**prius owners beware of possible defective tires** Just got a new Prius 4 weeks ago. Last night while driving my daughter back to school 120 miles away....my rear tire sidewall blew out and luckily it wasn't life threatening since it was the rear tire and I didn't lose control of the vehicle. Imagine that a brand new car with 1700 miles on it gets a blowout and it is NOT due to ROAD HAZARD!. Well a few calls later I had only 1 option and that was to drive 70 more miles on the donut at under 55 MPH to get my daughter back to school. I spoke to a sales person at the dealer where I purchased the Prius and they recommended thaty I replace the tire anmd said that they were sure that someone would reimburse me since it appeared to be a defective tire on a brand new vehicle. Luckily a Sears was open and I had to purchase a replacement tire even though it did not match the existing tires. Next day I called the Toyata dealer and Toyota Corporate and both moved the blame and responsibility to Yokahama tire company. I called Yokahama and was given a case# and told to have the tire inspected and was told that if a defect was proven that being reimbursed for the replacement tire I purchased would not be an issue. Went to Discount tire and they inspected the tire and could not find any road hazard to create this issue and reported the same to Yokahama. They called Yokahama and they offered to either replace the defective tire or give me the cost of the replacement tire I purchased back, but NOT both. Personally if you had your family (both of my daughters) in your NEW car with 1700 miles on it and had a blowout due to a manufacturers defect I think that you too would want ALL new tires and to be reimbursed for the cost to replace the defective tire and at the barest minimum the replacement tire and the reimbursement of the cost of the replacement tire. Please be aware that there are many reported issues of sidewalls blowing out on Prius models and Toyota will not get involved. If you happen to have Yokahama tires and become in need of warranty due to a defect....GOOD LUCK! If you have had a similar issue please contact me.
Breaking up your post into paragraphs would help w/readability. Source? Since it sounds like you've experienced a safety defect, you should file a safety complaint at Home | Safercar -- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Anyone else who has experienced this should do the same.
I see two complaints of tires of 2010 Prii on NHTSA's site (used 2010 to see full year+ of complaints), one of which was someone with a flat tire who thought it was worth reporting to the government. I searched and spotted one thread with someone getting some flats on their new Gen III. I'm glad you're safe, but thankfully it doesn't seem to be too widespread.
This is interesting. My co-worker has a 2010 and right after she bought it, she was rolling on a doughnut. I asked her what happened and she said she had a blowout. It was a Yokohama, too. Car had very low miles. She swears she didnt hit anything. At the time, she couldn't even get a matching tire anywhere.
During the purchase process for my Prius, I was told three times that the limited warranty for the tires was separate and not provided by Toyota. They even provide a separate warranty booklet for the tires. Why would you even think this was an issue with Toyota? Every new car I've purchased in the last 20 years has been the same way, i.e. the tire warranty is not provided by the car manufacturer. And here's the other issue. If I believed that your incident was evidence of widespread problems with the Yokohoma tires, what would be the appropriate action? I can **beware** all I want to, but what can I do, other than replace the tires?
Glad you are alright and nothing terrible happened. I had a sidewall (on a different vehicle) completely blow out due to high speeds with low tire pressure. Are you 100% sure this wasn't the case?
Those who encounter defective tires should file a safety complaint w/NHTSA. At least it'll be tracked somewhere. If it's widespread enough, it could cause a recall.
I had a rear blow out when the car was about 6 weeks old. The tyres/tires on my car are the Bridgestones. I have never had a blow out in the past and this blow out was odd in that I was stationary at the time! I was helping a customer with some bags when a loud hissing noise suddenly started and then bang and the tyre/tire went flat. Am not in the US so can't use NHTSA but I did think it odd a new car can get a blow out when stationary!
It's normal for tires to be under a seperate OE tire mfg warranty. I've not had a tire problem, and I suspect most owners have not. From the few posts so far, it looks like Bridgestone and Yokohama both have issues. Actually, I've always thought that the OE tires were undersized for the weight, width and wheelbase of the Prius. As a matter of looks and handling, I would like to have seen a wider, 16 inch tire as standard. I'm not suggesting that the standard 15 inch tire is the blow-out cause here. I suspect defective sidewall construction/material is the real issue.
Barry - Just my 2-cents, but I think that your thread title is a bit alarmist. Just because you had a single issue with a tire does not mean that there is a widespread problem with tires. Best of luck dealing with this.
Even if it had been the front tire, it wouldn't be a life-threatening disaster (we're not talking about an Explorer, here) the car's centre of gravity is quite low. Does the tire manufacturer also pay to replace the alloy wheel?
I dont remember if my friend contacted Yokohama directly or the Yokohama dealer she contacted took care of it for her. I think they replaced the tire. In my experiences, Yokohama are crap. I have given them a couple chances, but every time they have come up short.
My car came with the Yokohama tires and after 25k miles, I have not had a single issue with these tires. The only negative I have with these tires is the road noise. You are one of the few people that I have seen on this site that has had an issue with a blowout. So, yes I agree that your title is a little too alarmist.
New member, alarmist post, and no paragraph breaks.... Cwerdna gave a response so I'll leave it at that.
I just had a similar situation. I have a new Prius with about 2000 miles. At 35 miles per hour we had a sidewall blow out on a rear tire without warning. We didn't hit anything or run over anything. We're debating with the Dealer now. I'll post an update.
Could low tire pressure be a factor? Ford's problem with the Firestones was low pressure and violent maneuvers.
