Tire-pavement and vehicle-pavement interaction analysis is an effective method for solving comprehensive challenges of functional pavement research. It is also an important content for current and future transportation science exploration. Tire-pavement coupling analysis is the basis of vehicle-pavement interaction investigation. It is an inevitable trend to integrate the multifunctional tire model into the vehicle model and promote the transformation of the tire-pavement coupling effect to vehicle-pavement interaction analysis. For this topic, this study first introduces the advantages and limitations of tire-pavement coupling research for solving different problems of functional pavements. Then, the concept of vehicle-pavement interaction is explored, demonstrating how this direction is capable of tackling more complex and broader scientific issues compared to the tire-pavement coupling study. Finally, it concludes that transitioning from the tire-pavement coupling effect to vehicle-pavement interaction analysis is crucial, as this shift promotes the advancement of functional pavement research.