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Uneven Tire wear. Plausible cause?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by creature0077, Aug 15, 2013.

  1. creature0077

    creature0077 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2009
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    Location:
    Austin, Tx
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    So I've had my Prius quite a while now and it's at 162k miles. I tend to take trips across the country as often as twice a year with a fully loaded trunk and 3-4 people. Most of the car is original and has been maintained pretty well.

    However, less than a year ago I bought new tires, Falken ZIEX ZE-512, I got an alignment done the same day I bought the tires and it checked out good. Couple months ago when I got my state inspection the mechanic checking everything said he could feel some vibrations/noise from the front tires. They don't even have 30k miles on them and they are already worn inside and outside.
    I know this is common in underinflated tire pressures but I always run might slightly higher than the door ratings so if anything, it should be more worn in the middle but it's not.

    I knew this was a not right so I went to Firestone to have them check the suspension. They didn't find any problems but they said I should replace the struts since they are the originals and might be worn.

    I replaced them with some Sensens a few months ago and it handles just fine to me. I jacked up my car and checked to see if the suspension was loose by trying to wiggle them side-to-side and top-to-bottom but everything seems pretty sturdy.

    So my question is this, could bad struts and/or excessive weight be the cause of uneven tire wear? I want to get new tires now but I don't want to put new ones on there if they are just going to get screwed up all the same.

    All tires are worn like this and I do rotate them close to 5k miles. It happened gradually over time but I think they are wearing in the front and not the back but that's just my guess.
    2013-08-15 09.31.48.jpg
     
    #1 creature0077, Aug 15, 2013
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
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    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    1. I have found that the Prius tires will tend to wear on the shoulders, unless you use much higher tire pressure than the 35/33 psi spec. I use 44/42 psi, which is consistent with the max cold pressure spec on the tires.

    2. It is certainly possible that worn suspension parts will accelerate tire wear. However I don't think that was the problem in your case since the issue is simply that the tire tread is wearing quickly. Typically worn suspension parts will result in uneven tire wear where you see scalloped wear, or one side wearing faster than the other.

    3. You have probably installed several sets of tires on your Prius. What is the typical treadwear life that you have obtained?

    4. From the picture, it is not obvious what is the tread depth of the tire at the center.

    5. As Prius is a front wheel drive vehicle, the front tires will typically wear much faster than the rear. That is the reason for periodically rotating tires.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Aug 15, 2013
  3. creature0077

    creature0077 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2009
    42
    3
    0
    Location:
    Austin, Tx
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I do run mine around 40 psi normally. The max for my tires is 51 psi.

    The center depth is just a hint more than 2/32, shoulders are flat obviously. I've noticed this type of wear months ago. All four are the same type of wear.

    I normally get over 40-50k from my tires on my Prius. This set only has 31k (warranty for 40k). I searched around google a bit and found a lot of people are experiencing the same type of wear pattern as me with the Falken 512s.

    I scheduled to get some Yokohama Avis Ascends next week. Hopefully those will be tons better.

    Think Discount Tires will honor treadwear warranties? I'm wondering if I can get prorate for the new sets of tires I want.
     
    #3 creature0077, Aug 15, 2013
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,479
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Yes, I have found that America's Tire and Discount Tire are both quite liberal in honoring treadwear warranties (assuming you bought the tires there.)
     
    #4 Patrick Wong, Aug 15, 2013
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