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Prius Tires

Created September 4, 2006, at 7:59 am by Anonymous

We are on our fourth set of tires for the 2002 Prius - the only aspect of the car that we are (very!) disappointed about. The problem has been uneven and rapid treadwear, and we do rotate at regular intervals. Any thoughts about a new brand of tires, or strategies for extending the life of tires on a Prius. Just bought a 2006 and wonder whether we'll have the same problem!

Anonymous says:
1 year ago

Same here. uneven wear, back wheel looks angled, Has anybody found a good tire for the prius?

Anonymous says:
1 year ago

If tires are wearing out that quickly I would have the dealer check your alignment. If you are rotating your tires, that would just have them all wear out quickly also.

Is the treadwear even? Lopsided?

My '05 Prius has 45,000 mi on the original set of tires with no noticeable problems....

good luck.

Anonymous says:
1 year ago

I own a 2005 Prius and went through 2 sets of tires by 20,000 miles. I put a set of Michelin Hydroedge on and so far they are wearing fine. I did have an alignement problem that was fixed when the 1st set wore out prematurely, which doesn't explain the second set. The Michelins did decrease mileage slightly but it was worth it to me.

1 year ago

My 2002 has 97000 mile on the clock, third set of tires. Went 31000 on factory, about 30000 on the second, (they did well cocidering that they were not rated LT load like the fatory, they had lots of tread but seperated.) Now on the third set Michelin Hydro edge, al litte larger and wider than factory, lost about 1/2mpg, but tye stick like glue, and after about 30000mi don't show any ware, I think they will make the 50-60000 rating.
We just put a set on Michelin MXV 4 plus on our 2004 at about 53,000, and my partner seens to like them, now that he set the air pressure wright. He runs around 40psi (so do I). The new tires seam to be more stable at speeds than Factory, and he didn't seam to loose milage.

ginger says:
31 weeks ago
Went 42,000 on orig Goodyear tires, 2006 Prius. New set is Kumho but my mileage has dropped to 43.8-44.2. What is going on??? I always got 47-49mpg
gschaut says:
31 weeks ago

Ginger: Check your new tire's "traction" rating as compaired to the old tires.

High Traction = High Friction = More rolling resistance = lower mileage.

Prius typically uses hard rubber, low friction tires for better mileage.

grace says:
22 weeks ago

good to hear what this group is saying since my experience is similar: my 05 prius just blew a tire at 28500. all of the other tires are practically bare. it never occurred to me to even look--no other car i've owned has ever been a worry below 80K! why does goodyear list 50K life if no one is getting that. i'm annoyed and would love to hear the reason.

Rod says:
22 weeks ago

My 2006 Prius has totally worn out tires on the insides after perfect maintenence every month for the almost 2 years we've owned the car. The Toyota dealership will take no responsibility for the problem. We are right now putting very expensive tires on in the hope of a safer car. It has to be a design problem. The guy with the 2005 that says he has no problem with his tires....does anyone know if there was a design change from 05 to 06 relating to tire efficiency? Thank you

paul wetzel says:
21 weeks ago

We have just turned 50,000 on our 05 prius . The service manager at Toyota told us that one tire was at the minimum tread wear depth of 3 mm the others were at 4mm so we are going to buy a new set. Because of the small size of these tires (more revolutions per mile) 50,000 miles seems like a decent number to get. We don't drive hard and do want to optimize our mileage so we will try to replace these Goodyears with the identical tires . Hope this next set does as well. We did notice the outside edge of these tires seem more worn than the middle of the tread. All tire rotations were done on schedule.

mark john saleby says:
10 weeks ago

Bought a repo'd 2007 with only 10,000 miles on it. Took it into the dealer for its 15,000 service and both rear tires were out of round and one had humongous flatspots on it. I had been warned that Prius had tire issues, particularly relating to mpg. The service crew told me they'd never seen a Prius tire in such a state. I cant see how a non-drive wheel can have such wear problems unless the brakes are mis-functioning.( I hear and feel no evil whilst driving) these are TOYO tires and apparantly OEM. Any input appreciated. This is the only issue I have with my Pious.

khooper says:
8 weeks ago

We love this car. We didn't expect to, mainly because its reason is as a showcase for hybrid technology, and, therefore, it's a magnet for the pocket-protected. [&#@%!] lover also support this issue.

Paul W says:
8 weeks ago

72,000 (mostly highway) miles on my 2006 Prius. Tires have been rotated about 4 times since new. Edges are getting worn and will probably put the first new set of tires on next month so we can go into the winter months with fresh treads. I will try to use the same tire (low rolling resistance) that the car came with to keep the mpg up.

Johnny says:
8 weeks ago

I've had two ties go flat on my 2007 Prius (owned since October 06) and I am not even at 30,000 miles yet.
The tire pressure gauge light always comes on. I have the dealer check it every time I take it in for an oil change (3000 miles) and they tell me it is working fine. They check the tires, give me the car back and --sure enough -- the light is off. I assume tire pressure is fine. Invariably, about five to nine days after the oil change, the gauge light is on again.
I love my Prius, but I feel like I'm not getting the straight dope here.

Does anyone know the real deal with this?

Anonymous says:
7 weeks ago

I have a 2004 Prius with 42k on it. I'm about to change the tires for the second time. Ouch. The BF Goodrich ( my first replacement did not last long. I'm going to try Michelin this time.

CCCP says:
7 weeks ago

We have over 50K on a 2006, bought January of that year. Have had one instance, early on, with the tire going flat, and several times the pressure light has come on, with one tire about 10-12 PSI below the others. We love the car and this is a minor issue, but we will probably get new tires soon if it keeps recurring. The tread is still in pretty good shape.

7 weeks ago

I think OEM tires are usually low compound quality anyway.
Don't Prius alignments go for all 4 wheels? I'd make sure your alignment man knows what he/she is doing. And just because it's a Toyota Dealership doesn't make it the best at alignment.

Linda Williams says:
5 weeks ago

I too have a 2007 prius, and have had three flat tires in less than a year. I love my car, but drive in the country a lot and don't like being stranded. has any one tried no flat tires?

ole_don says:
1 week ago

No one has commented on the tire pressures they used. I am only at 11,ooo miles and run 44 psi and all seems well. I am sure low tire pressures mean high tire wear and low mpg.

diggermike says:
6 days ago

we have put 81000 miles on our 2006 prius, has been great. our first set of tires was lost by our local tire dealer when we had studded tires put on. the snow tires wear like iron this wiil our third season coming up. our first set of regular tires only had about 8000 miles the second set that we got were hancooks a 40,000 mile rated tire and we got 40,000 out of them we ponied up and bought a set of 80,000 mile rated toyos and went from a 185 60 15 to a 205 60 15. which is slightly bigger 3 tenths of an inch. but with the wider tire I will sacrifice a mile of econmy for the ride and the quiet. a big difference in ride quality. I will keep you posted on these tires the come highly recommended by a friend who owns a tire store and he put the same tires on his mothers prius.

Jerry says:
2 days ago

I have 96,000 miles on my factory tires, and by the look of them, I'll get at least 30,000 more before I am at the wear marks. Each one has taken at LEAST 5 nails/screws/spikes without leaving me stranded, I just get them patched when I notice it. Gee, I guess maybe my 2005 Hummer H2 isn't so bad after all!

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