Prius Rocking after getting a new set of tires

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by bguan8, Jan 17, 2006.

  1. bguan8

    bguan8 New Member

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    Just got a new set of tires for my 2001 Prius. The car starts to rock left and right. It feels like it is zigzagging when driving at over 50MPH. The tire place said maybe it is alignment problem. Especially given the fact that the front left tire was the one shows the most of the wear. I went ahead and got it aligned at the dealer. But the problem is still there.

    Anyone has any suggestions? Thanks.
     
    #1 bguan8, Jan 17, 2006
  2. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    are the tires properly balanced?
     
    #2 galaxee, Jan 17, 2006
  3. bguan8

    bguan8 New Member

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    I hoped so, since the tire place was supposed to balance the tires as part of the installation.
    Do you think I should ask them to rebalance them?

    Thx.
     
    #3 bguan8, Jan 17, 2006
  4. Tom_06

    Tom_06 Active Member

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    You may have a bad tire.

    Find a place that has a Hunter GSP 9700 road force wheel balancer. Audi A6's are notorious for vibration problems so this came up on the Audi World discussion board a lot. It was amazing how many high end tires would turn up seriously out of round when diagnosed by this machine. Also sorts out wheel problems and a bunch of other things. See:

    http://www.hunter.com/pub/company/news/pre...4/prGSP9700.htm

    Hunter makes most of the wheel balance systems seen in American garages. This is the top of the line one (or was a few years ago).

    - Tom
     
    #4 Tom_06, Jan 17, 2006
  5. mcmurray

    mcmurray Junior Member

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    If it is 'rocking' then it is likely 'out of round'. This can happen if a tyre was not stored correctly (weight on top). It could get better in time but get it replaced now in case it doesn't correct itself.

    If 'wandering' then it is probably alignment and needs to be corrected. If doing both then both need attention.
     
    #5 mcmurray, Jan 17, 2006
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