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tires cupping gen 3

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by k9frog, Jul 21, 2011.

  1. k9frog

    k9frog New Member

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    i got a 3 month old gen3, the car has 1100 miles on it,all 4 tires are cupping towards the outside of the tire, front tires i have 44lbs,rear tires 42lbs, my knowlege tells me that the alignment is out on all 4 wheels, is this an on going problem, that has no end or toyota has a fix for this, this is kinda of a dissapointment only due to the fact is that were also getting the plugin when it comes out ,but not if the car has a alignment issue
    will toyota replace my tires that are cupped, what can i expect when i go to the dealer ,which i have an appointment to look at it next weds, this is kinda of a downer with the car, i had a gm that had the same problem which was never fixed, and i wont go thru the hassle like i did with the pontiac, new cars shouldnt need this kind of work
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    take it to the dealer, there should be a warranty fix.
     
  3. GSW

    GSW PRIUS POWER

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    +1. I've rotated my OEM (Yoko) tires only once at 5K miles and now the car has 33K on them and the tires look like they have another 20K to go.
    Take it to the dealer and ask for a before and after printout of your alignment. Good luck!
     
  4. k9frog

    k9frog New Member

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    i bought my car into johnstons toyota for the tire cupping issue,i feel much better about it he agreed that there is the start of cupping on the tires, so next friday the car goes in for an alignment, i will remember to ask for the read out start and finish on the alignment, one thing i can say the people at the dealership seem to be very helpfull, which is a good thing
     
  5. k9frog

    k9frog New Member

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    well now our car has 4700 miles on it, its going back for the third time because of tire cupping,i guess this is an on going problem with the prius, i cant believe how many stories ive read on this subject, with no clear answer to whats cupping the tires,, but toyota and johnstons knows without a doubt how we feel about this, we want 4 new tires and i want the car to track correctly,simple you would think, but the only way i got the dealer to listen to me was calling toyota customer service and even then the dealer didnt call me ,i had to call customer service back and they got johnstons to call,dirt bags in my book,the car goes into the dealer on the 7th, see how this story goes
    just for info the first time car went to the dealer the gave me a alignment readout and said it was within parameters, second time was during the first service, when i complained about noisy tires that are serious cupped,i was told they can find nothin wrong, third time on the 7th of march
     
  6. adamace1

    adamace1 Senior Member

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    I haven't heard to much about any cupping on our cars. I only seen it happen on older cars with worn out suspension. I don't believe cupping has anything to with alignment. Can you take pics?
     
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  7. k9frog

    k9frog New Member

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    i guess theres really not much to see, the tires are cupping on the outside of the tires
    any were between 1/8 in to 3/16 cupping more on the pass side
    that is good to hear it might be a fixable problem,i sure hope so
    i just dont think my camera will take any kind of pic that would be useful,why they want to waste time with a rebalance who knows, i feel no shimmy or shake at all, i feel no drifting or pulling, very strange
     
  8. B. Roberts

    B. Roberts Hypah Milah! Ayuh.

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    We just traded in a 2005 Prius that strangely cupped rear tires through its nearly 7 year stay with us. I wrote out the saga on the 2nd gen section of this forum. I had the rear tires off for a cleaning and rotated the drum/hub assembly as I cleaned those off, when I noted some points of what seemed magnetic drag. They were very slight, but I found 3 of these points on the right rear and 2 points of drag on the left rear. The tire wear seemed to match these points on each side. I had blamed the Goodyears for this problem after the car had eaten 3 sets of tires, but then I found those points of drag, and wondered if that couldn't be the cause of the tire wear.

    I went to the dealer with this information, and they could find nothing. The car was aligned and shimmed by the dealer and another set of brand new tires were fitted that again started to wear unevenly in he same manner, at the rear only, within 5 to 7 thousand miles.

    I too called customer service, but the time spent going between the dealership and customer service took so much time, that we eventually decided to trade the car in on a 3rd gen Prius.

    Now to see this same type of problem crop up on a 3rd gen is not a good thing!

    Take the rear wheels off and slowly turn the rear hubs and see if you can feel any changes in resistance as you make a complete revolution. I sure hope this is not a common problem with all Prius.
     
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  9. mainerinexile

    mainerinexile No longer in exile!

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    My 2010 with 50,000 miles has cupped 7 tires already on the right rear. It happens after less than 5,000 miles. Alignment has been done 4 times, didn't help. Toyota gave me one new set of tires at 14,000, but now they say they won't help further.

    By the way OP, you should learn to use periods as punctuation in sentences. Hard to read without sentences.
     
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  10. Robsquatch

    Robsquatch Junior Member

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    My jeep tires were cupping due to suspension/shocks being old. Have you tried that yet. Btw jeep tracked great before and after shocks were replaced. Cupping gone now.
     
  11. k9frog

    k9frog New Member

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    My car has only 4700 miles on it and the front tires are also cupping.ill mess with this only so long.
     
  12. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    I haven't had cupping with my 2006 or 2010 so it isn't fair to say it is a "Prius problem". If I had that situation I'd be pi$$ed too. File a complaint with your county or state Consumer Affairs Office & NHTSA. They may be able to get someone at the dealer & Toyota to care.

    If the dealer believes this is a common or universal situation then have them show you all the used Prius with cupped tires.
     
  13. cossie1600

    cossie1600 Active Member

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  14. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    +1
     
  15. shrktank

    shrktank New Member

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    Can someone tell me what "cupping" is and how to check to see if I might have this occuring.

    Thanks

     
  16. k9frog

    k9frog New Member

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    Believe me when i say my wife and i love this car, but due to past experience with tire problems with gm cars we have owned i cant afford new tires every couple of years, the gas savings are taking up by buying new tires,were just hoping when we bring in the car weds they convince me whats going on with it and make proper repairs.
    shrktank all you have to do is run you hand over the tire front to rear,if theres cupping you will feel a hump on the tire either foward or backwards, hope i said that right
     
  17. adamace1

    adamace1 Senior Member

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    Cupping is up and down wear on the tire. Caused by cheap tires or wornout suspension parts most of the time. If you run your hand around the outside tread of the tire in a circle motion and feel that the tire is not round you have cupping.
     
  18. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    It has to be spot perfect and not just in range. I had it only once in corolla and the alignment problem was in a real wheel that was "not adjustable". Tire shop had to put some aftermarket shims to correct that.
     
  19. k9frog

    k9frog New Member

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    Its good to see positive responce on the prius tire problem,as i call it,
    the shims sound similar to the gm problem with the rear spindles you had to make up special shims and drill out the spindle to get the alignment correct
     
  20. cobradb

    cobradb Member

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    not a problem for my 2010 at 45k
    ASK IF THEIR SYSTEM IS CALIBRATED. 2 yrs ago i went to a shop and got an alignment and saw sever cupping; went back to the shop and they told me it was a new sytem install and calibrated by the maker
    i took it to another shop and they showed me that it was out very bad;
    ask to see the calib and the actual data from your car.