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Chasing wheel vibration

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Nico3d3, Jul 26, 2022.

  1. Nico3d3

    Nico3d3 Junior Member

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    I have high speed vibrations ever since I got my brand new summer tires. It appeared right after I installed them, I had a perfectly fine car and then bam, it start vibrating at 60 mph. They were balanced three times, last time they even did a road force balance and they still couldn't find the problem. Knowing that it started right after I installed them, I'm quite sure they are the source of the problem. I figured, I could just replace them under warranty since Uniroyal offer a comprehensible warranty on them. I called Uniroyal Canada and they are willing to replace it but they ask me to proceed with the dealer. Then, I called the Dealer (Ste-Foy Toyota) and they aren't really helpful, they said they first need to conduct an analysis and they want to keep the car for the whole day... At what cost?? I think, they charge 130$ an hour. Why should it be so complicated? They sold those tires and they are warrantied by Uniroyal... Anyone else ever had troubles with persistent vibrations on Tigerpaw Touring A/S? Road force balancing can help but, in my case it didn't change anything.
     
    #1 Nico3d3, Jul 26, 2022
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2022
  2. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Senior Member

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    Which tires have the vibration?

    Also have they tried taking the tire off and remounting it 90/180 degrees rotated from original?
     
  3. Nico3d3

    Nico3d3 Junior Member

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    Thought it was only the rear tires (vibration in the seat), then I mounted rear wheels on the front. It doesn't help all that much, but I do get vibrations on the steering wheels now. Taking tire off and remounting at a different angle, was a part of the road force balance they did. They have this super expensive machine which can measure any low spot on the rims and match it to high spot on the tires. This machine can also detect if a wheel is bent but, they didn't find any problem with them. Having owned cars for 20 years, I never had so much trouble with such a "simple" job. Changing tires always involved putting the new one on the rim, you balance them and that's it.
     
    #3 Nico3d3, Jul 26, 2022
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2022
  4. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Senior Member

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    Stock wheels? Only at 60 mph and no other speed?

    Only other thing I can suggest is to get the alignment checked to see if they are still within spec.
     
  5. Nico3d3

    Nico3d3 Junior Member

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    Yes, stock wheel, it start at 60 mph and gradually gets worse if I go even faster. The only positive unintended consequence is: it help me save fuel, lower speed equal better fuel economy. I doubt an alignment would do anything since it started all of a sudden after installing those tires... It wouldn't be the first time a manufacturer send a defective product. I just need advice on how to deal with Ste-Foy Toyota.
     
    #5 Nico3d3, Jul 26, 2022
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2022
  6. Doug McC

    Doug McC Senior Member

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    I would, rather forcefully, tell them that they had a chance to fix the problem and they either replace the tires or you will contact Uniroyal and tell them the dealer is not handling the problem in a reasonable manner.
    Right now it seems they are hoping you will just go away.
    And if you bought the car from them, maybe remind them that it probably won’t be the last car you ever purchase, and tires are pretty cheap compared to the loss of future sales.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  7. Mambo Dave

    Mambo Dave Active Member

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    I bought my replacement tires from Costco. Bridgestone Touranza Quietracks.

    I get free rotations and balancing with them.

    Upon installation, and after every rotation this far, the first balancing was off. I have had to bring the car back to them to assess and re-balance a second time three times in a row now.

    I've never had any issues with Costco, so perhaps it's something about the Prius wheel design?
     
  8. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Senior Member

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    Or the tire. I bought Ecopias from Costco and don't have any wheel vibrations.
     
    Doug McC likes this.
  9. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Senior Member

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    ( Duplicate post. Website seems to be glitchy this afternoon. )
     
  10. Doug McC

    Doug McC Senior Member

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    The Prius wheels are extremely light weight so perhaps that could be a problem, but even if it was, once the tire is balanced to the wheel, how is it mysteriously unbalanced simply by rotating the tires (assuming Costco isn’t doing an on the vehicle spin balance)?
     
  11. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Senior Member

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    Mechanics don't really treat wheels with tires mounted on them with kid gloves. You can knock a weight off if you throw or roll it wrong and it hits the rim or something. But that's an extreme case.

    How's the tire pressure? Is the tire a unidirectional tire?
     
    Doug McC likes this.
  12. Doug McC

    Doug McC Senior Member

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    Assuming they rotate the tires as directed in the OM, they are rotated front to back not side to side so they should always be traveling in the same direction.
     
  13. Mambo Dave

    Mambo Dave Active Member

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    I ask them to rebalance each time as balance does change over the life of the tires. So each time the new initial balance was off. Once time by a surprising amount for all wheels.
     
  14. Mambo Dave

    Mambo Dave Active Member

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    Here I always thought that radials that are not unidirectional are to have a back-and-X-pattern rotation. I admit to not having read the OM, but am wondering why Toyota changed this.

    [​IMG]
     
  15. Nico3d3

    Nico3d3 Junior Member

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    The saga continue for me, I did read anecdotal evidences, on the web, that, sometimes, faulty tires do cause vibrations even if they are perfectly balanced. BUT, Ste-Foy Toyota still refuse to go any further without doing their own inspection. Yeah right, it's probably a good thing to do but, still , they charge 130$ an hour. I called Uniroyal warranty service and they told me, that I could get an inspection at an independant mechanic. Then the mechanic could call them to confirm the inspection is ok. Then, they are willing to pay without any other questions. Seems like I'll need to argue with the dealer again. Reminds me of the old days, when my dad bought a brand new Toyota, it was the most dependable car he ever had but, the Toyota dealer was a piece of shit. He was unfortunate enough to have a broken wheel bearing while car was under warranty. He had to fight with them, they basically told him: "no that's not possible wheel bearings don't break on these new car".
     
    #15 Nico3d3, Aug 1, 2022
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2022
    Mambo Dave likes this.