What's the typical milleage to have tires changed?

At the toyota dealer for the 70k service. They pointed out that the tire is balding. They said that the hybrid tires wear out faster cause we use less braking. Huh? Isn't milleage just milleage? I don't know so just go with their suggestion. Are they just milking me or could I have just used the tires through the rainy season?

You must have been talking to the PHd in Physics that they have on staff. :madgrin:


My OEM tires lasted 29k, with most of that mileage on the front.

If you have unusual wear patterns (like feathered tread, or one edge worn more than the other) you should get an alignment check.

It seems common to have the edges wear faster than center, even for those who run higher than the door sill decal pressures (I ran 40 psi, and the edges still wore more than centers)

LRR tires usually wear outside faster due to thicker sidewalls (one of the resons of being less rolling resistance). That is why people pump up the pressure exceeding what Toyota suggests to get even wear and better MPG.

The wear index from DoT is a scientific comparison of wear when comparing different tires.
A tire with index of 520 will outlast another with 260 by 1X.
From my experiences, with a wear index of 260, the tire lasted around 26K miles.

Yeah, that is hilarious.

I just have to ask. I usually take my back tires with me wherever i go. How did you manage to get most mileage on the front?

This is really the wrong forum for the question - the 2010 is new, and people aren't running 70K miles yet - also, it is likely you are running different tires.

I would think at 45PSI, and with regular rotation, you should get close to 40K... Yes - your dealer is crazy...

whoops sorry, meant to go the main forum.

Well I wouldn't try and stretch the mileage of balding tires through rainy season. In addition to all the things already mentioned many people don't realize a factor in tire wear is the composition of the road surface. In some parts of the country many secondary road surfaces are more abrasive than in other parts.

My 2008 had almost 60K on it and hadn't had the tires changed (and they had plenty of tread). Of course then it got totalled, so I got a 2010.

I had a non-repairable puncture on one of the tires at 15k. So I bought a set of Michelins for the rear and kept the OEM GYs on the front until they wore out at 29k. I only had two tire rotations at that point, so most of the 29k was with the tires installed at the front. The Michelins are still on the rear, they do not appear to be worn significantly at 32k.

The real test is how much tread is left. You don't need the dealer to be able to determine that.

It used to be put a penny in a tread and if you can see Lincoln's head (hair end next to the tire), then it's bald. Now they changed it to a quarter and use Washington's head, since the Lincoln test is for pretty thrifty people who drive gently, which doesn't apply to the typical American anymore. We need a bit more tread for our cornering and lack of slowing down in bad conditions. And the tire companies like a bit more turn-over in our tire purchases.

4/32 tread depth on front, 2/32 tread depth at the rear is legal in California.

V.C. Section 27465 - Tread Depth of Pneumatic Tires

The Lincoln head test is for people living in climates without rain.

It was probably OK in summer back in the short treadlife days when people had to buy tires every year, or even more frequently. They would be getting new tires before the wet seasons regardless.

Now that tires last can last many years, and a thin tread in summer is not an indication that the tires will be bald or showing cords before winter, it is no longer applicable.