2016 Prius Touring Alignment Issues

Geez I would have thought it'd be the rears wearing the inner side tread, with rear wheels tending splay out at bottom (camber).

 

Front tyres always wear out quicker on front wheel drive. They have to contend with steering forces as well as acceleration/braking forces. Camber could be at fault for the inner edge wear, but it could also be wheels slightly out of alignment. A tyre with toe wear will typically be worn on the inside shoulder of the tyre. That is, it will have a smooth strip of wear around it on the side that is facing the wheel well.

 

My first Prius was a 2005 and currently own a 2020 Prime. On 2005, there were 2 serius issues with handling.
1. Notorious oversteer
2. Unstable at highway speed.
Some of the handling issues was addressed by Toyota changing the wheel and tire size to fatter 16" wheel in 2008. Even 215/45x17 on later V sports model. However, the 15 adm 16" wheel car has never handled like a regular car.
Currently with 2020 Prius Prime, the oversteering looks like it has been corrected even with 195/65x15 tire. However, the shifting and unstable ride on the freeway speed was still evident. Previously on my 2005, I had replaced the oem wheel/tires to a set of Scion 215/45x17 set up. The result was night and day. Much more stable, super handling with the oem Turanza tires with no oversteer. Just recently, I am experiencing the same with a new lightweight General G Max-RS 225/40x18 on a 18x8 wheel set up over the 15" oem. In hindsight, I should have installed 215/40x18. 1 pound less weight and .2" less rolling diameter, 24.8") With +7.5lbs. over the stock 35 lbs. wheel/tire set up at each corner, I am losing approx. 20%-25% electric miles and about 5-6 mpg. I am willing to accept a safety factor and looks over the loss of MPG. With a combination of electric and hybrid driving, I am still getting approx. 65mpg. So, simply replacing the wheel/tire set up is the only way to have the car drive straight and stable. It's usually not an alignment issue.

 

How do these situations (toe-in, toe-out, caster, camber) affect tire wear on inner tire edges of the front tires? My car is more twitchy than I like, and I had the inner edges wear of the fronts wear faster than the rest. I have not had any alignment done since new. Here's my pictures of the tire wear...

 

Too much toe out or too much negative camber would cause inner edge wear. I don't think the camber is adjustable on the Prius though.
The other thing to consider is wear in the suspension components causing the geometry to go out.
It's also been found here in the UK that speed cushions can cause inner edge wear if you drive over them centrally on a regular basis.

 

I am hoping some one can help me out here. I had a 2005, which I drove for many years. Reared end, and that accident ended the car. I just purchased a 2016 4 touring. The bank is trying to sell me protection insurance for $1,663.00. The 2005 gave me no trouble. In all the time I drove it 148,00 miles, I only replaced the small battery. It covers the drive train, computer issues, etc. Is it worth it? The previous Prius was so dependable. I am torn. Does anyone with a 2016 4 touring, had any issues, that would make it worth the price to get the protection package? It 5 years or 100,000 miles. Car has 43,000 currently
Thanks!!

 

I can say without equivocation that the $1,663.00 should be put into a bank and not handed over to the dealer. The Prius is bullet-proof. In California, the hybrid warranty covers hybrid components for 8 yr/100k miles.

 

Thank you so much! You have made me feel at ease. All the Best and stay safe

 

I would pass on the extended Warr. All Prius are very dependable with a great build quality. I had a 2005 with a replacement Dorman main battery at 180k and sold it for $3k at 215k. Still no engine oil leak or problems. Only used 1/2 quart of oil every 2-3 weeks. Only thing you have to watch out for is mileage to the main battery longevity. The main battery should last to about 150k. and 8 years only. Then it will cost you about $2k to replace with a rebuilt battery or about $4-5k. for a new Toyota battery. by this time, who will want to put in $4-5k, on the used 180k car?

 

I'm confused. You're saying that 1) the instability problem started when you installed 18" rims w/light weight tires. Then you're saying 2) you're losing some MPG. Finally, you say, 3) it's ok that you're losing some MPG, because the car drives straight and stable and looks nice. Doesn't 3 contradict 1?

I'm reasoning that you somehow fixed the instability problem with different rims. But the 18x8 rims weren't good? What setup finally fixed the problem?

 

All four of my tires are wearing much more on the inside edge. It seems that the front end is eating up the inside edges, and all four tires are worn on that edge because I'm rotating the tires every 5000. I just had an alignment done, and I'm going to get new tires. However, they said that the alignment wasn't too bad. We'll see about how the next set does, but I'm not too optimistic.