Alignment or Something Else?

I've noticed excessive wear on the outer edge of the tires on the driver's side of my 2004 Prius. In the outermost deep tread cut in the center, Abe's head is just barely covered on the most worn tires. It is cleanly buried in the other two. I'll try to post a photo of the tires. All are ostensibly OEM Goodyear Integrities.

The originals carried the legend 'Made in Japan.' Unfortunately at less than 50 miles I cut the sidewall of the left rear tire and it needed to be replaced. The dealership sold me an OEM Goodyear but it says 'Made in USA.' It is the most worn tire. Are the Japanese made tires perhaps slightly better made? By the way, they charged $88.65 for the tire, $2.95 for the valve stem, and $60 to install. I went there because I thought they would carry an OEM replacement in stock. They had to order it in from Goodyear. The cost exceeded the $150 limit imposed by the Prius Roadside Service contract.

Maintenance is under contract with the dealership. They have rotated the tires every 5,000 miles. They still use the front to back only mode as that is what Toyota specifies. That means that the most worn tire spent 15,000 miles in the rear position and 10,000 miles in the front position. The wear looks like an alignment problem to me. Is there the possibility that there is a rear camber adjustment that was improperly done at the factory? If so, it it a sophisticated 'dealership only' adjustment? For that matter, is the front end alignment something that any good mechanic can do, or is it also 'dealership only' sophisticated?

I'm a little disappointed that the service reps have not suggested having the alignment checked. They did place a note on the last service invoice that says "order tire for next service."

Can anyone offer any insights?

Thanks,

baumgrenze

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