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Yokohama Geolander review.

Dave2000

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A couple of weeks before the Tabernas trip I replaced all four tyres on my Land Cruiser. I chose the Yokohama Geolander A/T, they could be fitted without having to go through engineering/inspection/insurance issues. No big white letters...perfect or so I thought.

During trail days there was concern by someone that they might not be up to the task, my opinion was they are sold as an A/T tyre and they should be ok...I was wrong!

We were following a dry river bed, this eventually became impassable, after turning around I had only gone a few feet when I could hear something hitting under the car, it was in tune with something rotating with a wheel. It turned out to be a puncture on an inner sidewall....by a twig....I mean come on a bloody twig!

Long story short I complained and reported the issue to Yokohama head office. A rep called me and told me it was just bad luck........BAD LUCK!

He arranged a day to call me and meet at the tyre shop to have the tyre removed and inspected, he never called back.

He has my phone number and my email address, NO EXCUSES!

So, Yokohama A/T does NOT stand for ALL TERRAIN, it means 'SOME TERRAIN AS LONG AS THERE ARE NO TWIGS!'

It was noted how thin the tyre walls are as well when attempting to repair it on the trail.
OK, let us suffer some bad luck, but there can be no excuse for poor service.

Caveat emptor!

regards

Dave

 
Hi Steve, no he was a Spanish rep from Yokohama Iberia. The Spanish do the same thing and hope you will go away. I reckon if I post up my experience not just about the tyre, but also the customer non support it will make me feel better if I vent off a little, just a little tantrum! :angry-screaming:


regards

Dave
 
I could do mate but I do not 'face ache' (like that), I could see where Facebook was going years back when asked to join it when working at an IT college, it was not for me.

To be honest though, my anger is more about the non customer service, the inability to drop 10 pence on a phone call and make the appointment he agreed to do is sad, and reminds me (us) of the position big businesses often take up when confronted with a product issue of their own making.

Am I angry enough to start a face book page? The answer is yes, do I have the time to? No, not really, but you never know? :think:

regards

Dave
 
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Dave, you could always elevate your rightful complaint to Yokohama HQ in Japan, and relay your experience; tyre quality is one thing, customer satisfaction is another. They may view things differently.
Alternatively, posting pics on FB with the naughty twig and ripped sidewall is neg publicity which no company really likes esp in the 4x4 tyre terrain market - That means signing up and becoming a social network minion.
Maybe your next boots should have stronger sidewalls, and we all know which brands they are.
 
Dave,

Setting up a FB page is fine but to begin with you won't have that many 'friends' so the impact is limited but if you were to draft it in such a way that we could all post it on our own FB pages, then the object is potentially achieved without you having to bother with FB.
I have a buddy whose job is to track 'bad publicity for companies' and I'll ask him what are the 'alarm' levels that trigger action.

Regards,
 
What was the diameter of the twig, and was it dry or fresh?

I've had the same thing happen with Cooper tyres, on a very tidy forest road. There had been logging going on a year earlier, and some branches and twigs left behind. The coopers also let through a sharp stone (on a normal paved road) and 10 mm bolt, among other things.
Re Yokohama: They have a lot of different tyres in the Geolandar range. I have the Geolandar I/T, which is the best tyre for winter roads I've ever had. This is my second set, and it seems to be more puncture proof than the coopers, but I haven't tried it as an offroad tyre, so the sidewall might be as weak as on your A/T.
 
What was the diameter of the twig, and was it dry or fresh?

I've had the same thing happen with Cooper tyres, on a very tidy forest road. There had been logging going on a year earlier, and some branches and twigs left behind. The coopers also let through a sharp stone (on a normal paved road) and 10 mm bolt, among other things.
Re Yokohama: They have a lot of different tyres in the Geolandar range. I have the Geolandar I/T, which is the best tyre for winter roads I've ever had. This is my second set, and it seems to be more puncture proof than the coopers, but I haven't tried it as an offroad tyre, so the sidewall might be as weak as on your A/T.
We have A/Ts on our 4x4 Camper - we bought them as they were one of the few tyres we could get in the right size with the right load rating (fully loaded the van is close to 3 tonnes). They've been good on road and worked okay on gravel tracks, even deep mud (with all the lockers in!), but I have to be honest and say I was shocked by the thinness of the sidewalls when they arrived - definitely a lighter carcass than BFGs or Coopers. I wouldn't buy them for our Cruiser or Landy, but as I'd already bought them on line and we knew the van would be 95% tarmac use, we thought we'd give them a go.

They've been on the van 3 years now, and (touch wood) we've not had a problem so far...
 
Dave, why not wrap it up and send it to the CEO for Christmas. Pop the twig in as well with an angel and a special Christmas message for him. Bet you get a response then

Love to do that Mark, probably cost more than the set of tyres did?

Dave, you could always elevate your rightful complaint to Yokohama HQ in Japan, and relay your experience; tyre quality is one thing, customer satisfaction is another. They may view things differently.
Alternatively, posting pics on FB with the naughty twig and ripped sidewall is neg publicity which no company really likes esp in the 4x4 tyre terrain market - That means signing up and becoming a social network minion.
Maybe your next boots should have stronger sidewalls, and we all know which brands they are.

My email did go to Yokohama customer support, they just forwarded it to Yokohama Iberia, then I got the phone call from Spanish rep, not really interested, but not following through with an appointment has probably made me even more annoyed than the puncture.

Dave,

Setting up a FB page is fine but to begin with you won't have that many 'friends' so the impact is limited but if you were to draft it in such a way that we could all post it on our own FB pages, then the object is potentially achieved without you having to bother with FB.
I have a buddy whose job is to track 'bad publicity for companies' and I'll ask him what are the 'alarm' levels that trigger action.

Regards,

I doubt I would bother with the FB page TBH, I think when things like this happen you need to have a vent off and move on, I have watched friends get into FB or Twitter and it takes over their lives. I do not allow myself to get consumed by things like this. A 'F*CK YOU' @ Yokohama and a bit of negative publicity might cost them a couple of tyre sales, will it matter, I doubt it.

What was the diameter of the twig, and was it dry or fresh?

I've had the same thing happen with Cooper tyres, on a very tidy forest road. There had been logging going on a year earlier, and some branches and twigs left behind. The coopers also let through a sharp stone (on a normal paved road) and 10 mm bolt, among other things.
Re Yokohama: They have a lot of different tyres in the Geolandar range. I have the Geolandar I/T, which is the best tyre for winter roads I've ever had. This is my second set, and it seems to be more puncture proof than the coopers, but I haven't tried it as an offroad tyre, so the sidewall might be as weak as on your A/T.

I guess around 6 - 7mm? About as thick as the one that @Mblinko gave me as a bonnet ornament........cheers mate! :D

We have A/Ts on our 4x4 Camper - we bought them as they were one of the few tyres we could get in the right size with the right load rating (fully loaded the van is close to 3 tonnes). They've been good on road and worked okay on gravel tracks, even deep mud (with all the lockers in!), but I have to be honest and say I was shocked by the thinness of the sidewalls when they arrived - definitely a lighter carcass than BFGs or Coopers. I wouldn't buy them for our Cruiser or Landy, but as I'd already bought them on line and we knew the van would be 95% tarmac use, we thought we'd give them a go.

They've been on the van 3 years now, and (touch wood) we've not had a problem so far...

I too was shocked at the thinness of the sidewall. I had started the process of going up a tyre size, but was unable to get the right speed rating for the Land Cruiser. As the paperwork started to mount and the various disclaimer documents needed to be signed, I already knew it was going to be a PITA. the final blow came when my insurance company were so 'iffy' about covering any claim that could be blamed on the change in tyres size, this was despite having a document from an engineer from the Spanish engineering college, and an approval by the ITV (MOT) station.

I plan to make enquiries to a 4x4 club in Lorca, years back I wrote up a web page for them so I am sure they will let me know who is a good insurance company...gotta have decent insurance right? :thumbup:

Thanks to all

regards

Dave
 
Although I liked General Grabbers ATs a lot, they had fairly weak sidewalls but in all other respects were excellent.

But, I never had problems with twigs, I used to cut them on sharp rocks on the sides of tracks and I certainly couldn't blame GG or Michelin for that.
The treads and behaviour were everything an AT should be IMO
 
I have geolandars on the 120 at the moment. These are the g012 a/t and on tarmac have fantastic grip. Specially in the wet. Only really ever done basic offroad tracks and a few lanes around cornwall and kent - no issues as such.

The customer support you got there is shocking though.
 
I have geolandars on the 120 at the moment. These are the g012 a/t and on tarmac have fantastic grip. Specially in the wet. Only really ever done basic offroad tracks and a few lanes around cornwall and kent - no issues as such.

The customer support you got there is shocking though.

Mine are the GO12 AT as well. I have no real experience with them in the wet, apart from the drive home from the Tabernas trip with all the gear on board, I was not doing anything that would test any tyre. I confess to quite 'spirited' driving when not loaded up, and had no problems in the dry......other than the twig in the river bed, that was dry.

I have to agree that the customer support has been nothing less than disgraceful. A member on 'MUD' who purchased an 80 I used to look after was about to purchase four new tyres for his road car, changed his mind and went for another brand. So I can now claim that I have cost Yokohama a set of tyres, no big deal but made me feel better. :thumbup:

regards

Dave
 
Just to update this thread. Yokohama Iberia customer service has just emailed to say they would like to arrange another appointment!

I am sure this had nothing to do with any and all comments I made on other forums including Land Cruiser Club, one particular review I wrote received over 3,350 member views!

Ensuring that I was doing nothing underhand, I have been very good by sending Yokohama Iberia AND the head office in Japan links to all such reviews.

I will let you know if he makes the appointment or not.

regards

Dave
 
Splendid news Dave. At least someone is listening. Hopefully they will do more than just that.
 
Hi Mark, yes it is progress however, I am unsure what I should be aiming for. At the very least the tyre will be dismounted and the sidewall inspected, I assume it is a tyre 'techie' coming down to check it out? I am thinking I do not want to be running around on a relatively new set of tyres with one having a repaired sidewall. I have done some quick motorway runs recently and it is not long before I find myself easing off the throttle, the repair uppermost in my mind.

TBH I would like a new tyre, at best the opportunity to purchase a set of another version with stronger sidewalls (if they have one) at a preferable price. A refund for the set would leave me back with Toyo 'Open Country', this is the only tyre (AT) I can get at the moment with a rating to suit the upcoming yearly inspection, and as I have already tried them, I was looking for an alternative.

I will keep an open mind for the minute and put the ball in his court.

regards

Dave
 
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If it were me, I would expect a replacement to ease the worry of driving at speed. If they acknowledged that the sidewalls should be beefier then that would feel good too. A case of fine wine and chocolates would finish it.

I persevered with Toyota when the Portuguese chappies messed up my car and they came good. So worth hanging out for recompense.
 
A case of fine wine and chocolates would finish it.

Good thoughts Mark, of course you know I don't drink wine and chocolates are a no no, was you planning on me sending you over this particular compensation? :think: :icon-biggrin:

regards

Dave
 
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