Toyo Tires Review: What You Need to Know Before Buying — Including Two Recent Recalls

Before I get into performance, comfort, or value, I need to tell you something most Toyo coverage hasn’t caught up with yet: Toyo issued two significant tread-separation recalls in the past year, and one of them affects the exact tire I — and most reviews, including an earlier version of this one — have recommended most often.

Why I’m Leading With the Recalls

I don’t do this lightly. Toyo makes some genuinely excellent tires, and I don’t want two recalls to define a 75-year-old company’s entire reputation.

But I also don’t think a review is honest if it buries safety-relevant information under thousands of words of marketing-friendly product descriptions, which is exactly what happened with an earlier version of this review — published before either recall existed.

So let’s deal with it directly, right up front, and then get into everything else.

Toyo Recalls — What Actually Happened

October 2025: NHTSA Recall 25T018

Toyo Tire Holdings of Americas issued a recall covering approximately 36,919 tires across 64 different sizes and models.

The affected lineup is broad and includes some of Toyo’s most popular products: Open Country A/T III, Open Country R/T Trail, Open Country M/T, and Open Country H/T II, along with the Crosstek 2.

Because Toyo owns Nitto Tire, several Nitto-branded models were swept into the same recall: Dura Grappler Highway Terrain, Exo Grappler AWT, Mud Grappler Extreme Terrain, Recon Grappler A/T, Ridge Grappler, Terra Grappler G3 A/T, and Trail Grappler M/T.

The root cause was contamination during the belt manufacturing process at Toyo’s plant in White, Georgia, which reduced adhesion between the tire’s belt package and surrounding components.

According to NHTSA documentation, drivers with an affected tire might notice localized rapid tread wear, increased noise, vibration, or visible bulging in the tread area before a failure — real, actionable warning signs worth knowing regardless of whether your specific tire is on the list.

Toyo stated it was not aware of any accidents or injuries at the time of the filing, and had received a small number of warranty claims tied to the issue. The company committed to replacing every affected tire free of charge, parts and labor included, through June 20, 2026.

February 2026: NHTSA Recall 26T005

A second, more recent recall specifically targeted additional Open Country A/T III tires, also manufactured at the White, Georgia plant, also tied to tread separation risk.

Toyo again committed to free replacement, including mounting, balancing, and taxes, for any recalled tire returned to an authorized dealer through October 5, 2026.

Two things are worth understanding about this second recall. First, it’s narrower in scope than the October 2025 campaign — it’s specific to certain Open Country A/T III production, not the broader model list.

Second, its timing — arriving just a few months after the first recall — suggests this may be a continuation of quality issues traced back to the same facility rather than a fully unrelated incident, though Toyo has not characterized it that way publicly.

How to Check Your Own Tires

If you own any Open Country model, an H/T II, a Crosstek 2, or a Nitto Grappler-family tire, this is worth five minutes of your time.

Find the DOT code on your tire’s sidewall — it starts with “DOT” and the last four digits tell you the week and year of manufacture, with the three characters right after “DOT” identifying the plant (recalled tires trace to the White, Georgia facility, plant code 173).

Cross-reference your full code against Toyo’s published recall documentation or NHTSA’s SaferCar.gov lookup tool, or call Toyo customer service directly at 800-442-8696. If you own a Nitto-branded tire from the model list above, Nitto’s customer care line is 888-529-8200.

If you notice unusual vibration, noise, or a visible bulge in your tread before you’ve had a chance to check your DOT code, don’t wait for a mail notification — get the tire inspected immediately.

What This Doesn’t Mean

I want to be precise here rather than alarmist. These recalls trace to a specific manufacturing facility and specific production windows, not a fundamental flaw in Toyo’s tread designs or engineering.

Toyo responded with full free replacement and clear public documentation, which is the right way to handle a manufacturing defect. Plenty of respected tire brands — Goodyear, Michelin, Cooper, Falken, all covered elsewhere on this site — have had comparable recalls over the years.

But given how heavily the Open Country A/T III specifically gets recommended (including by me, previously, without this context), I think buyers deserve to know this before they buy, not find out afterward.

A Quick, Accurate Background on Toyo

Toyo Tire & Rubber Company was founded in Osaka, Japan in 1945, and established its first US subsidiary, Toyo Tires (USA) Corp., in 1966.

Today the company manufactures across facilities in Japan, the United States (including the White, Georgia plant discussed above), Germany, China, Taiwan, and Thailand, and sells in more than 100 countries.

Toyo also owns Nitto Tire, a distinct brand with its own identity in the performance and off-road space — worth knowing given the shared recall history above, and worth knowing generally if you’re cross-shopping between the two brands.

Toyo has built its strongest reputation in specialized categories rather than trying to be all things to all drivers: the Open Country line dominates conversations among off-road enthusiasts, and the Proxes performance line has real credibility among track-day and spirited-street drivers.

Toyo’s Current Lineup — Including Models Most Reviews Miss

Toyo’s product range has shifted since a lot of existing coverage was written, and I want to flag the current picture accurately.

Open Country family (off-road / truck & SUV):

• Open Country A/T III — the flagship all-terrain, balancing on-road comfort with genuine light off-road capability
• Open Country A/T III EV — a newer variant specifically tuned for EV trucks and SUVs, addressing the added weight and torque of electric powertrains. This didn’t exist when older Toyo coverage was written and is a genuine current-lineup gap most reviews haven’t caught up with.
• Open Country R/T Trail — a hybrid tread positioned between the A/T III and the more aggressive R/T, designed for overlanding-style use that splits time between pavement and trail. Independent long-term testing from Overland Expo reports confident wet braking, even wear, and quieter highway manners than a comparable dedicated mud-terrain, with a roughly 1 mpg fuel economy penalty versus a standard all-terrain.
• Open Country R/T and Open Country R/T Pro — more aggressive rugged-terrain options
• Open Country M/T — Toyo’s dedicated mud-terrain, with a genuine reputation among serious off-roaders for durability under repeated abuse
• Open Country H/T II — highway-terrain for trucks and SUVs that stay mostly on pavement
• Open Country Q/T and Open Country C/T — comfort-oriented crossover and commercial-van options

Celsius family (all-weather touring):

• Celsius II — Toyo’s current all-weather touring tire, the successor to the original Celsius line still referenced in a lot of older Toyo content. It’s built around year-round capability without needing a seasonal swap.

Proxes family (performance):

• Proxes Sport, Proxes Sport A/S, and Proxes R888R (a DOT-legal track tire) continue to anchor Toyo’s performance lineup.

Extensa family:

• Extensa A/S II — the budget-oriented all-season touring option.

What Real Owners Report

Since I don’t have long-term personal mileage on every current Toyo model, I want to be transparent about where the following observations come from: a combination of my own testing on the Open Country A/T III, and cross-referenced long-term owner testing programs run by Off-Road.com, OutdoorHub, and Overland Expo — independent outlets that partnered with Toyo to place tires with real owners across genuinely varied conditions and report back candidly.

Open Country A/T III

This remains Toyo’s flagship all-terrain, and the real-world feedback is consistently strong. Owners across multiple independent testing programs report confident traction on gravel, dirt, and light rock, genuinely quiet highway manners for the category, and tread wear tracking well against the roughly 65,000-mile warranty on most sizes.

One long-term Tacoma owner specifically noted the tire “checks all the boxes” for a truck that needs to be comfortable on pavement and capable off it.

Given the recall history above, I’d still recommend this tire — but only after you’ve confirmed your specific DOT code isn’t on either recall list.

Open Country R/T Trail

This is the newer hybrid model most existing Toyo coverage doesn’t mention. Independent long-term testing describes it as bridging the gap between all-terrain comfort and mud-terrain capability: confident wet braking, even wear over a multi-month test period, and noticeably quieter highway manners than a dedicated mud-terrain tire, at the cost of roughly 1 mpg in fuel economy.

For overlanding-style use — real trail capability without giving up daily-driver comfort — it’s a genuinely strong option that deserves more attention than it’s getting.

Celsius II / Celsius

Long-term owner testing on the (outgoing) Celsius line reported genuinely quiet, confident performance across a Colorado winter — comparable noise to factory OEM tires, better off-road grip than stock, and only a minor observation of light squeal under hard cornering. That’s a strong foundation, and Celsius II builds on it as Toyo’s current all-weather offering.

Open Country M/T

Toyo’s mud-terrain has a real, earned reputation for durability under serious abuse — one off-road racer account describes switching from dedicated competition mud tires to the Open Country M/T specifically because it held up to repeated hard use better than tires designed for a single race weekend.

Toyo Warranty Coverage

Toyo backs its tires with a standard limited warranty covering workmanship and materials defects for the life of the original usable tread or five years from purchase, whichever comes first.

Many passenger and light-truck models carry separate mileage warranties, generally in the 45,000 to 80,000-mile range depending on the specific tire — the Open Country H/T II, for example, carries roughly 65,000 miles, and select touring models run higher.

Toyo also offers a satisfaction trial period on select models, typically framed as a “No Regrets” trial — if you’re not happy with a new set within the trial window, you can return or exchange them through the dealer where you bought them. Confirm the exact terms for your specific model with your retailer before buying.

Pricing

Toyo sits in the mid-to-premium tier. Expect roughly $100–$180 per tire for all-season passenger models, and $175–$260+ per tire for Open Country and performance lines depending on size.

That generally puts Toyo 10–15% below comparable Michelin or Bridgestone pricing while sitting above true budget brands.

Toyo vs. the Competition

Toyo vs. Michelin: Michelin generally holds an edge in tread life consistency and wet-weather performance, and — worth saying plainly given the section above — a cleaner recent recall record on their current touring and all-terrain lines. Toyo’s Open Country lineup often matches or exceeds Michelin’s off-road-oriented options in raw capability, at a real price advantage.

Toyo vs. BFGoodrich: The BFGoodrich KO2 remains the benchmark all-terrain tire for extreme off-road use and sidewall durability; our full BFGoodrich Tires Review covers it in depth. The Open Country A/T III is a genuine competitor for lighter off-road use with quieter highway manners, at a comparable price point.

Toyo vs. Falken: Falken’s Wildpeak AT4W, covered in our Falken Tires Review, competes closely with the Open Country A/T III on price and capability. Falken currently has the cleaner recent recall record between the two.

Toyo vs. Cooper: Toyo generally edges out Cooper’s Discoverer lineup, covered in our Cooper Tires Review, in manufacturing consistency and on-road refinement, at broadly similar pricing.

Who Should Buy Toyo Tires?

Toyo makes sense if you:

• Want genuine off-road capability with real on-road manners, and are willing to check your DOT code against the current recalls before buying or continuing to drive on an existing set
• Drive an EV truck or SUV and want a purpose-built option in the Open Country A/T III EV
• Want overlanding-style hybrid capability — the R/T Trail deserves serious consideration
• Prioritize value relative to premium brands without dropping to true budget tiers

You might want to wait or look elsewhere if you:

• Currently own an Open Country A/T III, R/T Trail, M/T, H/T II, Crosstek 2, or a Nitto Grappler-family tire and haven’t yet checked your DOT code against the October 2025 and February 2026 recalls
• Want the cleanest possible recent recall record on a flagship all-terrain tire
• Need the absolute longest treadwear warranty available — Michelin’s touring lines still lead here

Final Verdict: Are Toyo Tires Good?

Toyo makes genuinely capable, well-engineered tires, and the underlying engineering story — real specialization in off-road and performance categories, a broadening EV-ready lineup, and consistently strong independent long-term owner feedback — still holds up.

But I can’t give this brand an unqualified recommendation right now the way an earlier version of this review did, because two real, recent, safety-relevant recalls affect their most-recommended tire. That’s not a reason to write Toyo off.

It’s a reason to buy carefully: check your DOT code, register your tires, and confirm with your dealer that any new purchase isn’t drawing from recalled inventory before it goes on your vehicle.

Do that, and Toyo remains a strong, legitimate mid-tier choice — particularly for truck, SUV, and off-road-curious drivers who want real capability without full premium-brand pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Disclosure: Observations on the Open Country A/T III reflect a combination of personal testing and cross-referenced independent long-term owner testing programs from Off-Road.com, OutdoorHub, and Overland Expo, clearly noted throughout. Recall information is drawn directly from NHTSA public filings and Toyo’s own published recall documentation. I was not compensated by Toyo Tire, Nitto Tire, or any retailer for this review. Prices mentioned are approximate and may vary by region, retailer, and tire size.