Toyota Prius hybrid and unusual tire wear?
While only about 3% of Toyota Prius owners complain of problems with their hybrid cars, there are growing complaints about the vehicle's tires. It seems that Toyota has made a pretty cheap tire standard for the Prius. Thus, heavy-use drivers are quickly running into problems with excessive wear and alignment issues.
This hasn't been a major issue for most Prius drivers, so don't freak out if you are set to buy a Prius and now you are scared about the tires.
Nonetheless, if you have experimented with a good replacement tire, please make a post to this entry.
Additionally, if you have driven your Prius in the snow, how did it handle? I live in Los Angeles, so I'll never have this experience.
This hasn't been a major issue for most Prius drivers, so don't freak out if you are set to buy a Prius and now you are scared about the tires.
Nonetheless, if you have experimented with a good replacement tire, please make a post to this entry.
Additionally, if you have driven your Prius in the snow, how did it handle? I live in Los Angeles, so I'll never have this experience.
Labels: Hybrid Vehicles, prius, toyota
posted by Dahcredyns at
8:44 AM
32 Comments:
I drive a 2004 Prius in the snowy state of Maine. The past two winters my tires were in pretty good shape, and the Prius handled fine in snow. It handles the snow a lot like any other front wheel drive sedan would. However, I have only 27000 miles on the car, and the tires are already getting pretty bald.
This is my only complaint about the car so far. It gets about 50 mpg in the winter and 60mpg in the summer on my commute (which is mostly moderate speed, but long enough for the car to really warm up).
Wow. That's great mileage. Good to hear that it is performing well enough in the cold and snow.
It's kind of disappointing that Toyota put cheaper tires on the Prius, but that is a relatively minor issue.
Please let us know if you have any other interesting issues with your Prius.
vi
My 2005 Prius needed two tires replaced at 11300 miles, they were rear tires. I had the alignment checked and the rear wheel alignment was off with no way to adjust it.
To say we love our prius would be an understatement. GREAT CAR!
But....
The tire issue is real. Now, granted, I drive it hard, when my wife actually lets me drive it, and we live on a big hill. The people at Toyota were less than helpful when we brought her in with 20,000 miles on it with tires that needed replacing. Keep in mind, we rotated them at 5000 and 12000 miles and had been getting the oil changed at the dealer about once a month, where they were supposed to be checking the tire pressures.
So, instead of the deal that they offered to appease me, I told them to stick and and went to Costco for tires, figuring the free rotations would more than make up for the discount they were offering on a new set at the dealer. I went with BF Goodrich Touring AT's, the same exact tire as on my BMW 540i ( a 6 speed, btw). No noticeable wear as of yet on the BMW, but one year later and about 25000 miles again, we are ready for a new set on the Prius. Keep in mind, this is a 60000 mile tire.
The problem is that the tire inflation that is indicated by Toyota is just too damn low. Don't use it or (1) you will get poor mileage with your new tires and (2) the sides of your tires WILL wear out prematurely and whoever changes your tires will claim you have not been keeping them properly inflated, voiding any warranty claims. I do worry about a possible increase in the chance of a blowout, but after going through 2 sets of tires in 50000 miles, I am going to go for the 42/40 psi inflation recommended by many chat groups in my new set of tires.z
We live in Denver, CO so we deal with snow and ice a lot, and so far no problems with either ( VSC works great on icy roads ), we do have serious problems with the tire wear though. At 15,000 we replaced two tires due to a screw through the sidewall. Today at 27,000 they say all four tires have 4/32 to 6/32 tread left so I'm looking for a good substitute tire. I've liked Michel;in in the past but as it is a hard tire i wonder how it will perform on the 2005 Prius.
We have been getting 44 mpg winter and 55 mpg summer due to alcohol the state has required be added to gas and the altitude I'm sure.
Prius owners with excessive tire wear should have Toyota check the rear alignment. (rear alignment is not adjustable according to local alignment shop). Seams to be something Toyota would be willing to address?
I had my 25,000 check and was informed that I needed yet another set of tires (Toyota had replaced the tires at 10,000 because of excessive wear).
I have asked around but have been told Toyota only approves Goodyear and Michelen for the Prius saying others would significantly decrease gas mileage. I am bummed: no one alluded to this issue when buying or servicing before and apparently no one making these type tires included a warranty. I drive about 8,000 miles per year but over half of that is on mountain hills/curves.
Any comments to help would be great.
Ann
I drive a 2005 Prius and we love it...but....we got just short of 15,000 miles on the original set of tires. I complained at my dealer, and because my wear was even and consistent, he gave me a great buy on a set of Yokohamas which were totally worn out at 37K miles, again with an even and consistent wear pattern.
I them purchased a set of Cooper Lifeliner SLE's which are just now ready for replacement at 69,000 miles. Finally, I have found a set of inexpensive, long-wearing tires that my Prius can't 'eat up'.
Toyota doesn't want to hear about tire problems, and they turn a 'deaf ear' to complaints at the deaaler level. Folks, it's not the tires, it is the suspension that is the culprit here.
We love the car, absolutely get a thrill out of driving it...lifetime average for us is 45.8 mpg. We have just decided that if the tires are our biggest issue, we are very fortunate indeed!
My oem tires needed replaced at 10000 miles, my replacement tire rated for 70000 miles that cost $110 each just need replacement after 17000 miles. Something is seriously wrong with how this car eats tires. Other than that I love it.
My front tires on my 2007 Prius needed replacing at 16,000kms and the back at 23,000kms. The worst part is the service dep. put the same kind of tire on prorated. So I am stuck with these crap tires again. They have average handling in the snow, Nova Scotia. I am a single Mom and need a decent tire for a decent price, any suggustions?
My 2003 Prius just needed it's third set of tires today at around 70,000 miles. I love the car, but am getting really tired of arguing about the tire warranties when a set of pricey 70,000 mile tires only lasts me 25,000 miles, if I'm lucky. I've had the alignment checked several times, and have the tires rebalanced and rotated regularly.
Wow, I am having issues with my hybrid tires, but I'm driving the Lexus RX400H. I just took into the dealer for regular service and tire rotations, as I do every 5000 miles. It has 25000 miles on it. They told me one tire was bad and I should replace all four. I thought about it and called Michelin. They told me to take it to an authorized Michelin Dealer and have them look into it. Larry H Miller Lexus, the Dealer told me that Toyota, Lexus and Honda all buy there tires in bulk from Michelin and they are sub-standard and that is why the tires go bad so fast. That's a quote.
Pete T.
Hey at 20K and Front tires bald. any suggestions as to replacement?
Going to look into the Coopers
Glad to hear car handles well in snow, had a mild winter last year and was'nt impressed with the little foul weather driving i did.
I just replaced my tires at 35,000 miles. Had alignment problems that needed an extended camber bolt to rectify. I love the car and the mileage is great, but the maintenance is killing me. I just dropped $600 on tires and I hope they last the 80k they are supposed to.
IMPORTANT!!
the prius is considered a heavyweight vehicle considering its weight and size. my dealer was extreamly helpful and exaplined to me that since the tires are so small and the car is heavy in comparision to other cars that run on this size tire you need to run heavyweight tires. if you do not run heavyweights your tires will wear extreamly fast! please do research on this before making purchases.
I replaced the original tires on my 2006 prius after 36k miles. one of the replacement tires, goodyear comfort thread, had to replaced after a year, 14k miles. since owning 2 priuses, a 2001 & 2006, i have replaced 6 tires in 7 years. The goodyear guy told me priuses eat tires because toyota designed the tire width too thin.
The only complaint about my Prius was the tires. Toyota put cheap tires on the thing new so I replaced with Michelins that are supposed to last for 50K. The front end of the car is heavier than a normal car that size due to the batteries so it just sands off the cheap tires. I had the tires rotated faithfully at all the required intervals so it is the cheap tire, not the maintenance.
I have an 04 Prius with just over 40K and they are the original tires. I have the dealer due the oil changes and inspections and on the recent one not a word about the tires. So not sure what the problems are out there?
I have owned 4 Prius's and never get good tire wear. Most of them were bald at 30,000 miles. The 2004 had the belts all showing at 30,000. I replaced those with Goodyear Assurance tires they lasted the best. My 2007 had to have the tries replaced at 29,000 and I rotate my tires every 5000 I think tires are just Junk now days
I just had my third flat on my 2005 Prius with Goodyear Infinities OEM. The first, at 5,000, was just a fluke I thought. Couldn't tell what happened because I was in a lousy neighborhood and it was getting dark and I chose to drive a couple of miles before changing it. Toyota dealer was completely unhelpful, and also told me Goodyear would not honor the warranty and neither would he. The Goodyear dealer did.
My second flat was at 10,000, a blowout in the fast lane of the freeway. Toyota corporate bordered on rude. At that point I replaced all of them with Michellins rated for 90,000. Today at 37,000 I had my third flat, second on the right rear. This time we can see that isn't even any visible wear yet, and neither the AAA guy nor I could see any evidence of a hole. Tomorrow is Easter so I'll have to wait to Monday to replace them. Since I first got the car I have had to put air in the tires every week or two.
In 38 years of driving I've never had a tire fail to meet its warranted mileage. The good dealer has supposedly been doing proper maintenance.
The hybrid system is great. Toyota corporate has been useless on this and two other matters.
Tori
I own a 2005 Prius, drive 25 - 30,000 a year, get 46-54 MPG,live high in the Green mountains of Vt and thought I made a mistake buying the Prius my first year on Toyota tires which would not drive up a hill in
2" of snow. Last year I bought Firestone Winterforce M&S tires and was thrilled at their performance. No side slipping, tracked up 8" new snow, now trouble all winter. Love them!!!!
I'm looking for summer tires, any suggestions?? I leave my tires at 40 -42 PSI prevents wear and better gas milage. Thanks Jane
Thanks for the snow tire info Jane!
Bought my 08 Prius in March last year, the tires are totally bald at 24,000 miles. Everyone says that's their only complaint, and in fact its mine too, however, having to buy a new set of tires every year is a pretty big deal. Yes, I save a ton on gas, but most of that savings is going to get eaten up by these new tires. Not sure this is worth the trade off...
I have a 2007 Prius. I'm on my second set of tires getting ready to purchase my 3rd at 69K miles. Mine last about 35K, so it sounds like I'm lucky. I don't like how it handles in the rain, so I got Goodyear Aquatreads that were rated for 60,000 mi, but they only lasted the 35K and dropped my gas mileage by almost 5 mpg to 45 mpg. Am looking for advice on what lasts. My Toyota dealer told me about the heavyweight tires, but I thought he was just trying to sell me more expensive tires because my tire dealer said that wasn't necessary. Maybe they are right? I definitely prefer to drive my LandCruiser in the snow.
Laura in Indiana
I have two Priuses (Priusi?) and love them - the excessive tire wear being the only problem. Both were fitted with G'year Integrity OEM that barely last 30k.
I thought about the heavyweight suggestion in the earlier post, but instead am having the '07 fitted with a set of Bridgestone Ecopia EP100's - a 'low rolling resistance' tire designed especially for Hybrids. Let's hope that they wear better.
Please let us know how the Bridgestones work out for your!
I love my Prius, but I see I'm not alone with the tire issue. I bought my '05 Prius in July '05 and it came with Goodyear Integrity. I live in Rochester, NY - the snow belt - so decided to buy Dunlop snow tires right away, which I bought from Toyota dealer. I drive the car about 15K per year and have left the snow tires on from November 15th to April 15th each season. I'm about to begin my FIFTH season with the snow tires, whereas my second set of summer tires are virtually worn out. I calculate each set of summer tires lasted about 18K miles and the snow tires have already gone 30K and should make it through this winter.
I bought the Prius to be Green and do my part to help save the planet.
My first set of tires completely wore out at 15,000 miles. The dealer prorated the tires and gave me a fair price on a new set. These have lasted 10,000 miles and are showing major wear. I pointed this out to the dealer and they just blamed me saying the tire pressure was low voiding my warranty. REALLY??? I've owned 15 cars over the years, never checked the tire pressure on any of them, and never had any unusual tire wear issues on any of those cars. The Prius EATS TIRES RAPIDLY because the battery weight, inherent alignment issues and the small size/width of the tires for the weight of the car. This makes tire pressure important resulting in a huge maintenance issue requiring checking and maintaining tire pressure weekly. Who in their right mind does that or has the time for it? Even when tire pressure is optimal the Prius will still eat tires much faster than the tire ratings. Not only that but the Prius does not have tire pressure monitoring common on most other vehicles. If any vehicle in the world needs this feature, it's the Prius and it doesn't have it! Tire pressure monitoring is a cheap feature which comes standard on most cars nowadays and it's unbelievable that the car that needs it the most (the Prius), doesn't have it. It is mind numbing finding that Toyota knows about the tire pressure problem and does not inform Prius owners of this maintenance issue, yet chooses to blame the owners. This is clearly an issue where Toyota is using the wrong tire for the car so that it will get high gas mileage and beat the competition...but at the expense of the tires. If you think you're being green by driving a Prius consider how much carbon you dump into the environment with 1 set of tires. Now consider that the Prius eats tires about 4x faster than a standard car and your Prius has just become a severely polluting clunker. I sacrificed acceleration, speed, and looks to help the environment. For 3 long years, I've been ripped off, driving like a slug, getting cut off frequently and having to take it because the Prius isn't going to outrun anyone, rationalizing it by thinking it was all for the good of the planet. Now, knowing I've got one of the worst Carbon offenders I feel totally swindled.
My Grandfather told me long ago that there is no free lunch. At Toyota they want you to believe there is, but you'll definitely be paying a huge amount for your meal and so will the planet!
Last anon-
So why not try some different tires? You don't have to stick with the low resistance tires. Moreover, there are new low resistance tires being developed just for hybrids that you can also try.
If your Toyota dealer can't help you with your tire issue, go to an independent tire dealer.
More on tires for hybrid cars.
I have a 2007 touring model Prius. I live in Illinois and experience the snow. I replaced my oem tires at 50,000 miles and got Bridgestone Taranza as replacement. I'm now at 85,000 miles and the Bridgestones are wearing well. I keep them at 40+ pressure and get 52 mph in summer and more like 42 mph in the winter. The car handles well in snow except it has gotten stuck in 10 inches of snow. I can't spin my way out of deep snow because the traction control won't let me spin. Oh well, I love the car!
I have a 2008 Prius...love the car hate the tires. Goodyear crap. Just had to replace the tires at 31,000. The car was cared for faithfully as per Toyota recommendation, every 5000 mi. oil change and tire rotation. Was told at the 25,000 ck I would need front end alignment due to wear on tires. Now I have a new set of the same damn tire and wish I had checked this site before hand. Toyota blamed me saying I should have been checking tire pressure every 2 weeks and making sure inflation was not the recommended 33psi but more like 40 psi for best wear. That's not in the book folks. I'll ck inflation of tires now but won't have Toyota put the next set of tires on the car without MUCH more of an argument.
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