I don't know if I am the only one, but we recently had a blowout on our front right Toyo A23 tire on a 2014 CX 5 AWD. The tire suffered quite a bit of damage and was not able to be repaired. Trying to find a replacement tire was extremely difficult, as the only one I found was at Tire Rack and the price was $275.00 + Shipping. Quite expensive to say the least.


I was wondering if you can mix tire brands on the AWD system without causing any undue drive train damage, or do I bite the bullet and buy the TOYO. The current tires have 23K miles on them and are in great shape.

 

it may be more complicated that just one tire. dunno about the mazda, but my subaru is full time awd, and tire WEAR is critical. with 23k on the other 3, a new tire will unbalance the awd, and depending on the type of awd(the subie has viscous), it could damage the center diff. check your owners manual, it will tell you how much difference in tread depth(wear) is allowable. if tire wear is critical, you can get the new tire shaved, or buy a whole new set. i always buy a whole set. i also got a full size spare, and i rotate the tires regularly. this will get you a lot more mileage off a set of tires. another reason to have a full size spare for an awd car, is if you have just a donut spare, like the subie, then if you have a flat, you have to mount the donut on the rear, and defeat the rear drive. the subaru has a fuse that is removed, then it becomes fwd. but, if one of the front tires is blown, then a good rear tire has to be moved to the front. if you use the donut and dont pull the fuse for the center diff, it will blow, and that is big bucks. i also carry several cans of flatseal, but if you use flatseal, you cannot faster than 55 mph

 

i own a 2015 CX-5 with the A23 Toyos and the owners manual on page 4-85 says:

* Use tires of the correct size

* Use tires of the same manufacturer, brand and tread pattern on all four wheels

* Do not mix worn tires.

I found this under the Dynamic Stability Control heading. FWIW

I've been trying to find information on expected wear (miles) and can't find the info anywhere. The specs on the tire from Tire Rack are excellent but I can't understand why there is not warranty information. For a tire that cost so much you'd think the info would be readily available.