Good Year Assurance gone after 17k miles!

seasidetraveler · 05-10-2006, 10:34 AM

I went to my 3k mile tire rotation appointment (as recomended by my tire dealer) and they informed me that the Good Year Assurance tires I had bought after my oem tires wore off too quickly, needed to be replaced already! They were in shock! They said that they have never seen these tires wear down so fast, and they were speachless. One guy said "I don't understand, the Prius isn't a fast car"

I think that the problem is that I commute through the mtns every day, and that is rough on tires... but I would have expected an 80k mile warrantied tire to last longer than 17k miles.

So I had to pay a total of about $137 to get a whole new set of tires, lifetime rotate & balance etc. Not too bad, just sucks that they won't last! I suggested that the air pressure be increased, as many people have here, and they said they "don't recomend doing that". Any thoughts?

mikepaul · 05-10-2006, 10:44 AM

It sounds like they wore out in a warrantied way, but was it just tred depth?

Makes me want to penny my tires before I head home tonight, since I have over 20,000 on mine...

**efusco** · 05-10-2006, 10:45 AM

Did you have an alignment done by the dealer when you replaced the OEM tires? Did you have one this time?

17k miles is WAY too soon for any tire to wear out...mountain driving or not. And with every 3k mile rotations (which is unnecessarily early too).

And, on top of that, $137 seems steep for a tire replacement that early...would think the cost would be a lot less since you used less than 1/4 of the warrantied distance.

Mystery Squid · 05-10-2006, 10:51 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(remaxmanager @ May 10 2006, 10:34 AM) [snapback]252741[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

I went to my 3k mile tire rotation appointment (as recomended by my tire dealer) and they informed me that the Good Year Assurance tires I had bought after my oem tires wore off too quickly, needed to be replaced already! They were in shock! They said that they have never seen these tires wear down so fast, and they were speachless. One guy said "I don't understand, the Prius isn't a fast car"

I think that the problem is that I commute through the mtns every day, and that is rough on tires... but I would have expected an 80k mile warrantied tire to last longer than 17k miles.

So I had to pay a total of about $137 to get a whole new set of tires, lifetime rotate & balance etc. Not too bad, just sucks that they won't last! I suggested that the air pressure be increased, as many people have here, and they said they "don't recomend doing that". Any thoughts?
[/b]

Wait... Did you actually see the thread depth for yourself???

tochatihu · 05-10-2006, 10:54 AM

The Tirerack website indicates a maximum cold inflation pressure of 44 psi for this model in Toyota OEM size. I would not exceed that value in the front, and keep the rears a couple of pounds below those. I second the alignment suggestion, especially if uneven wear patterns were noted.

Properly inflated and rotated tires will last 40-60k miles on Prius. Several brands. Please describe your commuting style on these mountain roads.

seasidetraveler · 05-10-2006, 05:08 PM

I did see them, and I was concerned, so I brought the issue up when I went in. I asked them to look at them. The front's wear down FAST, the rear one's weren't as bad, but they gave me the same deal for the rears. Like I said, some of the $137 was for the lifetime rotations, road hazard, etc.
I am afraid to increase the pressure and then have them void the warranty!! Next time I think I will go with Michelin, I had GREAT experiences in the past with that brand.

When my oem tires went bad so fast, the dealer checked my alignment, and they said it was spot on. We'll see how this set holds up!

ghostofjk · 05-10-2006, 05:24 PM

This is indeed a mystery. You still haven't said if you saw excessive wear on the inside or outside edges (fronts only, I guess), or if the wear was distributed evenly across the tread.

I had a set of Bridgestone Potenzas on my '02 (OEM tires at that time). They were a widely ridiculed tire on Prius forums, as many sets of Potenzas on the '01s had need replacing in as little as 5,000 miles (Toyota, recognizing the problem, arranged for free sets of replacement Potenzas for many of us).

At that time, the consensus was just developing for running them at 42/40 or 40/38. I took a chance and ran mine at 42/40 from day one. I got 55,000 miles from those tires with perfectly even wear---and could have easily gone another 5,000, but Costco had a $50-off-on-a-set-of-4 promotion, and I jumped. My replacements? Another set of Potenzas! I may be the only Prius owner who bought another set!

My point: inflate your tires to at least 40/38. Take them back to your tire dealer to have the tread checked in 3K and 6K mi. (I agree that's excessive; 5K is fine, but whatever floats their boat.) But before you take it in, lower your pressure to whatever they put in. If they end up saying, "See, this set's fine!", you'll know the "overinflation" works.

Of course, you can buy a tread depth gauge and check it yourself whenever you want, and cut them out of the loop.

seasidetraveler · 05-10-2006, 05:36 PM

The wear was pretty even. I will make sure to inflate them to 40/38, and see how that goes.

05-10-2006, 10:34 AM	#1
seasidetraveler Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: CA Posts: 623 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: N/A Package: #6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Friends: 0	I went to my 3k mile tire rotation appointment (as recomended by my tire dealer) and they informed me that the Good Year Assurance tires I had bought after my oem tires wore off too quickly, needed to be replaced already! They were in shock! They said that they have never seen these tires wear down so fast, and they were speachless. One guy said "I don't understand, the Prius isn't a fast car" I think that the problem is that I commute through the mtns every day, and that is rough on tires... but I would have expected an 80k mile warrantied tire to last longer than 17k miles. So I had to pay a total of about $137 to get a whole new set of tires, lifetime rotate & balance etc. Not too bad, just sucks that they won't last! I suggested that the air pressure be increased, as many people have here, and they said they "don't recomend doing that". Any thoughts? __________________ enjoy the ride

05-10-2006, 05:24 PM	#7
ghostofjk Unrepentant Nattering Nabob of Negativism (V.P. Spiro T. Agnew) Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 981 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	This is indeed a mystery. You still haven't said if you saw excessive wear on the inside or outside edges (fronts only, I guess), or if the wear was distributed evenly across the tread. I had a set of Bridgestone Potenzas on my '02 (OEM tires at that time). They were a widely ridiculed tire on Prius forums, as many sets of Potenzas on the '01s had need replacing in as little as 5,000 miles (Toyota, recognizing the problem, arranged for free sets of replacement Potenzas for many of us). At that time, the consensus was just developing for running them at 42/40 or 40/38. I took a chance and ran mine at 42/40 from day one. I got 55,000 miles from those tires with perfectly even wear---and could have easily gone another 5,000, but Costco had a $50-off-on-a-set-of-4 promotion, and I jumped. My replacements? Another set of Potenzas! I may be the only Prius owner who bought another set! My point: inflate your tires to at least 40/38. Take them back to your tire dealer to have the tread checked in 3K and 6K mi. (I agree that's excessive; 5K is fine, but whatever floats their boat.) But before you take it in, lower your pressure to whatever they put in. If they end up saying, "See, this set's fine!", you'll know the "overinflation" works. Of course, you can buy a tread depth gauge and check it yourself whenever you want, and cut them out of the loop. __________________ Imagine the "Desiderata" here. Pointy-headed ex-hippie elitist liberal '04 silver, '06 red

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05-10-2006, 10:44 AM	#2
mikepaul Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 1,742 My Car: 2004 Prius Model: Package: #9 Thanks: 1 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Friends: 0	It sounds like they wore out in a warrantied way, but was it just tred depth? Makes me want to penny my tires before I head home tonight, since I have over 20,000 on mine...

05-10-2006, 10:45 AM	#3
efusco Troll Slayer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nixa, MO Posts: 17,242 My Car: 2004 Prius Model: Package: #9 Thanks: 49 Thanked 254 Times in 153 Posts Friends: 37	Did you have an alignment done by the dealer when you replaced the OEM tires? Did you have one this time? 17k miles is WAY too soon for any tire to wear out...mountain driving or not. And with every 3k mile rotations (which is unnecessarily early too). And, on top of that, $137 seems steep for a tire replacement that early...would think the cost would be a lot less since you used less than 1/4 of the warrantied distance.

05-10-2006, 10:54 AM	#5
tochatihu Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kunming Yunnan China Posts: 2,411 My Car: 2001 Prius Model: Package: Pioneer #1 Thanks: 1 Thanked 38 Times in 38 Posts Friends: 14	The Tirerack website indicates a maximum cold inflation pressure of 44 psi for this model in Toyota OEM size. I would not exceed that value in the front, and keep the rears a couple of pounds below those. I second the alignment suggestion, especially if uneven wear patterns were noted. Properly inflated and rotated tires will last 40-60k miles on Prius. Several brands. Please describe your commuting style on these mountain roads.

05-10-2006, 05:08 PM	#6
seasidetraveler Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: CA Posts: 623 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: N/A Package: #6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Friends: 0	I did see them, and I was concerned, so I brought the issue up when I went in. I asked them to look at them. The front's wear down FAST, the rear one's weren't as bad, but they gave me the same deal for the rears. Like I said, some of the $137 was for the lifetime rotations, road hazard, etc. I am afraid to increase the pressure and then have them void the warranty!! Next time I think I will go with Michelin, I had GREAT experiences in the past with that brand. When my oem tires went bad so fast, the dealer checked my alignment, and they said it was spot on. We'll see how this set holds up!

05-10-2006, 05:36 PM	#8
seasidetraveler Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: CA Posts: 623 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: N/A Package: #6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Friends: 0	The wear was pretty even. I will make sure to inflate them to 40/38, and see how that goes.