Tire Warranty Replacement for New Ecopias

This is a 2005 Prius with 182,00 miles (second owner). Two years ago I replaced 4 tires with the Ecopia 422BL P185/65R15 86H with a 65,000 mile warranty through Firestone when a bulge appeared in a tire while out of town. Since Firestone was the closest shop nearby who had my size I purchased the Ecopia's. After initial break in of a few thousand miles the tires averaged 50+ mpg with a smooth drive.

Driving conditions are in the Mojave Desert with temps 100+ for 5 months of the year. I also drive a mountain pass a few times a month (last year every week). I live in a rural area and drive bumpy dirt roads to get to town from home about 8 miles round trip. So the new tires were not driven on normal city routes. The Prius has held up great except for a few sensors going out and maintenance is done though a hybrid mechanic shop in Hemet Calif., 80 miles away. Firestone is 55 miles away. Tire Sellers where I live are Big O, WalMart and a few smaller independent sellers but Ecopia's/Michelin's are more expensive and must be pre-ordered.

The Ecopia tires have worn out evenly so it qualifies for tire replacement under the Firestone warranty (rotations, etc., every 5,000 and checked by Firestone). But the tires lasted only 28,000 miles over two years! The warranty will give me 4 new Ecopia EP422 PLUS BL tires (185/65R15 88H). Without Road Hazard Protection the cost per tire is $51 dollars, cost of road hazard for new tires is $12 more per tire.

Am I crazy to consider replacing these tires with the warranty for new Ecopia's because of Great mileage, good handling but lousy treadwear? My concern is would any tire last under these harsh driving conditions? The dealership noted the replacement tires are the new PLUS design and I can't figure out what this means. Firestone said the materials are improved over the older tire.

I've searched Tire Rack, Prius Chat, and other sites, etc., but most Prius drivers are on normal driving routes, so my question is not so much what type of tire but are my driving conditions the real cause of poor tread wear/longevity? And if replaced should I again pay for the Road Hazard Protection not knowing how long the Prius will be my primary driving vehicle due to the driving conditions. I guess the age of the Prius and my conditions are causing my dilemma.
Thanks, Prius Desert Rat

 

tire pressure since purchasing these tires is 42 front and 40 rear.

 

Thanks Patrick,
I'll review with Firestone further before making a decision. The local independent Tire seller who sells tires does not offer road hazard with new tires (since flats are common here.) I had hoped to buy locally but if tires just don't last long in our driving conditions, I might as well go to the lower desert and purchase tires more cheaply.

I just found another Prius owner online who notes, "drives on dirt/gravel much of the time" and received poor treadwear with the tires (just over 30,000). Another owner in a desert climate with high mileage noted that as soon as he reached 30,000 miles the Ecopias wore out quickly. He was wondering if it was his Prius. It might be one of the tradeoffs of living in a rural area and not driving a truck. Another Prius owner out here buys regular tires but averages low 40's mpg. I purchased the Prius with new Costco Michelin Tires which were phased out when I purchased the Ecopias. After three years (non desert driving they wore out at 40,000.) May have to adjust my expectations on tires. I will also go on Tire Rack and give my review with driving conditions.

The newer Ecopias are UTQG: 640 A A. It looks like the older UTQG: 400 A A (which are on the car) are being phased out. Still not sure yet whether to replace the tires with Ecopias or other brand.

Thanks for your feedback.
Pat

 

Sounds like we are in the same climate area (Joshua Tree Mojave desert), similar driving conditions (although I do more local driving) and use Firestone rotation/alignment and 42/40 tire pressure. I decided to replace under warranty for half price this time. MPG is still low as I break them in. I'm hoping they increase to the 50-52+ mpg for my driving conditions as in the past. The new Ecopias are getting in the low 40's to 45 mpg.after 1600 miles of use. How many miles did you tread before mpg increased? During the next month or two it will be local driving with no long trips. Since my last set of Ecopia's didn't reach 27,000 miles but were good tires otherwise, I'll be satisfied if these get 35,000 miles for the price. thanks for your post!