Mismatched KO2s: What would you do?

First-time poster, long-time lurker. Just picked up my 2014 Tacoma PreRunner (DCSB) from the dealer and am excited about my purchase. I am sure that this post title was painful to read so thank you for going further.

From the get-go, the vehicle experienced some vibration at highway speeds. I brought the truck back to the dealer to have the wheels balanced and this improved the ride a little bit. I chalked up remaining vibration to being a truck, and running AT tires...

A month later (1500 miles), the vibration has returned and has even gotten a bit worse. At highway speeds, the vehicle will occasionally ride smoothly, occasionally shake only in the steering wheel, and occasionally (the most...) vibrate/shake the entire front end (sometimes knocking my cell phone out of the mount)

When I was purchasing the vehicle, the dealer told me that the tires on the truck were put on by him last year and that they're all in good shape. I took him at his word. Upon closer inspection however, that is not the story. Three of the tires are 2017 E-rated BG Goodrich KO2s and ONE of the tires is from 2020, and C-rated. There is significant difference in tread wear, and the older KO2s appear to be cracking in the read. Here's pics for reference:

Front driver side:

Rear driver side:


What would you do?
(a) Suck it up, buy 4 new tires, enjoy the smooth ride - $$$
(b) Take it up with the dealer, get him to buy you 4 new tires (even though I inspected the vehicle and purchased it in this condition... sold as-is) - free, ideally
(c) Buy a matching new/gently used tire for the rear axle so that at least the two C-rated KO2s match - $
(d) Drive it as-is til you really need new tires - free
(e) Road force balance, then option (d) - $
(d) ...other...

Would love to hear your experiences. Have read that these bad boys can be difficult to get balanced and have seen 50/50 love and hate for the BFGs. I hope this post generates a lot of opinions (and helps me learn more about keeping this thing runnin for years to come!)

 

Imo. I’d get rid of the tires. Buy 5 new (one for the spare. And I’d run p metric no need for more unless you haul a lot then I’d go c rated. Then sell the others and recoup back a few bucks or maybe the tire shop will buy them, prorate them out or give some credit towards the new never hurts to ask.

 

I got rid of my KO2's because 3 of the 4 had a vibration (known issue) that would not go away, failed road force balance. Replaced under warranty (pro-rated), swapped them out of Nitto Ridge Grapplers. The NRG's are just a little louder than the KO2's were (I don't care, it's a truck) but they run smooth and look great. Could not be happier. Good luck.

Reference:
285/75R17 Perfect Size on 3rd Gen

EDIT: ...and those aren't cracks in the treads, that's how KO2's look. I'd get little rocks stuck in mine all the time from the lot I park in at work, was very annoying.

 

I saw your comments you linked in another thread when researching the KO2 balance issues thanks for the suggestion. Agreed that noise is far down the list of priorities... might just have to get some myself

Even the tiny tiny cracks between the actual tire tread? I would almost think it was dry rot but it's non existent on the sidewall.

 

If the tire tread design works for you I would buy 4 new of the same size and load rating (C) as the one odd ball and move it to be the spare. I would also test the dealer and see how important they feel you are as a customer (don't hold your breath) and have them do the same thing that I recommend you do. If they will work with make sure you choose the tire not them. Perhaps they can get a better price than you can and have you cover that cost. You could also just purchase 4 different tire brands/models in the same size and still use the one odd ball as a spare.

 

Are you talking about this? Not sure if that's of any concern.

 

This is the path I'm pursuing... these guys pride themselves on their reputation, I'd like to see if they'll honor the fact it's shady they sold me some pretty mismatched wheels...

 

Update for anyone curious.... measured the tread depth on the KO2s. Unfortunately, I don't get the same reading across any of the tires - with less tread in the center. This makes me think that someone was running them over inflated for a while. I wish every Tacoma owner was as diligent as the forum!

Here's the breakdown:
7/32" [DF]---[PF] 6/32"
12/32" [DR]---[PR] 6/32"

How do we feel about 6/32" and 12/32" on the same axle? I don't think so.... we'll see what the dealer thinks.

 

As we use the internet to source info it can also be used to share experiences. Wink Wink.

 

One tire got replaced and probably couldnt find an exact match so they put on a C rated one. I personally dont like BF goodrich tires they are know to not balance well and they dont last. I would just run them till they wear out and buy better tires.

 

As far as balance goes I guess I was lucky. BFG KO2's 285/75/17 load E's on Method 701's out of all five the one that took the most weight only took 2.5oz Thanks to www.ncwtires.com