Aftermarket wheel problems on 2017 Prius

Well, at least they look good.

 

i had the same problem with a used ford ranger many years ago. dealer replaced all the wheels and tires no questions asked.
most toyota dealers suck

 

Wheels vibrating at high speed is a safety issue, I would put this across to the dealer and if he doesn't change the wheels, report it to the governing safety body. He has basically sold you a car that is unsafe, I don't know about the US but here in the UK it's illegal.

 

I'm not sure either, but reading up, it seems like hub centric rims are effective, and a solution to the oversized hub openings typical on aftermarket rims.

 

Or could be those particular rims? Not sure. There's a lot of aftermarket rims sold, and they all use adapater rings, being "one size fits all".

That said, I've always stuck with OEM, and the adapter ring is one factor for my decision.

 

I'm sceptical: there's a lot of aftermarket rims sold. It's a big industry, and not a lot of problems like this? Could be one of your rims got slightly bent in a pot hole, or just a manufacture defect.

Ok, see you've already had three rims replaced, so that's kinda out the window. Suspension or steering damage??

That said, playing it safe with OEM rims is good. I'm using Corolla steel rims for snow tires, with correct hub opening. And I have some Prius Plug-In rims I'm still trying to figure out what to do with. Again, correct hub opening.

Just for giggles, I wonder if the dealership or someone could put on an OEM snow tire set (with OEM Toyota rims) or something, just for a drive, see if the steering wheel vibration goes away? Or maybe they don't want to know?

 

Would this be a case for the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) or do they only cover new vehicles ?

 

So put on a set of OEM rims (used you can pick up for under $400 for the set).

Sort out who picks up the tab later.

 

I have been in the car business since finishing university in 1979 and work for a large dealer group. If the car was indeed "Toyota Certified" you may have some recourse with Toyota itself because, if I am not mistaken, "Toyota Certified" is a factory program.. If the car was sold with aftermarket wheels as "Toyota Certified" the dealer may not in line with the rules of the program.

BTW, any 5 x 100 OEM Toyota wheel is hub-centric and will fit on your car. I run 15" Corolla steel wheels with winter tires for 6 months of the the year on 2016 Prius with zero issues. Camry and the Pirus V have a different bolt pattern of 5 x 114.3 so they do not work.
Cheers,
Mike

 

Thanks for the information.

 

I meant to say something like that, edit window expired.

Again, my 2 cents: OP should at least temporarily swap in a set of Toyota wheels with correct sized hub openings (say a corolla snow tire set, dealership should have some), see if the steering wheel shimmy does in fact go away.

 

Having driven cars since 1974 and have experienced a myriad of different types of rims, I will say that rims will always create issues of some type. Balancing them is the main issue. After market rims tend to warp and bend easier than stock ones. Also, as mentioned above, they require special spacers, nuts and alway additional balancing weights. Keep in mind, every time you go over a hard bump on after market rims, they tend to go out of balance. I had horrible luck with rims over 17". 18" or higher always needed balancing for me. I learned to live with it and to budget going to the local rim shop to have stress fracture cracks sealed and the rims rebalanced. Wish you the best!