needed 4 new tires after 20,000 miles

[jlondon]

Hello - I was shocked yesterday when my Prius would not pass inspection because of the tires. I was told it needed all new tires. I have 20,000 miles on the car and have owned it one year. Just wondering, have any of you had tires wear that quickly? These were the tires that came with the vehicle one year ago. At the toyota shop, I was told the tires wear a lot quicker than usual because the Prius is such a heavy vehicle, comparable to some SUV's, however, it has tires that are made for the weight of a car. Does this seem like a reasonable explanation? I really don't know and am now wondering if I will be buying 4 new tires every year. That sure will take away from the money I have been saving on gas

[john1701a]

The stock tires are nothing to write home about. Low PSI and lots of turning while not rolling will accelerate the wear... as you seem to have discovered.

Most of us end up upgrading to dramatically better tires. Many choose to keep PSI above the minimum too.

The USER-GUIDE is a good place to begin your research.

I absolutely love my upgrades. Traction is much improved and they still have a decent amount of tread after 47,700 miles.

[rudiger]

Yeah, I wouldn't look at the OEM tires wearing out at 20k miles as a necessarily bad thing. It appears that there are very few (if any) Prius owners who, after getting replacement tires, have anything good to say about the original Goodyear Integritys. It would seem that the OEM tires were chosen for just two reasons: fuel mileage and low cost. Although the replacement tires that most seem to be using (Michelin Hydroedges or Goodyear Comfortreds) will sacrifice a small amount of fuel mileage, the trade-off in comfort/performance appears to be well worth it.

[Beryl Octet]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jlondon @ Nov 2 2006, 09:09 PM) [snapback]342959[/snapback]</div>

Hello - I was shocked yesterday when my Prius would not pass inspection because of the tires. I was told it needed all new tires. I have 20,000 miles on the car and have owned it one year. Just wondering, have any of you had tires wear that quickly? These were the tires that came with the vehicle one year ago. At the toyota shop, I was told the tires wear a lot quicker than usual because the Prius is such a heavy vehicle, comparable to some SUV's, however, it has tires that are made for the weight of a car. Does this seem like a reasonable explanation? I really don't know and am now wondering if I will be buying 4 new tires every year. That sure will take away from the money I have been saving on gas
[/b]

It is a 2900 lb car, not that heavy, these days... By comparison, a RAV4 is 3500 lb, and a Corolla is 2600 lb. I have a little over 16K on the original tires, and they seem to have lots of tread left, and have kept the f/r pressures at 38/35 since I bought the car. To the wear bars in 20K seems very premature for these tires to me, but I'd hope your next set should do much better, assuming you choose wisely and are not driving it like it's stolen or something. Might want to have the alignment checked, too.

[IsrAmeriPrius]

I wish my Integrities wore out faster. I am itching for an upgrade, but am not going to throw out perfectly good tires. At the 25,000 service and inspection, the tire thread averaged 7-8 mm all around.

[seasalsa]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jlondon @ Nov 2 2006, 06:09 PM) [snapback]342959[/snapback]</div>

I really don't know and am now wondering if I will be buying 4 new tires every year. That sure will take away from the money I have been saving on gas
[/b]

You did not mention the pressure you have been running or whether you have regularly rotated the tires. Both are factors that will contribute to unusual wear as well as the type of driving you do.

take a look at this recent poll on OEM tires.
http://priuschat.com/Goodyear-Integr...ge-t25712.html
I was in the over 40K group. Your tire wear is unusual.

[Tideland Prius]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jlondon @ Nov 2 2006, 06:09 PM) [snapback]342959[/snapback]</div>

Hello - I was shocked yesterday when my Prius would not pass inspection because of the tires. I was told it needed all new tires. I have 20,000 miles on the car and have owned it one year. Just wondering, have any of you had tires wear that quickly? These were the tires that came with the vehicle one year ago. At the toyota shop, I was told the tires wear a lot quicker than usual because the Prius is such a heavy vehicle, comparable to some SUV's, however, it has tires that are made for the weight of a car. Does this seem like a reasonable explanation? I really don't know and am now wondering if I will be buying 4 new tires every year. That sure will take away from the money I have been saving on gas
[/b]

phew.. find me an SUV that's the same weight as the Prius lol. In that case, our 1500kg Camry is a monster

Yeah, the short lifespan of the Integrity is nothing new. We've had ranges from 20,000 to 40,000 miles. I'm around 25,000 miles.

[tumbleweed]

Have a 4 wheel alignment done, a lot of Toyotas arrive with alignment problems. Toyota will give you a free alignment during the first year and even though you are at 20K miles and 1 year of ownership you may be able to talk them into it. Call Toyota and see what they have to say, the OEM tires should go at least 40K miles under normal conditions.

However, as others have said, you must keep the tire pressures up to get good tire wear. Most people here have good luck with pressures of 40 lbs or higher, not to exceed 44 lbs cold.

Also you might consider finding a dealer that won't try to mislead you, the Prius is not a heavy car. As Beryl said it weighs about 2900 lbs, my old Accord which was about the same size weighed over 3200. Full sized SUVs such as the Suburban typically weigh over 6000 lbs and even the Highlander, one of the smaller ones, weighs well over 4000.

[SomervillePrius]

It seems that stock tires in genral are of low quality. My wife gas a Ford Focus with just over 25.000 miles on it and she had to replace all four tires as well. I susptect car manufacturers try to save a buck or two on the tires as they aren't really a big argument from people buying a new car.

The Prius is NOT a HEAVY car, that batteries don't weigh that much and a lot of weight reduction in other places has been done.

I think that if you go to a better set of tires (see comments above) and increase your tire pressure slightly that you will be abel to keep the tires a lot longer.

[Charles Suitt]

Worn out at 20K.... This does sound unusual, even for the Integreties. At 20K miles my original Integrities aren't NEW, but look like they have good miles remaining which will be enjoyed by its new owner... since...

I'm 'trading up' to a 2007 Touring Edition which includes Bridgestone Turanza 195/55R16 86V tires - 70,000 mile prorated tread-wear after 3 year "Platinum" warranty. With the "Touring Edition" premium over the standard Prius on a Package 6 Prius being only $270, I believe the tires and improved suspension are well worth the difference.