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Unusual Tire Wear

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Gurgatation, Jan 11, 2010.

  1. Gurgatation

    Gurgatation Junior Member

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    I have a 2007 Prius and my tires have been wearing oddly. I found that the front two tires have wear only on the left side of the tire. When I went to the dealer, they marked the tires as having almost no tread left. The tire everywhere else is fine and the back tires are good too.

    I only have 30 k miles on the tires so far. Does anyone have an idea of what is causing this wear pattern? An alignment issue maybe or something else?

    Thanks!
     
  2. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    1 person likes this.
  3. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    My 2007 was delivered with bad alignment. I got it fixed within the first 8k miles, but still didn't get great wear with the original tires.
     
  4. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    The OE tires on our Prii (unless you have a touring) are 185/65SR15 Goodyear Integrity tires. They have extremely soft sidewalls. This causes them to scrub the tread edges when turning. This is exacerbated if out of alignment or at low inflation. Note that I (and others) believe that the Toyota specification of 35/33 psi inflation it too low for our cars (I have always run my tires at 42/40). The soft sidewalls also contribute to side to side instability at highway speeds.

    Now that you need new tires, consider getting better handling Low Rolling Resistance (LRR) tires. Since I live in northern climes, my choice is Nokian WRg2 (The H-rated version - Avoid Run-Flats as they lower MPG). Since you live in a warmer area consider the new Michelin Energy saver or one of the other LRR tires discussed often in these discussion groups.

    JeffD