I'm having a problem with a tire purchase I made at Sears last week. I got to 41k on the stock tires and have been looking into replacements and really like the Michelin Energy Saver A/S. However, Friday afternoon I noticed steel belts exposed on the front tires (the rears weren't too hot either) and since I was near Sears I stopped in. I couldn't research (Prius chat search does not work well on my phone) so I asked them what they had in low rolling resistance tires, and he said they had the Goodyears that people talk about on here (can't remember the model) and some Michelin Weatherwise II...I'd never heard of them, but I like Michelin tires and inquired if he was POSITIVE that they were LRR tires, and he said they were Green X, which meant the were indeed LRR tires. I had them installed for around $500. I normally get anywhere from 55 to 70 mpg (according to the dash display) in my daily commute, but coming home I struggled to get 50mpg. I wrote it off to being new tires, but over the holiday weekend I drove around and still really had to pull out some hypermiling tricks to get over 52mpg. I checked the Michelin website...sure enough...they are not LRR tires. I'm not happy. I stopped at Sears on the way home from work...he claims that Weatherwise II tires are the same as the Green X tires except that Sears didn't want to pay Michelin for the Green X label. Using the 30 day satisfaction guaranty, he offered to get me a set of Energy Saver A/S tires (they cost more of course), however he claims Michelin is out of them. There were a couple of other Michelins that are LRR that he said he could try to get. Getting the Goodyears isn't an option, however I think I may push for that since I was mislead into getting the tires... Adding more mud to the water...I got 63mpg on the way home from Sears over 35 miles. Wth??? Any advice on how to handle this would be appreciated...
i would research the tires you have to be sure of rolling resistance. it can take quite awhile to break in new tires. if they are not lrr, can you wait until energy savers become available? if not, do some serarching here, there are a ton of tire threads. all the best!
You have a couple of options. You can trade up to a Michelin Hydroedge which is a LRR tire and has a very long treadlife although some have complained that they are noisy. Or you could go with the Continental ProContact with ecoplus. These have received good test ratings and are pretty inexpensive with decent wear. Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more Testing New Grand Touring All-Season Tires http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...esistance-replacement-tires-current-list.html
Yeah, the Hydroedges are an option. They are uni-directional, which means I have to keep an eye them when my dealer rotates them, and they are more expensive, but I'm ok with that. The Contintentals aren't really an option because I have to stay with Michelins due to the initial purchase...plus I had a very bad experience with Continental tires 10 years ago and they don't stand behind their product....each tire had bands break one by one. I'm thinking maybe I could push them for the Goodyears...they're being cooperative but I can see this stretching out a month waiting for Michelin to make some tires again..I may have to call Visa.
My Prius has hydroedges, and IIRC it took a good thousand miles, if not two, before fuel economy returned to the neighborhood I was used to. I suggest that OP research the tyre, and if he likes the specs then leave them alone and expect better results in a month or two.
I have a half an ocean to start demanding a refund. I don't like being mislead when I am making a major purchase. I emailed Michelin to find out if they have the Enegy Saver A/S tires or not...I'll go from there.
Sears is the last place I'd buy tires. They pulled a similar stunt on me a few years ago - they sold me "Pirelli" tires which were either knock-offs or some special cheap tire Pirelli made just for Sears. The tires were OK on dry pavement but virtually no traction on wet pavement. Took them back but had to exchange them for something else. The problem here is that we have a tire store "blue law" - most tire stores are closed on Sunday, and Costco either requires cash or an AmEx card to buy tires. Sears is open on Sunday, so one can get forced to deal with them.
Michellin Hydroedge tires are very noisy. I had them on my civic. I couldn't believe how quiet my prius was with the Bridgestone ecopia EP20 that it came with. I always buy my replacement tires at Tire Rack. Never had an issue with them. I always got exactly what I ordered. Just do research before you buy.
IMHO, Goodyear tires have generally poor performance on wet surfaces. I've had them on new vehicles, hated them and never purchased them as replacement tires for this reason. Make sure you have the option to return them within 30 - 60 days, and try them out on a wet road ASAP.
