1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

toyo 17" tire noise

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by StingrayHawaii, May 18, 2014.

  1. StingrayHawaii

    StingrayHawaii Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2014
    5
    0
    0
    Location:
    Ellijay, Georgia
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Hello all,

    Have had my Prius v five for a few weeks and generally love it. Getting 40-44 MPG, hauls things well and I generally like the drive and ride but ..... The level five Toyo Proxes 17" tires are extremely noisy on anything but a very smooth road.

    The car is very quiet on smooth roads, but the 17" Toyo tires thump with every tar strip, or rough surface or on concrete roads and roar on most interstate highways. I can hardly listen to my stereo at speeds over 65 on anything but very smooth asphalt roads.

    I have had a Prius classic, a Camry Hybrid and now the new Prius v, so I am used to the hybrids and Toyota. The road noise in this car is unacceptable and is either the lack of sound deadening or extremely loud tires or both!

    Tried recommended tire pressures, a little higher and over 40 and found about 37 seems the best for feel and noise. Anyone else having this issue?

    Otherwise I love the versatile "v"!

    Does anyone else have these issues and any solutions?
     
  2. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2013
    1,740
    446
    4
    Location:
    New Mexico, USA
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    N/A
    Its both.
    Low profile tires are always a bit like that, but there's no question the OE Toyos are bad. The v is a noisy car anyway, so get used to that. Short of getting new tires, (which is what I did), you're stuck with it. The Michelins are much quieter, handle far better and improve MPG, but its still a noisy car.
     
  3. Okinawa

    Okinawa Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2013
    1,333
    317
    0
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Michelin Defenders are quiet, ride good and makes the handling (steering) really good. If I were you I would buy a set and throw the ones you have in the garbage. You will be better off.
     
  4. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2012
    3,953
    1,085
    0
    Location:
    New Yawk
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five

    We haven't found either the v or the Proxes A20 (at 41/40psi) to be noisy, though we have heard others' reports of same.
     
  5. catgic

    catgic Mastr & Commandr Hybrid Guru

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2007
    586
    140
    1
    Location:
    HTTP 404 Not Found
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five

    What Air_Boss said ^^^. I am running my Toyo Proxes A20 P215/50R17s Up-Pressured to 51F/50R. I get a solid road feel at these PSI levels, which I like. As regards “Noise,” I do not consider it “Noise,” but rather “Music To My Ears,” as it is the sound of my Pv5 "Petrol Warfighter" delivering Ultra- High 50-ish MPG to me.
     
  6. Grren4ever

    Grren4ever Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2013
    347
    166
    19
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    I have the Toyo A20's with a lower profile - 215-45R17. It's not quiet like a lexus but I think I've gotten used to it. You are right, all potholes, expansion joints and undulations in the road are easily transferred into the cabin with these tires.

    Have you seen the prices for a brand new A20 in 17' size? It's like $250 bucks! So obviously this is not a cheap tire. There must be something good about it that justifies that price. I'm no expert on tires so I don't know what it is. Perhaps the stiffer sidewall gives better handling. They have a rim protector and look great at least :)
     
  7. mediahound

    mediahound Active Member

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2013
    903
    155
    2
    Location:
    SF Bay Area, California
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    My 17" Toyos are super quiet, one of the quietest tires I've ever had. I have the Proxes 4 Plus tires:

     
  8. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2013
    1,740
    446
    4
    Location:
    New Mexico, USA
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    N/A
    That must be why my tire dealer only gave me $20 per tire for them brand new off the car. :(
    Don't mistake the OE tires for being the same as the retail tire of the same model. They are not. When you buy tires by the millions, they make them special to your specs and put their name on it. Its also true that nobody pays "retail" for tires anyway, but price in no way indicates quality.

    I've bought a lot of new Toyotas, and never once kept the OE tires for more than a few thousand miles. They are cheap, cheap, cheap. I consider a new set of tires to be part of the cost of a new car.
     
  9. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2010
    2,404
    2,773
    47
    Location:
    South Yorkshire, UK
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    I find the opposite to the OP, I had a 2010 Gen 3 (liftback) with 17" Michelin Primacy tyres on, which are supposed to be one of the quietest tyres available in the UK and the road noise was horrendous. I now have a 2012 Prius+ (US=v) with 17" toyo Proxes on and it is almost silent on most road surfaces. This was the sole reason why i traded the Gen 3 in for the +.
    It may be that the two extra seats in the back are deadening the sound more than the Gen 3, I don't know but it sure is very much quieter.
     
  10. StingrayHawaii

    StingrayHawaii Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 18, 2014
    5
    0
    0
    Location:
    Ellijay, Georgia
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    Hi all, thanks for the feedback. I see some have the same issues or similar and others do not. I have a 96 Corvette with large performance 17" tires and it is not a noisy as my Prius V. I guess my V needs some additional insulation / undercoating to help with the sound deadening?

    I also changed to Michelin Primacys on my Camry and found them much better than the factory tires. My Prius Classic I changed to lower profile goodyear tires and it also rode and handled much better than the stock tires. Agree that the Factory tire on toyotas are Cheap, Cheap, Cheap! Maybe not in price, but in performance!

    Thanks all for your help and feedback, think I will bug the Toyota service folks and see what they can do? Maybe some free undercoating? Also sounds like a new set of Michelins is in mys future too!

    Thanks everyone!
     
  11. Okinawa

    Okinawa Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2013
    1,333
    317
    0
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    I agree with you. When I buy a new car if it has other than Michelins on it I buy a new set of Michelins and discard the OE tires.
     
  12. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2013
    1,740
    446
    4
    Location:
    New Mexico, USA
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    N/A
    I came from a 4x4 quad cab Tacoma, which was super quiet compared to the v.
     
  13. Air_Boss

    Air_Boss Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2012
    3,953
    1,085
    0
    Location:
    New Yawk
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five

    The Datsun 2000's induction noise alone is greater than the v's entire noise signature....
     
  14. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2009
    5,683
    953
    124
    Location:
    Redondo Beach, CA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    I don't know about noise but the stock 17s (at least on the liftback) are actually more fuel efficient than retail replacements of the same brand/model. They most certainly modified them to make them more LRR.
     
  15. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2010
    2,404
    2,773
    47
    Location:
    South Yorkshire, UK
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Are the tyres wearing even, misalignment can make them noisy.
     
  16. SmellyTofu

    SmellyTofu Average punter

    Joined:
    Dec 20, 2005
    251
    29
    0
    Location:
    Sydney
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Model:
    N/A
    Blame the road, not the tyres.