Tires and the Prius

Short version: No worries, with one caveat.

Slightly longer version:
Neither Prius is all that heavy or torquey, so they don't require any special tires. That being said, pretty much every original tire today sucks in terms of longevity. Car makers want tires that are cheaper or that are lighter so they can claim better mpg during EPA testing. A typical way of doing this is to have less tread depth on the original tires versus the replacement tires. So the tire you buy from a tire store might have a tread depth of 10/32", but the tire with the same name on the side that came new on the car might have only had a tread depth of 6/32" or 7/32".

Or another way of saying it is that you generally should only expect 35-45k miles of wear on the original tires, but you might get 50-60k miles of wear on a replacement set even though they are the same brand and model.

This is a reason many(most?) tire manufacturers don't offer mileage warranties on original tires. (And why you will see a wild divergence of reviews on tire websites.)

 

The new Prius has its own issue with tires. I haven't had any issues with wear nor have I read anything about excessive wear on the Prius tires. The biggest issue I am aware of is the size of the wheels and the small selection of tires that fit the 19" wheels. I haven't read any real positive reviews of the stock Toyo Extensa A/S II tires and after replacing them with CrossClimate2 I noticed an improvement in ride quality. Most likely the biggest concern with the Extensa A/S II tires is their mediocre performance in snow traction, wet braking and handling and less than mediocre performance in ice breaking.

Another issue the Prius has with tires that I have noticed people concerned about is the lack of a spare available from Toyota especially with the low profile tires on the 19" wheels being more prone to blowouts.

 

That better not be happening - an exact same tire brand and model having wildly diverging quality/durability. That's very close to fraud.

 

Tires for an EV that goes from 0-60 in about two seconds and have a very low profile have issues. Neither of these are issues with a Prime unless you maybe opted for the 19" wheels and are prone to driving over curbs.

 

It doesn't happen, afaik. There are OEM variant tyres, but they're distinctly labelled. Might still be the same brand, but with an OEM code, eg Michelin Primacy 4 MO.

And Toyota doesn't do it.

 

Weight (accelerating, braking, cornering) and instant torque (accelerating only) are the two big contributors to tire wear in EVs.

The 2023-24 Prius isn’t heavy, and the Prime is only moderately heavier than that. While the Prime has a bit more instant torque off the line than some conventional cars, it’s really not that fast compared to many other cars on the road, especially the faster EVs.

I find the wheel/tire combination of the XSE/XLE and higher models frustrating. 19 inches is more than necessary for daily driving. They look great, they don’t ride that well, they get slightly worse fuel economy than the lighter alternatives, and they seem prone to damage. And they are absurdly expensive if you have to replace them! The low profile, narrow width tires that fit these wheels are relatively rare and hard to replace. The stock Toyos (on my car and most of these 2023-24 wheels) are not great. They are fairly typical economy tires that I would not choose to equip on this car. There are better options out there, but not many that fit the Toyota 19x6.5 wheels.

I am planning on putting Michelin X-Ice or Nokian winter tires on my Toyota 19 inch wheels and getting a set of summer/all-seasons on some aftermarket 17 or 18 inch wheels which will hopefully improve the ride quality, noise, safety, and handling if I pick them well.

 

"Now, big-name OEMs like Michelin and Goodyear sell rubber specifically for battery-powered cars. Marketing is one reason, of course, but so are the legitimately different requirements of EV tires. They must strike a different balance of strength, weight, and resiliency without hampering vehicle range or causing excessive noise. That's a tall task when you're dealing with 6,000-pound sedans and "midsize" trucks that weigh as much as a dually pickup."

The Prius Prime doesn't weigh anything near 6,000 pounds. There have been plenty of heavier non-EV cars and SUVs and 'trucks' around for decades for the tire makers to get practice on heavier vehicles than a Prime.

 

Got a Prius Prime on order with 17 inch wheels which are 6.5 inches wide. Since the maximum width tyre for this size of wheel is 215 has anyone fitted 215/55r17 tyres. The aspect ratio for this tyre is almost exactly the same as the standard 195/60r17.

 

I just replaced my Michelin XIce tires with Pirelli P7 AS Plus 3 yesterday. All I can say is don't get these tires. They are loud on the road, twice as loud as the XIce tires. I plan on returning them and getting a different set from a different brand.

 

I used to have a factory stock set of an earlier generation of those Pirelli Cinturatos on a VW Golf 7.5 and I liked them, but they probably were noisy. You definitely notice tire noise on the Prime especially.

 

I'm surprised at how how much louder they are compared to the XIce winter tires. It was noticeable right away even at low speeds. Another thing I noticed was the difference in electric range. I drive a route every Thursday morning that's about 33 miles. I usually end up with about 12 miles left of EV range at the end. With these tires, I only had 2 miles left. Wife and I have a road trip coming up in May to Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. The noise of these tires would take a lot of enjoyment out of the trip.

 

Toyota Prius Prime tire fiasco and my solution.

Toyota has produced a car that the owner can not get replacement tires for and the car does not have a spare tire. Many Prius Prime owners are being forced to purchase new wheels and tires at considerable expense in order to operate their vehicle safely and have tires available. (I’m surprised there is not a class action law suit yet.)

I contacted Toyota directly with the following:

“I have attempted to purchase a spare tire for my 2024 Prius Prime XSE and have found that the Toyo 195/50 R19 tires on my care from the factory are not available in the United States.
Can I use a Toyo 225/45 R19 as a spare if exchange both rear tires until the correct replacement tier becomes available?”

Toyota’s “not-me, I don’t know” response is attached.

I spoke to the service dept. of the dealer I purchased my Prime from and they told me they can not recommend a different size tire and that the Toyos are on back order until May. I asked what they will do with customers who have a car brought in with a flat and they could not give me an answer.

I believe the Prius Prime 19” wheel is 6.5” wide.

The Prime comes with:

Toyo Extensa A/S IIA 195/50 R19 88H
Tire Weight: 20 lbs., Rim Width Range 5.5-7”, Tread Width 5.4”, Tire Height 26.7”

At the recommendation of a tire dealer, Austin Williams of Peoria Plaza Tire in Illinois, I purchased two of the following:

Toyo Proxes Sport A/S 225/45 R19 96W

Tire Weight 23 lbs. Rim Width Range 7-8.5”, Tread Width 7.2”, Tire Height 27”

I replaced the rear tires with them and am keeping the original factory rear tires as spares. The Toyota rim is 6 ½” wide but I don’t see any noticeable tire bulge.

I have not noted any difference in feel in local driving or at highway speeds over 80 mph. and no warning comments have come up on the dashboard so far.

I purchased an additional two Proxes for the rear so now I have two back up front and rear tires. Now I am looking for a couple of used 19 inch wheels.

Mileage may be affected but since I have not put fuel in the car for almost two months (EV only), I have not noticed any difference.

I’ve attached photos of the car with the rear tires replaced.

I like the look and will probably keep the car tires set up this way.

 

Some interesting things about EV tire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GACM-IZsZ4&list=TLPQMjkwMzIwMjRT-IR0ysl-PA&index=2

 

Does your state's Lemon Law apply?

 

There’s no way it could for tires unless the car is undriveable (usually for weeks) and goes in and out of the shop multiple times. Arbitration with Toyota corporate might be a requirement before it can become a lemon law case, which is even more time consuming.

It does vary by state.

 

That is great news. Just from a quick search on TireRack in addition to the Toyo Proxes there are many choices available for tires in that size including a run flat from Pirelli (Winter Scottozero 3 Run Flat), Michelin Pilot Sport 4S (summer tire), Vredestein Wintrac Pro, and Yokohama BluEarth Winter V905.

 

Not for tires.

 

I agree? I can imagine a situation where a car is stuck in the shop with no available tires, but I can’t imagine that making it to arbitration, let alone lemon law. It is a bit of a failure, whether on Toyota’s end, or some supply chain failure. Tires in this size are more plentiful outside the US, I believe.

I checked the stock of available tires in 195/50R19 and it looks like there is almost nothing in stock for the next month. Pretty dire.

 

I'm only laughing because it was similarly troublesome for us to source 225/45R19, the native size for our other car.

Now I know why! It's Prius guys horking our kicks!