Feels like my tires are unbalanced all of a sudden... wheel bearings?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Eddie25, Nov 12, 2025 at 7:25 PM.

  1. Eddie25

    Eddie25 Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2018
    497
    209
    0
    Location:
    MI
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Got new tires about a month ago and it seemed fine although they seem quite a bit louder than my previous set.

    Now, as of about a week ago it feels like my tires are unbalanced. I basically have the wobbles at all speeds, but it's quite a bit worse when I turn and quite a bit worse when I turn left especially. All I have to do is barely crack the wheel left and I can feel the wobbles increase instantly.

    It's accompanied by a general hum, but doesn't feel much louder than just a loud set of tires if even that. Nothing that's concerning by any means (except that the hum has that wobble sound of unbalanced tires now)

    Switched to my winter tire set just to check and it's pretty much the same thing, just about 10% less.

    I don't get any play in my tires when I tried with the car on jack stands, and I can't really tell with the front how they are spinning since obviously they are connected directly to the drive train.

    Is this just an obvious wheel bearing issue even though no bad noises or play? Is there a clever way to check the front bearings besides grabbing the tires and checking for play?

    It's a 2011 with 260k miles.
     
  2. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2018
    7,521
    3,890
    0
    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I was going to suggest maybe the lug nuts were loose... but nope...
    Check all the suspension, maybe they knocked something loose.
    Check the axel nuts... And the brake shields. They may have bent them and they are hitting the rims.