower tyres were better in snow conditions as the pressure on the ground was higher, today's tyres being wider reduce the pressure.

Now waiting to hear what the repair assessment is as the rear end could have been twisted, witness the tighter fitting parcel cover, damage to the boot interior trim panel, inner skin, and noticeably wider door gap with the rear panel in addition to the obvious dent. Have been advised to prepare myself for it to be declared a right off.

 

[ChrisMiller]

Have been advised to prepare myself for it to be declared a right off.

Sadly all too common, given the cost of repairing modern cars. A friend had a very gentle shunt in his 24 month old V60 - no major damage, but it was enough to set off all the air bags (of which Volvos have a fair number) - the cost of replacing them made it a write off.

 

[user 816]

We can all have accidents. Nothing you did comes close to what I have done. I once parked my PHEV in a multistorey car park in the off end bay. I put it in close passenger side to a very low wall (stupid design, only knee high!). I then made a long visit of many hours, came back to the car from the drivers side, jumped in and drove away turning left too soon. I had forgotten the wall and made a big damage, needed new door, wing, sill. Very embarrassing compared to simply loosing it in atrocious weather.

 

[Regulo]

Sadly all too common, given the cost of repairing modern cars.

Local to me is a storage facility for cars written off, and sent for scrap. When I follow a transporter taking said cars to the place, I sometimes can't see any visible damage. Others seem to have just minor panel damage. No wonder our insurance costs are so expensive.

 

[maby]

Sadly all too common, given the cost of repairing modern cars.

Local to me is a storage facility for cars written off, and sent for scrap. When I follow a transporter taking said cars to the place, I sometimes can't see any visible damage. Others seem to have just minor panel damage. No wonder our insurance costs are so expensive.

My son's Prius was written off following a relatively minor front-end collision. I lent him a car while he was looking for a replacement. He wanted another Prius and was surprised to find his old car back on the market with some new panels on the wings...

 

[Muddywheels]

I hit a barn on a hairpin due to ice/snow and getting it wrong back in 96 driving my 3 months old Mondeo

View attachment Mondeo 3.jpg

It was written off and I got a new one - not long after I got a call from someone asking about the handbook because he had repaired it and was selling it :shock:

 

[Dusz]

Had an initial reply from the repair company and fleet in mid March. Panels should be in at end of March and then 3 weeks to repair.

Subsequently, early April had a call from the repairers (not fleet) that the panels will not now be available until early June so hopefully I might get the car back for July.

The delay in getting parts is really quite unacceptable. Maybe this is true for all cars manufactured in Japan, I don't know.

The problem for company car drivers is that if they have a replacement car for more than 30 days then they are taxed on that car. I have had a hire car a Kia Carens 3 diesel which would cost me approximately £60 more per month in tax than the PHEV and is not as nice. Also, regarding fuel economy it is awful. The combined is something like 65 mpg but even driving it very carefully and on longer trips I was struggling to get it to 39 mpg. My old Civic 2.2 diesel would have easily managed 55 mpg in similar circumstances. So, the more modern Euro 5 diesels are not necessarily better than the older Euro 3.

The Kia got returned last week and I have bought an older 55 plate Nissan X Trail 1 2.2 diesel as I was going to drive to Tignes with two of my son's to go skiing and wanted 4 wheel drive capability just in case of snow. As I will be out of the car scheme for 3 to 4 months this will effectively pay for half of the car given the tax I would be paying on a hire car where I have no choice on what they give me regarding CO2 emissions and list price for BIK taxation purposes.

 

[greendwarf]

Had an initial reply from the repair company and fleet in mid March. Panels should be in at end of March and then 3 weeks to repair.

Subsequently, early April had a call from the repairers (not fleet) that the panels will not now be available until early June so hopefully I might get the car back for July.

The delay in getting parts is really quite unacceptable. Maybe this is true for all cars manufactured in Japan, I don't know.

You seem particularly unlucky, I have had a front wing, rear quarter panel & rear door replaced in separate repairs (I'm clearly not a good driver :lol: ) and each time it has been in and out of the dealers repair shop within 10 days of contact with them. Mind you I own the car and paid for these myself not via insurance.

 

[toreml]

It's madness to drive in winter without wintertyres.
I've only been in the UK once in the winter - just before christmas - and there was no wintertyres in sight.
On the day we was going home there was now - and total chaos in the streets.

So I recommend to buy studless wintertyres - Bridgstone, Nokian or simular.
I live in Norway where there is much snow in the winter - and I have always used studless tyres as long as I had cars.

Tore

 

[Dusz]

Well I finally got my car back at the end of July but not without it having to be returned for further rectification work which also included a new headlining as they had pulled it down to repair the rear panel and in doing so had creased the headlining which they could not get out. Even then on the day I went to collect it the headlining was not correctly placed behind one of the buttons holding it up so I had to make a second journey. All's now OK.

Toreml. Regarding winter tyres, here in the UK it is not mandatory to fit winter tyres although if I lived further north I most definitely would. In East Anglia we rarely get snow, although when we do get it like this last winter with the strong easterly winds all the way from Siberia (Beast from the East), it does cause havoc. To try to avoid this, for the X-Trail that I bought I have acquired a set of used 16" alloys. I have had the tyres removed (3 were good so will go on Gumtree) and am taking them in to work to shot blast them to remove the scabby paint. Two have already been prepared and etch primed, a third is almost clean and there is one more to got. I have also ordered a set of Debica Frigo HP2 winter tyres which should arrive this week and should be fitted in a few weeks time as I want to give the paint plenty of time to harden. So if it does get bad that is the car I will use.