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2010 prius "wiggle"

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by mike lyons, Mar 25, 2014.

  1. mike lyons

    mike lyons New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2014
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    Location:
    Box Elder, South Dakota
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Driving down the highway I notice the car is fine on asphalt and any flat pavement but on grooved concrete highways I feel the car "wiggle" aka trammle. It has yokohama avids for tires on 15" rims and I am questioning if others have noticed this or if its my tires causing or should I look into suspension issues. This also happens on my Taurus which is heavier and bigger/wider tires and I know the suspension is tight on the taurus. So any insite on if this is normal and any possible parts to remedy it would be great
     
    #1 mike lyons, Mar 25, 2014
  2. alekska

    alekska Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2010
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    Location:
    Atl
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    It does not sound like a problem to me, especially if your other car doing the same in a less extent. Prius in general is not super stable at high speeds due to aerodynamics (lack of downforce on the back at high speed)

    - Alex
     
    #2 alekska, Mar 25, 2014
  3. jhinsc

    jhinsc Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2010
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    Location:
    South Carolina
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    It's the tires - the 15" are skinny and the Yoko's in particular don't track all that well from what I remember. I wouldn't worry about it.
     
    #3 jhinsc, Mar 25, 2014
  4. milkman44

    milkman44 Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2011
    591
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    Location:
    Ky
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    When I bought my 2010, with Goodyear Fuelmax, it did the same on a stretch of grooved freeway. After about 20k miles, I replaced them with Michelin Defenders and an alignment, 99% eliminated the wiggle. I don't know if it was the tires or the alignment that took the wiggle out.
     
    #4 milkman44, Mar 25, 2014
  5. Ray-o-Vac

    Ray-o-Vac Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2013
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    I
    Certain tire tread patterns are more apt to track grooved pavement than others. The OE Yokohamas on my 2010 didn't have any problem with grooved pavement. The Goodyear Fuelmax I replaced them with tend to track the grooves giving a slight wiggle feeling. I have had it happen in Jeeps, TR-6s and a lot of other cars and motorcycles I have owned.
    Not much you can do about it other than to change tires or avoid roads with grooved pavement.
     
    #5 Ray-o-Vac, Mar 25, 2014
  6. nicoj36

    nicoj36 Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2013
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II

    Don't do anything. Our cars aren't very good at high speeds handling, and I too experience the exact same thing on Pirelli P4's. Either way your car is fine, that's just one of the cons of having a high efficiency car, lack of performance.
     
    #6 nicoj36, Mar 28, 2014
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