Need to still replace all 4 tires at once?

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by scmadm, Dec 23, 2024 at 9:47 PM.

  1. scmadm

    scmadm Junior Member

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    Since the rear wheels are not connected to the drivetrain on my AWD, but simply are on an electric motor to have AWD, It seems to me it wouldn't be necessary to replace all 4 tires at once any longer. You should be able to replace just 2 at a time (fronts or backs). Is my thinking sound? My google search didn't bring up this factor when replacing tires.
     
  2. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    Maybe download the owners manual in pdf format (Toyota Tech Info website is one source), and search it with relevant terms. I doubt it matters, but clueless.

    You’d be doing this to economize somehow? I’d just rotate regularly, replace all at same time.
     
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  3. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    If your rotating the tires every 5K miles, per OEM manual, all four should wear out at about the same time - unless you have brake and/or suspension issues.
    As far as replacing tires goes, replacing them in pairs per axle is fine if moneys is tight. Just beware that the semi-bald ones aren't going to grip as well as the new. The rear end may swing out, if you replace the front with new - even in an AWD. I don't think Toyota's AWD specs. are as tight as some other cars, but you may get traction control issues, if the wheel spins are too far out of wack.

    Hope this helps....
     
  4. Hammersmith

    Hammersmith Senior Member

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    They could also be asking in case one tire gets damaged. If a tire gets shredded at 60% lifespan, it's a lot easier to stomach replacing two* than replacing all four.


    I suspect replacing in pairs is fine, but I don't have proof of that. Sorry.



    *and then keeping the other good tire as a backup
     
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Witness Leader

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    One thing: when tire shops replacing just two, with a front wheel drive, they always want to put the new ones on the rear. How they're ever going to catch up (in wear) with the front is one conumdrum I've never heard answered.

    I've thought about it, and my conclusion: "just never do that, replace all four".

    Beside which, driving around well-worn tires in front, and near-new ones in the back, would play havoc with my OCD.
     
  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    That's the theory, and I find it close to practice, but I also write down tread depths every time I rotate, and it doesn't take long to see the wear rates spreading out in practice.

    I'm also driving little enough that the recommended six-year replacement interval is as likely to be the replacement reason as treadwear (at least for the long-treadwear tires I like to buy). And it's always a wildcard which tire gets taken out by a road hazard, and messes up any tidy scheme you have in mind.

    And for all the hoopla about matching pairs or sets, I've twice had road-hazardized tires just singly replaced, and got no complaints from the car about wheel speed mismatches. I've been lucky enough for this to happen when the other three aren't very worn, so the difference from adding a new one is within tolerance. I also was not sternly warned away from this course at either tire place; they looked at the overall tread depths and said "probably be fine".

    I'm thinking I may leave behind the whole replace-in-sets mindset and start just replacing my most-treadworn single tire every 18 months or so (at least if the same tire is still being sold). That'll satisfy the six-year age requirement with a less-lumpy cash flow, and help ensure that whenever a road hazard necessitates replacing any one tire, the treadwear difference won't be too extreme.
     
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