I have a 2002 Prius. My front tires are wearing on the outside... both sides... really badly. I had to replace them after 15,000 miles. Now I'm rotating them more frequently, but they are still wearing badly. Also, I notice a loud squeaking noise when I turn sharply at slow speeds in parking lots. Has anyone else had this problem??? What should I do to fix it. thanks. J. R.
Keep the car aligned. When you have the tech align it, I think the spec is .05 to .10 degrees of toe-in. Have them use the .05 vs. the .10. This may make the car a bit more darty on the freeway, but it will also keep the tires from wearing so quickly. Also - don't go by factory recommended pressures. The Potenzas and any other XL rated tire for that car can handle up to 50psi. I used 42 front, 40 rear on mine and it helped tire wear significantly. I also switch to the Dunlop SP-10's when I had to replace the tires on my '02. So far they seem to hold up a bit better than the Potenzas. They still show some toe-in wear though, but I believe the last alignment pushed the toe-in closer to the "bigger" spec. Hope this helps, -Rick
Hey Rick. Thanks for the tips... I'll use them. Regardign the alignment, it's been checked and they said it was okay so I didn't pay much attention to it. Can I go back to them and ask them to align it they way you said? I'm checking my tire pressure first thing tomorrow and upping it. thanks agian, J. R.
I recommend you purchase a good digital tire pressure guage as they appear to be way more accurate than the old pencil type. I have two and one has been checked to 1/10 pound from 15 -50 and it's only out 3/10th's of a pound at 40 and the error is on the low side. I've checked my other one and it's a different make and it's exactly the same. Way more accurate than using the guage at the gas station. I paid about 8$ for each of them.
Agreed w/ the gauge. Additionally, you'll notice a marked improvement in MPG with the higher tire pressures too. However, the ride will firm up as well. -Rick
My tire wear is worse After 29250 miles, all four tires are badly worn on both the inside and outside edges. So bad the car failed state inspection. I read on the Yahoo! Prius Group an ongoing discussion that the mfr suggested tire pressure is too low by about 10 psi -- the recommendation there is 42 front, 40 rear. Did you point out your problem to the dealer? Did they say anything about it. I want Toyota to replace the tires since their recommendation is wrong.
We overcame the tire issues a long ago, so you can feel very comfortable with this information: The OEM (standard) tires for the Classic Prius had a much, much, much softer rubber than the typical tire you'd find on a family car. As a result, they wore out much, much, much faster. To fix this, many owners just switched to a typical tire instead. The recommended PSI was way too low, intended to provide a very cushy ride rather than prevent harm to the tires. To fix this, many owners just inflated the tires more. And since the tires are designed to handle higher PSI, that choice was pretty simple... especially after having confirmed that the increased tire-pressure causes increased MPG and increased road-handling. http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-tires.htm ...that webpage provides additional info.
John, where and how was your avatar image taken? It looks like a stop somewhere on I-35W, which wouldn't be very safe...
irregular tire wear There's a guy on the Yahoo! Prius group that seems to know a fair amount. Here's what he said about the problem: Please bear in mind that the wear rating of 160 means that expected wear will be only 1.6 times that of the 'reference' bias ply tire. At 29k+, you've done better than most, and better than the wear rating might indicate. Also, with radials, edge wear really doesn't indicate underinflation any more since the steel belt keeps the tread quite flat over a wide range of inflation pressures. Hove you used the 'spec' pressures, or raised them to 42/40 or more? At best, if Bridgestone provides a tread wear warranty, you may get a partial credit (but off of full retail price). Overall, perhaps it's best to choose your new tires (I'm still not really disappointed in the OEM's, but you may wish to look at John's site for other choices), inflate to 42/40, and thank the good folks at the inspection station for doing you a favor in pointing out that the old sneakers are no longer safe. What might I choose? Here in the hot part of the country, I'd look at the Dunlop SP Sport A2's since they have good traction, heat, although medium wear ratings. I'd pick 185/60, rather than 65, for lowest drivetrain stress. Elsewhere, Nokian would be on the top of my list. Hope this helps, Pete / Naples
