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Check Your Front Tire Wear

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by FuelMiser, Jan 22, 2020.

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  1. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    These are pics of my OEM Bridgestone Ecopia front tires after 27,000 miles! I had been experiencing reduced (sometimes scary) traction on snow/ice lately and I could see from casual observation that the outside edges were worn but there appeared to be plenty of tread in the middle, so I didn't worry too much. I finally took the car to the local Discount Tire for snow tires and they pointed out that the inner edges were especially worn, and said they were unserviceable according to Colorado law, meaning I could not put them back on the road. The point being that in this car, you cannot really see the inner edges from casual observation. You need to crank the tires to the side to really get a good look at the inside edges. I ended up getting two new tires for the front and keeping the original rear tires for another season.

    Front Left.JPG

    Front Right.JPG
     
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  2. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Have you ever had a wheel alignment? Do you rotate the tyres or is that the original position?
     
  3. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    Never rotated or had an alignment. Discount Tire recommended an alignment, but I only see a little extra wear on the inside edges compared to the outside, so I'm going to pass on it. I will rotate when I purchase two new tires next year.
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    mine look pretty good
     
  5. PosauneGuy

    PosauneGuy Member

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  6. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    This may explain why the uneven wears.

    I get to do very thorough cleaning and inspection of all four tires at the time of tire rotation twice a year coinciding with my winter change over.
     
    #6 Salamander_King, Jan 22, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2020
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  7. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    From the pictures, I believe that is NOT true, as there are no "tread wear" indicators on that part of the tire.
    They are in business to sell tires.

    But you do need a rotation and alignment at the very least.
    If left on the wheels that they are on now, they WILL become dangerous before too much longer.

    BAD call. Very bad.
    The inside edge has a LOT of extra wear.
    You NEED an alignment.
    New tires will be chewed up too.
     
    #7 sam spade 2, Jan 22, 2020
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 23, 2020
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  8. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Well this is exactly why you want regular rotations, and at least occasional alignments.
    If you had regular rotations this wear, would of been discovered BEFORE dangerous symptoms manifested.

    Not to be too much of a hypocrite but I discovered this when I was young. I had bought a used car, and similarly the tires looked fine to me. One day, I was just driving along and a bad vibration started. I pulled into a tire shop (luckily I was near one) and when they inspected the tires...closer than I had, the inside tread was actually worse than the OP's. I had metal belt showing. They also told me they legally couldn't put the tires back on.
    I hadn't owned this used car too long, and I felt the dealership had pulled a fast one on me. BUT...the path to easiest resolution was to simply buy new tires.

    In any case, that's when I learned to really inspect a tire, you need to turn the wheel, and evaluate the entire tire. Tires can look fine from the outside and be nearly lost on the inside edge.

    Going forward I would really recommend rotations, AND an alignment. That wear is abnormal, and I'm guessing/speculating that your alignment is out of adjustment.
     
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  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I recall driving to get snow tires one snowy morning, another car, about 12~13 years back. I was driving on half-worn Bridgestone Ecopia EP20, a somewhat similar tread. It was downright dangerous.

    So what were you expecting, lol.
     
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  10. krmcg

    krmcg Lowered Blizzard Pearl Beauty

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    Even without alignment issues, front tires on a front wheel drive car will wear quicker than those in the rear (prime reason for rotations). Also, a little more air in the tires will promote even wear.
     
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  11. booke02

    booke02 Active Member

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    New tires should always be at the back
     
  12. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    The first picture, the tire does seem to have tire wear indicators. The tiny horizontal markers in between the tread lines. The tire appears to be so worn as those indicators are at least even with the worn tread...thus indicating time to replace.

    Especially the first picture, IMO wear indicators or not, that tire needs to replaced.
    IMO those tires ARE dangerous NOW.

    The edge siping on tires work to help force displaced water out from the tire in operation. In both pictures that side tread and siping is gone. as well as most of the tread on the inside edge.
    No IMO...time to replace NOW.
     
  13. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Yes but not in that part of the sidewall.
    Look at the other side of the tire.......where those bars seem to come all the way to the top of the still good tread depth.
     
  14. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    IMO there's no such thing as a "Partially Good" tire.
    In both pictures the inside wall of the tires are in such bad shape my contention is they NEED to be replaced ASAP.

    It's kind of hard to tell in the pictures, but I don't like the look of the tires PERIOD.
    But again, the inside tread track and wall is bad enough for me to easily make my recommendation Replace ASAP.

    It's hard to make definitive evaluations based on pictures over the internet. But in this case? I'm pretty confident in saying replace the tires ASAP and looking at that wear? I'd want a balance and alignment.
     
  15. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    OK If I accept your analysis of the importance of that wear.......then my only comment is that you have the priority backwards.
    The alignment is more important because the new tires would be in the same condition in short order.

    And I don't really accept the urgency you place on the abnormal wear pattern because there still is a LOT of rubber left where the wear is occurring and there really isn't much tread depth there to begin with.
     
  16. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    We should probably just civilly agree to disagree.
    What I mostly disagree about is this statement:

    IMO it's not that those tires WILL become dangerous before too much longer, it's that they are dangerous NOW.

    I don't get what you're contending here...because I am saying get an alignment. I said get an alignment in my very first post.
    As far as prioritizing? I'd replace the tires AND get an alignment at the same time.

    As far as having a LOT of rubber left where the wear is occuring?

    Those tires look a long way from looking that good to me.
    And again, IMO there is no such thing as partially good tires.
    The inside tread and inside sipes of those tires are more or less GONE. And that in of itself makes the tires dangerous and IMO in need of replacement ASAP.

    Yes, Discount Tires is in the business of selling tires.
    BUT...I agree with them as far as NOT putting those tires back on the road.
    I think just about any and all tire places that evaluated those tires would say they couldn't allow them back on the road. Yes, IMO the tires are in that bad a shape.
     
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  17. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    I think you need your glasses adjusted.
    I don't see any wear bars showing.
    That alone means that they are not "worn out".

    Done.
     
  18. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Seriously?
    Picture don't lie.
    There's dangerously worn to almost nothing tread on the inside-closest to the car...and the sipes are nearly non-existent.
    There IS a reason Discount Tire said they were unserviceable and refused to put them back on the road, and IMO it ain't just because they sell tires.
    Those tires are in bad shape.
     
  19. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    In the tyre in the top picture you can see on the tread wear indicators, that each band of tread is worn more on one side than the other.
     
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  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    That seems to happen more with rears than fronts, due to camber?
     
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