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Wheel noise, 230k, tried balancing, tires look good

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by georgefrank, Dec 2, 2023.

  1. georgefrank

    georgefrank Junior Member

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    2013 prius with 230k, 50k miles on the tires, I just balanced and rotated them

    195/65/15 (this is current wheel size)

    Factory wheels with hubcap cover

    Front left wheel making noise: When I lift the car up, I spin that wheel, and it does NOT spin evenly, meaning,

    The tire goes up and down (maybe later I make youtube video and show you)

    There is a general wobble sound when I am going slow

    When going fast (80 mph): There is a whine, that gets higher in frequency the higher the speed

    My theory: those wheels have a quarter million miles almost, they could have a slight bend making it hard to properly balance them (please agree or disagree and tell me why)

    Plan: I do have new japanese front bearings that will be installed once I get a chance to do surgery

    Also: I want to get the 17 inch alloy wheels with NEW japanese tires, and will need advice on the QUIETEST brand

    I am trying to understand what lug pattern and offset etc, here is a link of the exact wheel I want to put on it, will it fit?

    New 17" 2010-2015 Toyota Prius Silver Replacement Alloy Wheel - 69568 | Factory Wheel Replacement

    Below is the information on this wheel, will it fit on a prius that originally comes with 15 inch hubcap wheels?

    Diameter: 17"
    Width 7"
    Bolt Pattern: 5x100mm
    Lugs: 5
    Offset: 50mm
    Color: Silver with Clearcoat
    Year: 2010-2015
    Make: Toyota
    Model: Prius
    Weight: 26 lbs
    Hollander: 560-69568
    Associated Part Number: 4261147170; 4261147200
    Part Number: ALY69568U20N
    Center Cap: Not Included


    any advice is appreciated and you guys give us hope in humanity





    (I am trying to upload photos for yall but this app wont let me, I converted to pdf and lowered the quality, still says error)
     
  2. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Yes all that business will fit no problem That's what came on my persona those 17-in wheels that you're showing there just remanufactured Toyota wheels I believe The hardware and center caps and all that are made by a company called Pacific as are the TPMS sensors that are in those wheels are made by the same company that makes the center caps and all the wheel hardware which is Pacific. I have all this same stuff bolted to a 2010 with cross drilled slotted rotors I can't remember the brand of pads on front and rear of the car with no issues other than you'll never get as good a gas mileage as you get with the 15s and the 185 65 15 tires not the 195 You will never get that gas mileage as far as I can tell anyway with the what is it 245 45 17 they look nice but boy let me tell you Don't look at a curb or an indentation in the road You will have messed up wheels as fast as you can say jackrabbit I have four or five around here all messed up been curved hit things in the road so on and so forth I wound up buying some style steel wheels for the same car 17s and running off-brand tire in a 205 50 17 It actually gives me some sidewall and helps the suspension out greatly Good luck
     
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  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Wheel bearings yes most definitely I've used the TRQ brand I think it is they seem to do just fine so far 50 or 60,000 on a set The wheel being funny highly unlikely unless your tire guy sees it on the balancing machine and makes a note of it on the regular 15s I'm not really seen it unless the car's been in an accident and you can tell the wheel is definitely damaged.
     
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  4. georgefrank

    georgefrank Junior Member

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    Ok yes, I will go with the 245 45 17 package

    What tires do you recommend that are quiet that will go on those wheels?

    thanks for the info
     
  5. georgefrank

    georgefrank Junior Member

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    I am very hard on the car, I do no slow down for speed bumps

    It has almost quarter million miles

    How do you explain the wheel not spinning evenly (even after it was balanced)?

    If I get the chance, I can raise the car up, and take a video, and show you
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i drive the people behind me crazy when i slow down for speed bumps
     
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  7. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    Check wheel bearings

    Check wheel liners for vibration w air flow
     
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  8. georgefrank

    georgefrank Junior Member

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    existing in front of the driver behind you, drives the driver behind you crazy
     
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  9. georgefrank

    georgefrank Junior Member

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    Yes new wheel bearings will be installed, wheel liners also will be installed
     
  10. georgefrank

    georgefrank Junior Member

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    Ok yes I found used alloy wheels for very low cost

    Now I need to find tire with this dimension 245 45 17

    What tire brands do you guys recommend for quiet? someone link a japanese tire

    Edit: I just did research on factory wheel size

    it says this: 215/45R17

    It wants 215, not 245
     
  11. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

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    I said check them not replace them. Unloading the parts Canon at it never solves a problem. It just wastes a lot of money
     
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  12. georgefrank

    georgefrank Junior Member

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    From what I am gathering:

    My prius bolt pattern is 5x100 mm, and came with the 15 inch hubcap wheels
    The prius V has bolt pattern 5x100 mm, and came with 17 inch alloy wheels

    Do I have this right?
     
  13. georgefrank

    georgefrank Junior Member

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    How to check the bearing?

    My guess: Lift it up off the ground, put the stethoscope somehow up to it, then listen to it as it spins and compare it to the other wheels
     
  14. bdc101

    bdc101 Member

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    Yes, 215/45/17 is the optional factory tire size. 245/45/17 would be very wide and also throw off the speedometer.

    The Prius V had a taller tire (larger diameter) and I think it also used 5x114.3 bolt pattern instead of 5x100.
     
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  15. Prius DIY nut

    Prius DIY nut Member

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    I do not think you would normally need a stethoscope if this movement is caused by a bad wheel hub. There are many videos how to do the wheel hubs check. This video is one of those. Also when you simply spin the wheel by hand you should hear excessive noise from a bad hub, comparing to a good hub.
     
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  16. georgefrank

    georgefrank Junior Member

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    VIDEO OF KICKING THE WHEELS, the tire is bit off, it does go up and down as it spins slightly



    Let me know if you want another video of maybe the front wheels spinning if I put it in drive

    But you can see the tire going up and down slightly

    Doing 80+ mph reveals all minor flaws

    Look at the video multiple times, and critique it

    Thank you
     
  17. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    You can't tell anything from that video. Between the shade/sun, dark, light,
    camera moving.....
    I'd bet your tires are really bad. You can see the uneven and scattered tread.
    What tire pressure do you run? Do you have the wheels rotate every 5000 miles or so?
    What brand are they?
    For the rear wheels, you can raise the tire off the ground, release the parking brake,
    and spin the wheel. You'll hear if the bearing is bad. Grabing the tire at 9 and 3 oclock and
    pushing with one hand and pulling with the other, back and forth to feel if it's loose. Same at
    12 and 6.
    For the fronts, you can use a screwdriver and listen, but you'll need to remove the axel or you'll
    just get noise from the axel and transmission. But grabbing them and push/pulling them like the
    rear wheel, you can do.

     
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  18. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Swap that wheel and tire for another one and see if the second tire still looks out of round on that axle. My bet is it’s a tire.

    17” tires will ride harder than 15”. The tire brand makes the noise difference. Michelin is always quieter in my experience. It will never be Lexus quiet especially at speed since Toyota uses almost no sound deadening on a Prius.

    Generally wheel bearing noise is loudest around 40-45 mph on a Prius. Higher speeds easily masks the subtle droning of a bearing. Oem bearings almost never get loose no matter how bad they are.
     
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  19. Prius DIY nut

    Prius DIY nut Member

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    My(!) experience is that having a reputable brand tires is required. I had some cheaper all season brand at first and the wheels vibrated and made some rhythmic noise, especially aggravated at higher speed. Once I switched to Michelin brand tires, I got no vibration nor noise. I will never look at cheaper brands again, simply does not worth the risk. Again, just my experience, someone else may have a better luck.
     
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