2 New Tires Installation

There isn't much that's adjustable? I'd say never, unless you're noticing something, and/or you hit a curb hard, or were in an accident. I think a tire shop that regularly does alignment checks is preferable? Not sure.

 

Interesting. I seem to recall my dad doing something like that, way back when.

In the past (before Prius) I usually never had the alignment checked, unless there's pulling to one side or the other, or the steering wheel is not centered, or there's unusual tire wear. etc.

I will assume everything is good on my Prius.

 

I'm not sure either. I had the dealer check it one time. I've hit a LOT of potholes in 3 years. But all seems ok.

I think it's time for a simple rotation. I did them myself, back when I was young!

 

One trick I heard with potholes: if you see them coming and they're unavoidable, brake until you're almost on them, then off the brake as you roll over them. Braking as you roll over them only makes it worse: a free-turning wheel will take less shock going through the pothole.

 

Thanks. To be honest, I usually hardly ever see them. So I go right thru the hole at normal speed. BAM! BAM!
I'm trying to be more observant lately. -- But usually looking 3 car lengths ahead -- and those cars are covering the holes!

 

Since potholes and I meet several times per day, you are correct.

I am wondering about tackling alignment myself.....only issue is being able to get the car off the ground.....is Barbara Eden available.

 

My apologies to Peter for getting so off topic. But he's probably at Costco, yelling at somebody.

 

Most people can't afford that...

 

As has been stated on here before, Costco has a very strict insurance policy related to tire installation and they'll refuse to do anything different than what established OEM standards and other basic guidelines require... If you're a clueless car owner and want cheap tire work, they're great.

But OP is not a clueless driver and actually thinks about their driving needs and wants custom work. Having better tread on the front wheels in a Prius means your tires don't spin in the snow when you pull away from a stoplight or when accelerating up a hill. Having better tread on the rears means you don't fishtail in icy conditions at speed, which to an inexperienced driver mean they over counter-steer and lose control of the vehicle and crash.

So from a liability perspective if you're a driver with no advanced driving skills and you can afford an attorney, the liability from you constantly being slowed down with your front tires spinning too often is far less risk to them than you fishtailing at speed and crashing. So while I sympathize with OP, they've chosen the wrong shop to service their tires.

As a general rule, if you're on this forum and actively learning and reading about your Prius you're going to know more about the finer points of your car then the people you hire to service it, which is why I get all riled up by people who post on here like they know alot, yet don't even bother to learn how to do their own labor, which is a huge money saver.

And even more important than saving money, constantly telling a mechanic that you know better and want stuff done differently than how they do it every day is a losing proposition. Learn to work on your own car folks! That way you won't have anyone to be mad at but yourself if things don't go the way you want!

 

You guys make it sound so easy. It's not. For me. And you guys always assume that everyone has tools? A garage? The skills?

I'm too old.

Not physically able.

No garage.

No tools.

No house.

But yes, I wish more kids would choose to take "auto shop" in high school or Jr college. That is, if the schools even offer it anymore. So many "shop" classes have been eliminated in CA schools. They used to offer everything from aircraft mechanics, to plumbing?

And I can't think of ONE kid or young person in my extended family that has ever expressed a desire to work on cars. All they want is computers!

And truthfully, I only did very basic stuff when young, and I hated it. So now I just hope & pray the dealer gets it right.

 

This is why so many people pile one upside down car loan on top of the other because mechanics are such an unpredictable cost risk, that they're willing to carry ten times the debt burden to avoid them.

 

If you are saying you are going to get two additional tires in two weeks, then two new tires now on front or rear should not make much difference. It's only two weeks. But if you are saying you will be rotating two new tires you just bought to front in two weeks, and keeping old worn out tires (now rotated to rear). Then tire industry recommendation is not to do rotation, period. With front wheel drive, front pair will wear quicker, once you put new tires in rear, you will never catch-up the wear on front. Rotating will not help to even out the wear. So, with two new tires, recommendation is to put them on rear when new, and when front (older) tires wear out, buy new 2 tires and put them again in rear and bring the rear (now somewhat worn older) tires to front. You should not do regular tire rotation. Of course, with this practice you will void tire tread warranty.

 

Well, that would be foolish.

I've been very lucky with all my vehicles, so far. Never had any problems with my previous Hondas or prior Toyotas. Just routine maintenance. My 2016 Prius is the only car that's had all these damn recalls!

 

You're probably also wealthy enough to afford newer cars too, which is rare. Majority of folks in the US have less than $500 savings because everything they own is leveraged by the bank's financing who are are making their life way more expensive, but once they got you on the hook there's not much of a way out...

 

I know everyone who said that putting the new tires on the rear for all cars is correct and we're all trying to help, but I think we may have missed the concern @PeterPrius has. Sure, it's easy to hydroplane and spin our with the new ones in the front, but he's more concerned with getting stuck in the snow. He needs maximum pulling traction to get up Turkey Creek Canyon in a snowstorm. In those conditions, the best tires in front are an advantage ... assuming he doesn't have to drive on I-70 in a thunderstorm. He apparently figures that the snowstorm is more likely than the rainstorm and is willing to trade driving a little slower for being able to drive at all going uphill in the snow. I see his point.

But, the Costco guys did do the right thing, other than the way they disrespected him. As has been said, rotating them is not that hard. All you need is a jack and a spare tire if you don't have jack stands. If you have a physical condition, perhaps you also have a friend.

 

My back is starting to dread tire rotations. I try to work "smart" at least: instead of just muscle the wheel up-and-on, I'll bump/roll/connive it up as close as possible, as correctly oriented as possible, then push a small pry bar under the front edge, and lever it up. It's invariable not exactly lined up, holes with studs, so I'll rock the pry bar left/right, while rotating the wheel, and with a little luck get it to pop on. Then: now where'd I put the nuts...

 

To PriusCamper:

Wealthy? If you only knew. I can't even afford a house.... Or a condo... anywhere. I never even made enough money to qualify for a home loan in CA. Well, maybe I could have gotten a loan, but would not have been able to afford the mortgage payment.

Yes, the last 3 cars I owned were new. But the payments were reasonable, and I drove each one for 11 years.

 

Yes... It's the difference between tire installer liability if you crash versus optimizing your car for specific driving needs even if it slightly increases the risk for a crash at speed.

 

Fortunately, I get free rotations at two tire shops that I did business with in the past. They do ok.

 

Well, this goes to the core of a huge problem on Priuschat, which is income level... You own a two year old car and think you're poor, I've no issue with that. But myself and many others have never owned a car that wasn't close to ten years old by the time we can afford it. What each one of us can afford defines the value of the advice we can get on here. Sometimes I get really mad when someone who just spent every last penny on a 10 year-old Prius for $5K is told they're misguided and wrong for doing so by someone who doesn't know what it's like to not be able to afford a vehicle that's only a couple years old. To be truly helpful, we need to tailor our commenting to what the OP can actually afford...