So THAT'S why I was getting such lousy mileage....

Someone recently posted on a Yahoo group that his mileage dropped and he found that his tire(s) needed inflating. Well, this tank (and probably part of the last one as well) have been in the toilet. I struggled to keep it at 44mpg with the 100+ miles in this tank (my current LMPG is right about 50). So....taking the other poster's suggestion, I took my handy-dandy little 12v compressor and proceeded to check and inflate my tires yesterday. Much to my surprise, I found my right rear tire flat as a pancake! I had obviously driven some on it like that, because the sidewall appeared to have been damaged (although not torn). I called Toyota Roadside Service, and got the mini spare on within 1/2 hour.

I went to a local Goodyear store today, and while they didn't have an Integrity in stock, I was there early enough that they got it added to their daily shipment from the warehouse. I called for the pre-authorization that you need before submitting reimbursement paperwork, and they told me that I needed the tread depth on the damaged tire, and the cost of the new tire with mounting/balancing. It's a good thing I called while I was still at Goodyear, because I didn't know they'd ask for tread depth! I went back home and got a call a couple of hours later that my tire was ready. The manager on duty was a former certified Prius tech with a nearby Toyota dealer, so I didn't have a problem giving him my fob to drive the car onto the lift. I'm going to mail my paperwork tonight, so I'll see how long it takes me to get reimbursed......

I'm pretty good at checking my tire inflation, but this obviously happened within the last week. I think one problem is that when I drive someplace, I generally park so that the driver's door is nearest to where I want to go--I literally don't see the passenger side of the car most of the time! Maybe I'll start parking so I'll see the passenger side more often.

Moral: If you are getting unusually low mileage, DO check your tires!

(cross posting to other groups 'cause I think it's useful info--sorry for the duplication)

 

Well.....I don't have a cupping problem (I usually inflate them to 42/40), and San Diego's climate (um, except for our near-record rainfall right now) is pretty kind to most tires. I will gladly change the tires when these wear out, but I'm definitely going to wait until I have to.

I hope if anyone has personal experience with replacement tires that they will post it here or on the toyota-prius Yahoo group. John1701a has an amazing website with oodles of Prius info, and I'm sure he would like to add more recommended tires to his list. He does a wonderful service for the Prius community by gathering data (mostly his own, which is why he's the "Prius Guru" on this board!). I intend to check his site when I finally need to replace the OEM tires.