Tire Life

I disagree.

At 30k miles I switched to a quieter tire (Goodyear Comfortred) and on a sound pressure meter saw a significant improvement.

The old tires were in near-new condition, and I sold them on Craigslist for $125 to a happy buyer. For that reason, I would say that these lightly-loaded tires, not driven too hard on the Prius, have an above-average life expectancy. Other members of the local Prius Club have similar experience with the tires - it's just not an issue.

My 2004 Prius was purchased Oct 23 2003, so it's almost four years old - it has about 43k miles on it. Zero faults or problems since day one...

Ike

depends - the OE tires depends on what country the car is sold in... Brands are all over the place as well (Goodyear in North America, Michelin in parts of Europe, Bridgestone in the UK and elsewhere...) Different sizes in different countries too.

But, assuming that you're in North America: US/Canada 2004-2007 NHW20 OEM Prius tire: Goodyear Integrity (Standard Load) P185/65 R15

Assuming that you do not have an alignment problem and you've kept your tire pressure at the factory recommended pressures (really the minimums for the Prius) of 35psi front, 33 psi rear, most Prius owners report in the 30,000-45,000 mile range on the Goodyear Integritys listed above. That's also assuming that the tires are not switched out earlier for poor winter or wet performance, or just because the owner doesn't like the model of tire...

I bought my 2004 Prius, with these Goodyear Integrity tires, from a dealership that has a tires-for-life program if you get all the routine maintenance done there, and they replaced my tires at 35,000 and 75,000 miles, so I'm getting right in the middle of that range.

Thanks for all your responses. I've gone about 20,000 miles and it looks like I'll be lucky to get another 5000 miles out of my tires.

Now THAT is decidedly rapid wear if you have the Goodyear Integrety tires. Have you kept them inflated to at least 35 psi in front and 32 psi in the rear?

Something's wrong. Are the tires equally worn? Properly inflated? On one of our prePrius cars, an alignment problem destroyed tires prematurely, and rotation spread the evidence.

Actually, I've been running with what was recommended to me for max mileage - 41 front and 40 rear.

I have a 2005 Prius that I bought with about 23,000 miles on it through Craig's List. The original owner had never rotated the tires, and I found them underinflated a number of times.

I had them properly inflated (actually, slightly over, as recommended) and rotated every 5000 miles or so, and bought 4 winter tires and rims, which I used for the first time last year.

The car now has 41,000+ miles on it, and I see the front tires have distinctive outer-edge wear.

I will probably have to buy 4-new tires before winter, but hope I can hold out until springtime.

Prices are high around here (New Hampshire / MA border) for tires, so haven't decided on the tire brand yet (leaning towards Goodyear ComfortTred) or dealer.

John

I took the orginals off at 20K (about 1/2 gone and dealer sold them to some guy there as used tires while I was waiting) and went to

the Comfortread. Very quiet tire. I hear more of the engine now than the road.

B~

My experience isn't a lot different, Richard.

I replaced the original Goodyears at 30k (with identical Goodyears) and questioned that at the time but didn't get overly excited about it.

At my 60,000 mile service the service writer came to the waiting room and told me that my tires needed replacement right away!

I wasn't as calm this time and asked to talk to the Prius tech. Very nice young man came out and I asked him what was going on with the tires. He told me that this was a common problem with the Goodyears and he'd suggest that I put on a new set of Goodrich tires. According to him the Goodrich are a bit harder rubber and they will last longer. I said something to the effect that I sure as h##l hoped so.

I'm now at around 80,000 miles and the Goodrich tires appear "like new". Oh yes, I always over inflate (trying to play that gas mileage improvement game) and I check pressure frequently. I have also had the car aligned twice since it was new - once conventional and once digital. The consumer can't do much more than that.

The conclusion that I'm operating under is that the original equipment Goodyears are too soft. As for me, I'm not buying anymore of them.

CamMan N.W. Iowa

Thanks. Since I have the Goodyears, that's very useful info. Won't be buying those again.

2006 with 18500 miles and the Goodyears look new, no overinflation. The replacement tires will be Michelin MXV4 +

Lifetime MPG 51.97, 16 consecutive 500+ mile tanks, 18 total.

GG

GG