Prius Fast Tirewear - Important Update

Be sure to rotate the tires every 5000 miles. The Prius is front heavy on the tires and wil cause wierd wear on the fronts if not rotated.

 

Some interesting posts here. I came on the site because I have a 2005 with 38k. I use my dealer for all servicing and they do tire rotations every oil change it seems. Likewise, they do the tire pressure and I think they are doing a great job (at least that's what they want me to say when I get the post-service survey from Toyota.)

My tires are nearly bald on the edges and when I mentioned that to the service rep last week, she said that the Dunlops are not as good as what they are using now. I forgot what oem brand is on there (it's 10 pm and I'm not going out to check) but they didn't offer any advice or freebies.

Should I press them for new tires or just search around for best tires to replace them? I am willing to pay more for good tires, not just for safety sake but also to reduce more trash tire pollution.

Any advice?
Thanks

 

The tires looked kind of small to me when i bought it. Thanks for the info

 

Geez I hope you are kidding. You are WAY WAY over max cold pressure.

 

You should go buy some new tires. 38k on tires is a fine amount of usage, asking the dealer for any compensation won't get you anywhere.

FYI, do some research when getting new ones. I didn't pay too much attention and when I switched to Bridgestone Potenzas my mpg dropped 3 miles per gallon. The Potenzas are much much quieter but the drop in mileage is driving me nuts.

 

Sound like they screwed up the job.

I don't know how long the Integrity tires would have lasted on my car, I took them off at 3K the first winter (Cr@p on even minimal snow) and put on TripleTreds. Ran them the first winter, put the Integritys back on for the summer. Not so great as summer tires either.

I didn't see an MPG improvement between the TTs and the Integritys in spring 2005 when I put the Integritys back on. So when the TTs went back on November 2005 they stayed there until I put on Nokian RSi Nov 2007. I figured the TTs with 50K miles on them might be getting a bit tread thin for snow and I'd rather have them for good summer tires for the next few years than run them bald and not have decent winter traction some time when I really needed it.

The TTs went back on 3 weeks ago and still have good tread with ~50K miles so I don't see the "Prius is hard on tires" arguement. I do rotate them every 5K miles and run them at 42/40.

 

Glad I found this thread -- I have just under 23K on my 2007 and the Goodyears are just about on their last legs.

I rotate them according to schedule and check tire pressure regularly, so I don't think it's me.

Will check with the dealer.

 

Not so sure if it's the Prius or the OEM tires that are the problem. My first set of tires were punctured and bald when I replaced them at 24k miles. However, I went to a local Les Schwab to get new tires put on and these tires (I don't know right now what kind) have lasted me 40k miles so far and are still looking good.

 

I'm a relatively new Prius owner, so maybe my experience is atypical, but on my previous cars I never drove past 30,000 miles on a single set of tires. Even if there were 1/4" tread left on tires with >400 treadwear rating, I would always make sure to have them replaced as soon as they neared 20K-30K miles.

So to hear people expecting 70K miles is just astounding to me.

Tires are one of those automotive items on which I always spent a few extra bucks to ensure maximum grip and safe driving.

 

OE tires are not known for high treadlife. The Integrity is a cheap tire in Goodyear's lineup. But it's not a bad tire, according to a Goodyear manager I spoke to, if you don't drive lots of miles. Sure, there are more expensive Goodyears (the Assurance series) for higher treadlife. But he didn't think they were worth the extra cost to upgrade unless you drive lots of miles. My Toyota salesman has put 45K miles on them in 2 years with his Prius, and he says they're fine.

If you have problems with a Goodyear tire, you are either dealing with a tire pressure or misalignment problem, or you have a defective tire. I noticed some Prius owners here use really high tire pressures to squeeze out more gas mileage. The tire may not like that. It's probably best to use close to the manufacturer's recommendation (my dealer put 37/35 psi in my tires), since they probably have good reason.

Goodyear and Michelin are the two biggest tire companies (maybe Bridgestone, too) with the best tire research facilities. You expect them to be in the forefront of tire technology. So their tires are among the best. Toyota has stuck with the Integrity for a lot of years, so they must be satisfied in terms of its cost/performance.

 

What tire pressures do you use?

 

I can not understand the problem with the Goodyear Integrity tires, I have had them for 25,000 miles and they still look like new. Is my driving so different ? They have served me fine for all this time and I am very happy with them......What is wrong with my driving?

 

what tire pressures do you use?

 

I'm new here - just got my pkg 5 touring last week.

Anyway, my husband is a OE tire designer for Michelin. He says you should expect around 25-30K on a OE set of tires. The tread is developed to last only this long. Often they are designed to give you a 'sporty' feel, or to have a low rolling resistance - whatever the car maker wants to give maximum performance so the tread wear suffers.

Replacement tires should,always last longer than OE tires.

 

I've just checked out possible replacements. Goodyear has a brand (forgot it now!!) rated at 60,000 miles. Michelin's HydroEdge is rated at 90,000, with alleged exceptional stopping power. Would those tires inevitably mean lower gas mileage, and specifically would the Michelin stick harder to the road and prevent better MPG?

 

lots here go with hydroedge. Others go with Michelin.

Me I will probably get the Michelin Energy Mx4+ tires.

 

fyi

the warranty on the bridgestone turanza tire that they put on the touring edition
is only for 50,000 miles.

im taking the car in to get a radio replaced at the delearship tommorow , it seems to lose its presets, well anyway ill bring up the tires and report back here if i can score some free ones

 

Likewise, I had a set of Michelin Hydroedge tires installed 20K miles ago. The tread wear is barely noticeable.

 

Landstander and JimboK, has your MPG suffered with the HydroEges?

 

When you guys say worn out or bald, is it the whole tread patch that is bald or just the center of the patch? I could understand the center being more worn down than the rest of the contact patch if you were running higher than the "recommended" tire pressure.