Can't find replacement tire (Goodyear fuelmax)

just went thru the same issue ... 6k miles on the prius and learnt that 89S is now discontinued. The good news is that 89H is the same tread pattern and is a superior tire wrt compound (65k instead of 60k / better treadwear / better speed rating etc.)

got mine straight from a goodyear store $102.xx - $125.xx installed (KS) ... i have felt no noticeable difference if any ... the tread patterns match so i dont think you ahve anything to worry about ...

at 3k definitely no need to replace all 4 ... hope this helps!

 

I had the same issue, only at 15k miles. I bought a set of 2 new tires and had them installed at the rear, then matched with the same brand when the fronts wore out at 29k. It is ok to have different tires front and rear as long as you match the tires on each axle.

 

I think this is the one, from Tire Rack:

Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max

$81 + shipping, they have installers all over the country and you can have the tire sent directly to the installer. They are a good company, I have used them for years.

 

+1 for TireRack.com.

Highly recommended. Great prices, great service.

 

I've bought from Tire Rack many times.

One caution, when comparing prices to buying locally, make sure you include TR's shipping cost. It can sometimes be very high.

 

if needed, tirerack can also shave your tire to match the circumference of the others.

 

FYI, Discount Tire shows the Goodyear Assurance "S" rated tire in stock at all of the local stores here.

There may be some difference in the tread compound between the S rated and H rated tires, and there could be some difference in traction as a result. But this is not much of a factor as the ABS and traction/stability control sense the motion of each individual wheel so it will compensate for minor differences. Major differences such as different tire sizes will affect the car stability and should be avoided. (In my youth, I drove a car for a while with three different size tires and it wasn't a problem, but I would NOT recommend that!)

I agree that at 3000 miles you want to simply replace the single damaged tire to get the full use of the remaining tires, and the best choice is the closest matching tire you can find. When it is time for a new set, I recommend the Michelin Primacy MXV4 tires. I have them on our other two cars and they are the best tires I've ever had. And I've bought most major brands over the years: Goodyear, Firestone, Bridgestone, Pirelli, Cooper, Goodrich, Dunlap, Continental, etc. The Michelin Primacy MXV4 has great traction, very long longevity (>60,000 miles on the older set), excellent rain performance, quiet and smooth ride, and has the same fuel savings claim as the Goodyear Assurance. The handling is good but falls short of the best I've had (which were the Dunlops - but I don't recall the model). But the best handling was at the expense of ride and longevity. Just my $0.02 worth of advice on tires.

Finally, if you are comparing Internet prices to local dealer prices, you need to factor in all costs including shipping, installation, balancing, tax, disposal fee (at least in California) and any TMPS fee. Most prices quoted around here include installation and balancing but not the other fees and taxes. My preferred store includes lifetime balance and rotation which is a plus. All these factors makes comparison shopping much more time consuming.

 

Unfortunately, if only one tire is irrepairable, you'd have to replace both on the same axle. Replacing only one tire with similar thread is not ideal as the tread compounds may be different and hence yields different traction upon emergency stops. If you can't afford to replace two at the same time, then it is still better than mounting a totally different thread tire on it. Conside buying a pair, put them on the same axle and sell the good one on e-bay.

 

I had the same problem with the Bridgestone Ecopia EP-20 tires on my 11 Prius. Ran over something and by the time the low tire pressure tire indicator came on, I had ruined the tire. The only place I could find one in the Oxnard-Ventura area (150,000 pop) was at a Toyota dealer. They didn't have the tire at Costco, Walmart, or the local Bridgestone dealer. The Toyota dealer was the last resort, but they had one, only one, but that was all I needed. The car had less than 1000 miles on it.
On the plus side, the jack and the spare worked fine, but the ruined tire did not fit in the wheel well.