2010 Prius with 23K miles. Did Balance / Rotation (I do X) 500 miles ago and started to hear "wub wub wub" sound (speed dependent / no vibrations). Took it back to shop (local NTB) and they said: a) the front two tires have uneven tire wear on inside (these used to be on rear 500 miles ago) b) they did free alignment check and the both rear are in green - only LF is slightly out; RF is ok. RF has more wear. c) they are saying that rear suspension is the culprit. they tested wheel bearings / brakes etc. and they check out fine. d) my mileage has definitely gone down recently from 53ish to 49ish. hard to tell from one tank tho. My questions : As some of you might recall our Prius was rear ended by a hijacked bus last year - the whole rear bumper was replaced. a) Anyway to be sure that the suspension is defective? no leaks that we can see. Anyway to see that struts / shocks is/ are bent ?? b) If I have to replace 2 tires ... they are Goodyear Assurance right now - does it make sense to get just 2 more of same or get 4 of something else? Recommendations. We are in KC so snow / ice is a concern. c) Any chance the tires will be prorated by anyone?? d) anything else that might be causing this? thanks !
Sorry to hear you're having trouble. The "wub wub wub" sound you describe reminds me of the sound I had on two previous vehicles years ago when the tread was separating on one of the tires. It was also speed dependant. Have you had the tires balance checked? A tire issue like out of round, might show up if they spin test them. Is the rear end alignment OK? I question this since it was in a rear end accident.
Thanks for the quick replies .. the rear end alignment is dead-on ! I do X (tire mfr. reccomendations) ...
my wife got that on her hycam at 20K. tires were cupped. alignment was fine, no accidents, bad tires.
If wheel alignment is correct and nothing is binding and the shocks are working, your shop's blaming it on rear suspension sounds very bogus. As others have hinted, you may have a defective tire or two. That said, GY Assurances are usually good tires, so I don't see any problem sticking with them except possibly your snow/ice concerns. You should have copy of the tire warranty with your car and be able to answer the pro-rating question yourself. The bad part about most pro-rating schedules is that they are set up so that they aren't worth bothering with if your tires are 1/2 worn or more. You need to read your warranty though because the warranties vary.
There is a thread here that states the steel belts will fatigue if rotated oppositely. Toyota recommends front to back, and back to front only. You are on stock tires if you only have 23k miles right? BTW @ 23K the dealer will still do a free alignment under warranty. I can't tell from your post if you are going to an outside shop. Edit: Wheel Alignment & Balance Warranty is 12 Months, or 20,000 miles
Really? Let me ask you something, I'm under 36k miles so still under warranty- I lowered my car on new springs but my rear left toe is way out of spec at -4, in need of a custom alignment if I want it fixed. Now I doubt it, but are you saying the dealership factory warranty may cover this?
There are also tire companies that say it's not a problem unless you are running unidirectional tires. Listen to your tire manufacturer.
Well let me restate: I believe if OP plays dumb and complains to the dealer about uneven tire wear, claiming it is a factory issue, they will at least do an alignment check and then an alignment if anything is out of alignment. At least to maximize any remaining tire life on the OP's tires. As for your situation, I'm not sure because you've modified the suspension.
Wheel alignment is a item that is covered under warranty? X rotation should not matter with a non directional tire. Directional tires can't be cross rotated and have to go front to back. I just checked my owners manual and Toyota says tires should be rotated front to back on the same side.
If one rear wheel is 4 degrees out with your lowering springs, you could probably put the stock springs back in and get the dealer to do something. But, it would be a better use of your time and money to take you car as it to a good suspension shop and have them do a full alignment. There are lots of modified twist beam rear axle cars in the Sillycon Valley so you should be able to find a shop that will do it right. Be sure they tell you ahead of time how the adjust the rear alignment if it's off. Some shops either won't adjust it or don't know how. Expect about an hours labor in addition to a standard 4 wheel alignment charge and $15 to $45 for parts (tapered shims and spacers)
I just want to correct myself and/or be more clear I brought my car to the dealer to check for excessive vibration & shimmy and they did an alignment under warranty. I thought it was under basic warranty but now I'm not sure. My car is relatively new, so I can't guarantee anyone else will get the same treatment. Also, please refer to this thread on cross or front/back rotation. I don't think X is a wrong way of doing it, just not what Toyota recommends per their "belt separation" argument. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...82274-what-correct-tire-rotation-pattern.html
All righty then.^^^^^ Sounds like Toyota is just doing litigation mitigation. I will ask how my dealership does it when I take my car in for it's first service.
I want to be as helpful to the OP as possible so here is some more info as far as the tires themselves go: According to Toyota: According to Goodyear: I'll leave the interpretation of the quotes above to the reader.
Here is the Toyota warranty information on wheel alignment out of the Warranty manual for the 2010 Prius: Coverage is for 36 months or 36,000 miles, whichever occurs first, with the exception of wheel alignment and wheel balancing, which are covered for 12 months or 20,000 miles, whichever occurs first.
I have this same problem on my 2010. Goodyear OEM tires...about 22k mi so far. I've rotated them front-to-back about every 5k. I have not had the alignment checked yet. The inside edge tread blocks are feathering, and they're now very noisy. It's on all 4 tires now, and I'm not sure if it's the front or rear that's causing it. It is interesting to hear that someone had this happen even with a good alignment. I've always kept inflation at about 38-40 psi cold...a little more than stock, but not super-high. Has anyone seen this with non-Goodyear OEM tires?
