shims, mileage, rough ride help!

I have done searches and read the posts I found about shims. I had wear on the edges of my tires, got the alignment checked, all ok, within the limits. Goodyear suggested shims. Unfortunately, I let them put some on and we got new tires. The car feels like it is hydroplaning everywhere, every road, all weather conditions. So, I went back, they said, it is not the shims, the tires are probably the problem. The ride is way rougher than it was before I ever took the car there (I wish I could reset the car like a computer and set it back like it was before I ever took it there). I also had to go back for a leaky valve (low tire) and balancing as they said the front tire "threw a weight" and was out of balance. That helped a tiny bit. So, I went back and got a refund on the tires as I hate them and I lost TEN miles per gallon since this whole mess started. HELP!! I told them I wanted the shims out too, but they left them in even though they refunded that also. So, I have new tires, ones that I have had before, a diferent brand that I was not unhappy with before. So, I am still getting 40 mpg which is really making me mad, the car still feels like it is out of control and hydroplaning everywhere and it sill feels like the front tires are out of balance. Any ideas on what in the world has happened to my car?? It is a 2010 Prius. It doesn't have all of the fancy stuff.
I was originally upset because of a sound that sounded like one of the tires was out of balance or the alignment was out. I don't have that sound anymore with the new tires, but all of these other problems started at exactly the time we got the tires at Goodyear and the shims. The drop in mileage was immediate and is still at 40 after I got the first set of tires taken off.

Any ideas of what the problem might be are appreciated. At this point, I want the shims off. I see them as the problem because it still feels like the car is out of my control all the time. I am also so mad that the front end feels like the tires are out of balance. I will be getting that checked tomorrow again, if possible. I have had these new tires for less than a week. I don't think it is the tires now because I have had this brand and this tire before and did not have these problems.

My husband thinks I am crazy, but I am the one that drives the car hundreds of miles a week and something is wrong with my car!

 

The tires that I returned were Triple Treads from Goodyear. I am really upset that I lost 10 mpg and don't know why! It also bothers me that if there is the slightest breeze, the car feels like it is going to blow off of the road. It is like I have to constantly fight it all the time, it wanders. We will get the alignment checked on Wed by a different shop.

Could the shims be causing these problems? I read that some of the people that put shims on had to adjust them several times or use different ones, etc. At this point, I just want my car back like it used to be.

 

84,000 miles on the car,

 

Yokohama Avid Ascend tires now.

 

I will have the struts checked. Hmm, the old tires may have had about 50,000 miles on them. That is a guess. I got a print out and will try to post a pic of it if I can. I just read a post here that said the shims were not for disc brake cars, then it said all Gen III's were disc brake cars. It also sounds like if you have the shims you have to keep checking them all the time, like weekly for a while, etc. I really think I just want them off. Will that be a problem to have them removed?

 

That print out was from the day I went back to have them check the balance and they said the driver front tire was 2 degrees out of balance or something like that. So, that reading is from a few days after the shims were installed and the tires put on (the ones I have since returned). Does it matter that they put that it is a plug in, when it is not a plug in? Would the recommended numbers be the same?

 

Does anyone have any ideas? I am so furious. I really think my car is ruined and no one seems to care but me and no one thinks there is a problem! I am STILL getting 40 to MAYBE 43 mpg which is making me mad. The front end feels completely messed up. It bumps ALL the time and I have had the front driver tire balanced THREE times in the past month. And it was not the same wheel every time. What about a bent axle or something like that? Would that cause the constant bumpy front end? I also hear a rubbing noise that was not there before. I am wondering if that is the shims. The local tire shop said you can't check the struts, and my car is apparently not near the mileage when you need new struts??

Let's just imagine that Goodyear messed something up with the shims. Could having the shims not installed correctly be causing all of these problems? I am at my wits end here. I am just mad every time I drive the car now and I drive it at least 300 miles a week.

help??

 

Thanks, Dave. I just have this feeling that I am right and the shims are causing a lot of problems. I have been told that I am "crazy" if I take them off, but I can tell you that it was a different car before I had the shims put on. So, the shims are supposed to make the rear tires now straight and ride flat on the road as opposed to the way that Toyota designed the car for handling? I have no idea what to believe anymore.

I may just insist on getting the darn shims taken off and see what happens. It makes me mad that I am going to pay someone else to take them off, too. I don't think that the majority of Prius owners have shims installed, so surely, they are not necessary. At this point, I want a different car, but I think I may be stuck with this piece of junk until I pay it off in several years. Huge sigh. I had a Saturn that I have 325,000 miles on and got this to replace it. I am afraid this car won't make it until I pay it off. The Saturn went for several years after being paid off. another huge sigh.