Help Tire Pressure..yes I read old threads

You're going to get a lot of different opinions on this. Some people are totally insensitive to the changes in ride, noise, and handling that come with increased tire pressure. I'm not one of them.

You should treat the numbers on the label in the door sill as the minimum you should run (35/33), and whatever is printed on the sidewall of the tire as the maximum (probably from the mid-40s to mid-50s). What number between those extremes you run is up to you. At 42/40 with my Goodyear TripleTreds, the increase in noise and worse ride (can feel and hear every crack in the road) are irritating, but the car doesn't yet have the "skating on ice" feeling you can get with higher tire pressures. The mpg gain over 35/33 is about 2mpg.

 

Hi Eve,
You put your post under the NEWB section, which aint necessarily going to get you advice from years of experience, nor from a ton of people. That said, consider putting your thread under the mileage section, for mileage related Q's .
Placed there in the mileage section, you'd likely hear that you need to experiment some, after getting your advise from tons of us. Most all of us who get super high mpg's do so by bumping the tires up to at LEAST 40 (ish) all the way around ... while some set either the front or rear a little higher. (At least) one of the moderaters goes 50lbs, which IS over the max rating ... but he says no weird wear pattern, even after 10's of thousands of miles. I mentioned that strictly so you wouldn't feel uncomfortable jacking your pressures up, at least a little.
If your car pulls, and you're under the first few thousand of your warranty, the dealer may very well align - realign for free. Other than that, welcome to PC.

 

http://priuschat.com/forums/toyota-prius-service-bulletins-tsbs/30286-pull-left-problem.html

this might help

 

When I first got my 07 it wanted to ride every line in the road. Constant fidgeting with the wheel. You couldn't just cruise down the road.Was making me batty.
It was the tire pressure. It was delivered at 28 lbs all around. Now its a weekly check to keep our crappy stock tires inflated. I go 45front 41 rear.Car is slightly harsher ride (don't notice anymore) but it handles fine. As soon as I see my mileage start to go down I check the tires and there usually down 5 lbs.They lose like 5 lbs a week depending if it goes through a cool/warm cycle.
Its so much easier now with this thing I bought. It does our bike tires too. Very very handy.

Craftsman 12 volt Air Compressor/Inflator - Model 75113 at Sears.com

Its sold in the auto repair store. Not in the main store but the store next to it that sells tires etc.

 

I agree that consistency truly helps. I further agree about the compressor. Tony Schaefer turned me on to this one:
Craftsman 12V Digital Readout Air Compressor. Right now it is on sale -- nearly half off at $19.99.

I haven't bothered to run comparisons to see whether the higher tire pressure relates to significantly higher MPGs. I do know I have pretty good MPGs related to the rest of the world (even though I live in a place with pretty chilly winters and I have a very short commute).

 

Alignment is Warranted for 12 months/20,000 miles

Eve,

The screwed up alignment on brand new Prius has been a long time issue with the 2nd Gen Prius. Something about how Toyota secures the Prius on the shipping boats.

I believe it was first acknowledged by Toyota in a Toyota Service Bulletin which, among other things, told dealers to fix the alignment for free if a customer complains about it. Then it made its way into the Warranty Booklet itself -- the alignment is now expressly warranted for 12 months/20,000 miles.

When you bring your car into the dealer for the alignment make sure you get it fixed for free under the warranty. My dealer told me twice that I would have to pay for the alignment. The second time I told him about the warranty.

Also, elsewhere on this board, I've seen it advised that you ask for 3 things re the alignment:

1. The alignment should be done to spec, and not just to within tolerance.

2. Insist on a printout of the alignment.

3. Ask that they make sure the steering wheel is centered.

Good luck.

 

You've received great advice, Eve, and welcome to PriusChat! :welcome:
One thing you asked hasn't been answered with a good reason: different pressure front and rear. The label in the door says 35 psi front and 33 psi rear. There's more weight in the front half of the car so the front tires need a couple of extra PSI to help balance the handling. 35/33 is minimum, many run 42/40, and some even higher, but always keep two or three psi more in the front tires for better handling.

If you're going to buy an air compressor to maintain your tire pressure, why not get one that's a combo, with a light and jump-start capability? That one device would go a long way to keeping you always ready to roll. Huricane season starts in a couple of weeks...

 

I will be picking up a new Prius sometime in the next week. The dealer is 100 mi. away, so taking it back if the alignment is bad is going to be a pain. Does the tech bulletin on the alignment problem allow for warranty coverage at a different dealer (i.e., Toyota reimburses the dealer for shop time, so any dealer should be willing to do it), or does it require to go back to the same dealer where it was purchased?

 

Any dealer can do any warranty service. If you find one that doesn't want to, complain about them to Toyota.

 

Yes I got the recommend for it here also but could not remember who it was so belated props to that peep.

Also Bill took base recommendations and added a much more thought out (as he usually does Thanks Bill!) resolution by buying a better device.
I cheaped out because I thought the $19.99 device wouldn't last long but it works real good so far and has not blown the cig lighter fuse either which surprised me.

 

Eve,

Yeah, isn't that amazing? I'm just short of a month and am rapidly approaching a similar ODO reading. Admittedly, driving down to Homestead this weekend didn't help matters. Then, again making the round-trip on just a couple of gallons of gas was really cool!

You know, I'd never have believed it, but yes, the wind really did put a dent in my FE. Though as much as I didn't believe that there's another thing that I'd look at and that's the AC setting.

Until it got REALLY hot this weekend, I hadn't seen AC use impact FE very much at all. But then again, I didn't realize that I wasn't maxing the system out. When it finally did max out (i.e., the AC running at MAX for long stretches at a time) I saw something similar (FE went from the mid 50's to the high 40's.)

I found that by playing with the set temperature (I was already using the AUTO mode) my FE got measurably better. Actually, it all started when I got to thinking about it while doing errands on Saturday. Sitting at stoplight wondering what I was doing wrong, I decided to test how much impact the AC really had on FE and did the unthinkable (at least unthinkable on 95 F day), I turned the AC off. Sure enough, my FE came back to where I was used to seeing it.

Not being much of a masochist, I turned the AC back on and then started raising the set temp. I was able to get it pretty high, still be comfortable, and get most of my FE back (low 50's instead of mid.)

I don't think that most are going to see this sort of thing unless they live in very hot climates or are trying to grow icicles inside the cabin in more temperate climates. But it is something to look out for.

I'm not saying that it's not the alignment or the tires (they seem likely candidates) and that alignment thing just sounds like it needs to be fixed, but it's something else to look at.

 

Eve,

I originally ran both our Priis at 42psi front, 40 psi rear, but, both the wife and I thought that caused the ride to be a bit too harsh. I have now lowered the tire pressure in both cars to 40 psi front, 38 psi in rear. The ride is comfortable and our gas mileage is great (Wife 47 to 50 and my current tank is 53.4 mpg) Hope this helps.

Welcome to PC and enjoy your Prii!!!!

 

Understand that tire pressure gauges are not all created equal. Get a good one - you usually get what you pay for. If I were using one of the portable inflation devices, I would also check the psi readout by verifying the number to a known good gauge.

If the gauge isn't correct, you may be doing more harm than good.

... Brad

 

I had planned to pick up a combo device that included a battery -- just so I would be able to offer a jump to someone. If you haven't gone through it before, it is quite embarrassing to say to someone: "I have this hybrid with a 200+ volt battery, but I can't jump your dead car. Sorry."

I just about bought one at Sears, but the salesperson said I would need to keep it constantly charged. This would present a challenge, particularly in the winter when it is most needed.

I opted for the $19.99 compressor. I think it is an absolute marvel, and I recommend it all the time. Still, I wish I had the charger. I'd like to be able to get one that is convenient. (I think I'll start a thread on this one . . .)

 

I bought my car with Nitrogen in the tires from the dealer. They told me they had them done at Big O and if i took it to them they would top it off. I took it down the street to the local one, and they said they will ABSOLUTELY NOT raise it to even 38 psi

suggestions?