2005 Toyota Prius Tires & Wheels Problems

I PURCHASED FOUR NEW HIFLY HF201 TIRES, SIZE 185/65R15, ON SEPTEMBER 5, 2014. ON OCTOBER 21, 2014, THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE TIRE BLEW OUT WHILE I WAS DRIVING HOME ON THE FREEWAY. THERE WERE A NUMBER OF HOLES -- ONE AS LARGE AS A BASEBALL -- ALONG THE OUTER SIDEWALL OF THE TIRE. AS PREVIOUSLY STATED, THE TIRES WERE A LITTLE OVER ONE MONTH OLD, WERE PURCHASED NEW, AND WERE PROFESSIONAL INSTALLED. I DRIVE A LOT FOR MY WORK AND HAVE TWO KIDS, WHO ARE OFTEN IN THE CAR WITH ME. MY DAUGHTER IS ABOUT TO GET HER LICENSE AND WILL BE DRIVING MY CAR, AND I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THESE TIRES. THE DEALER WHO SOLD ME THE TIRES GAVE ME A NEW TIRE, FREE OF CHARGE, TO REPLACE THE ONE THAT FAILED, BUT I HAVE LITTLE CONFIDENCE IN THESE TIRES. I HAVE BEEN DRIVING SINCE I WAS 16 (I'M NOW 52) AND I HAVE NEVER SEEN A TIRE FAIL LIKE THIS ONE DID. I'M FILING THIS COMPLAINT BECAUSE I DON'T BELIEVE THESE TIRES ARE SAFE AND DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYONE GET HURT. THANK YOU, AND PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME WITH ANY QUESTIONS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 TOYOTA PRIUS EQUIPPED WITH BRIDGESTONE/FIRESTONE INSIGNIA SE200 ALL SEASON TIRES, SIZE: P185/65R 15 86T. THE CONTACT STATED SHE WAS DRIVING 30 MPH WHEN SHE HEARD A FLAPPING NOISE COMING FROM THE REAR PASSENGER'S SIDE TIRE. THE CONTACT CHECKED THE TIRE AND DISCOVERED THAT THE TIRE WAS DEFLATED AND THE SIDE WALL WAS SPLIT. THE CONTACT TOOK THE TIRE TO A TIRE SHOP WHERE THEY PROVIDED HER WITH A REPLACEMENT TIRE. THE TIRE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,500. THE VEHICLE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 103,000.

SEQUENTIAL FAILURE OF 4 GOODYEAR ASSURANCE TIRES PLACED ON VEHICLE IN OCTOBER 2004. SINCE OCTOBER OF 2012 THE TIRES HAVE BEEN BLOWING OUT AT THE RATE OF ONE EVERY 6-8 WEEKS. I PLAN ON REPLACING THE ONE REMAINING OF THOSE 2004 TIRES BEFORE IT IMPLODES ALSO WHILE DRIVING. *TR

I PURCHASED A 2005 TOYOTA PRIUS AND DROVE IT FOR 12,00 MILES AT WHICH TIME THE TIRES WERE COMPLETELY WORE OUT. WHEN I WENT IN TO TOYOTA AND POINTED THIS OUT THEY REPLACED THE TIRES BECAUSE THE CAR WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. I TAKE MY CAR IN FOR THE SCHEDULED SERVICES RECOMMENDED BY TOYOTA. TO DATE MY CAR HAS 25,000 MILES AND I AM EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEMS WITH THE TIRES. THEREFORE THE TIRES ONLY HAVE 13,000 MILES WEAR. I CALLED TOYOTA AND SPOKE TO THE HEAD MANAGER WHO INDICATED THAT THE PRIUS CARS HAVE THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE OF THE BATTERY AND TOYOTA IS AWARE OF THIS. IF THEY ARE AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, WHY DO THEY USE THE GOODYEAR TIRES WHICH WEAR OUT SO QUICKLY? I HAVE ALSO READ ON THE INTERNET OF OTHER PRIUS OWNERS EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE TIRES AND HAVING BLOW OUTS ON FREEWAYS, ETC. I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A SAFETY RECALL ON TOYOTA PRIUS TIRES SINCE UPON READING INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET THERE HAVE BEEN A MULTITUDE OF OWNERS WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE THE SAME PROBLEM AS I. THEY SHOULD PUT SAFER TIRES ON THE CAR SINCE THEY ARE AWARE OF THIS SITUATION. *TR

WE HAVE TWO 2005 TOYOTA PRIUSES WHICH HAVE EXHIBITED IDENTICAL STALLING AND SHIFTING PROBLEMS. THE HYBRID SYSTEM WILL STALL OR NOT OPERATE AND WILL NOT ALLOW US TO SHIFT THE VEHICLE INTO GEAR PERIODICALLY. ONE TOYOTA DEALER SAYS WE NEED TO REPLACE THE TRANSAXLE, AND ANOTHER WAS NOT SURE AND SAID THERE BEST "GUESS" WAS TO REFRESH THE ECU AND HYBRID CONTROL MODULE SOFTWARE , HOWEVER AFTER DOING EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ONLINE BELIEVE IT TO BE A COMBINATION OF A SOFTWARE GLITCH ATTRIBUTED TO A LEAK IN WATERPROOFING A GASKET NEAR AN ECU. THE PROBLEM WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALERS ATTENTION ALMOST A YEAR AGO WHILE THE VEHICLES WERE STILL UNDER WARRANTY. ALL THEY DID WAS SIMPLY "FLASH" OR REFRESH THE MEMORY AND DID NOT ACTUALLY RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. THE PRIUS' HYBRID-RELATED COMPONENTS, INCLUDING THE HYBRID CONTROL MODULE ARE COVERED FOR 8 YEARS/100,000 MILES. WE ALSO MENTIONED TO THE DEALER THE UNUSUAL AND EXCESSIVE TIRE WEAR ON BOTH VEHICLES, SOME OF THE TIRES HAD NO TREAD AND WERE ALREADY BALD AFTER ONLY 12,000 MILES. I AM WONDERING IF THIS COULD BE RELATED TO THE STEERING OR TRACTION CONTROL ISSUES PREVALENT WITH THIS MODEL. *TR

PRIUS TIRE WEAR - GOODYEAR INTEGRITY TIRES HAVE WORN TO THE POINT OF "RECOMMENDED" REPLACEMENT AT 20000 MILES. TOYOTA CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE CENTER & DEALER CLAIM THAT PRIUS TIRES "WEAR FASTER THAN MOST CARS"... I HAVE NOT HEARD OF A 50,000 MILE TIRE LASTING ONLY 20,000 MILES - TOYOTA SHOULD BE FORCED TO INVESTIGATE WHY THE PRIUS RUINS TIRES SO QUICKLY. CONSUMER AFFAIRS ALSO IS TAKING COMPLAINTS ON PRIUS TIRE WEAR. *JB

WHILE DRIVING MY 2005 TOYOTA PRIUS, THE REAR PASSENGER WHEEL BECAME SO LOOSE IT WAS CAUSING THE CAR TO VIBRATE AND SHAKE. I THOUGHT IT WAS A FLAT TIRE, PULLED OFF OF THE FREEWAY I WAS DRIVING ON ONTO THE SHOULDER. THERE WAS NO FLAT, PULLED OFF AT THE NEXT EXIT INTO A GARAGE. MY HUSBAND, WHOM I CALLED BY CELL, TOLD ME THAT IT WAS A LOOSE WHEEL PROBABLY. THE GARAGE MECHANIC RAISED THE CAR IN THE AIR AND THE WHEEL WAS READY TO FALL OFF. HE CHECKED OVER THE WHEEL, ETC, RE-TIGHTENED THE WHEEL, AND FOUND THAT ALL OF THE WHEELS WERE LOOSE, BUT NONE THIS BADLY. THE LAST TIME THE WHEELS WERE OFF WAS IN APRIL AND HAD NOT BEEN CHECKED AFTER THAT FOR TIGHTNESS. AS I LOOKED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL IT SAYS TO CHECK THEM EVERY 1000 MILES OR SO. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. THIS INFORMATION SHOULD BE IN BOLD PRINT AND POINTED OUT TO EVERY NEW OWNER THE IMPORTANCE OF CHECKING THE TIGHTNESS, IF THIS IS A CONSISTENT PROBLEM. I WAS LUCKY! IT SCARED ME A LOT AND I AM NERVOUS WHEN DRIVING THE CAR NOW. IF THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM, IT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED WITH EMPHASIS! *JB

BULGES HAVE APPEARED IN THE SIDEWALLS OF TWO OF THE FOUR GOODYEAR POTENZA TIRES ON OUR 2005 TOYOTA PRIUS. I CAN PROVIDE PHOTOS. THE TIRES WERE MAINTAINED BY HAVING THEM ROTATED AND PRESSURE CHECKED AT 5,000-MILE INTERVALS BY THE TOYOTA DEALER. THE CAR HAS BEEN DRIVEN ONLY ON PAVED STREETS AND ROADS. CURRENT MILEAGE ON THE CAR IS 13,000. I HAVE ELECTED TO REPLACE ALL FOUR TIRES WITH MICHELINS. *JB

WE HAD TO REPLACE THE TIRES WITH ONLY 20,000 MILES ON IN ORDER FOR OUR VEHICLE TO PASS INSPECTION. TIRES ARE RATED AT 50,000. DEALER CLAIMED IT WAS BECAUSE OUR REAR WHEELS WERE OUT OF ALIGNMENT YET THEY HAD NO WAY OF ALIGNING THE REAR WHEELS SO NOTHING WAS DONE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM BUT PAY ABOVE MSRP FOR TWO NEW TIRES. A FEW WEEKS LATER WE WENT TO A LOCAL TIRE STORE FOR TWO MORE AS WE WERE TRAVELING AND DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE ANY CHANCES.

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS AT THE DEALER FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE, THE MECHANIC NOTICED A TREAD SEPARATION PROBLEM ON THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE TIRE. THE CONTACT WAS REFERRED TO THE TIRE DEALER AND UPON INSPECTION THE TIRE DEALER DETERMINED THE TREAD SEPARATION WAS RELATED TO IMPACT DAMAGE. BUT, THE VEHICLE WAS NEVER INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT OR OTHER TYPE OF IMPACT. THE TIRES HAD BEEN REGULARLY ROTATED EVERY FIVE THOUSAND MILES AS RECOMMENDED BY THE MANUFACTURER. THE TIRE WAS REPLACED WITH A LIKE TIRE BY THE TIRE DEALER. THE FAILED TIRE WAS A GOOD YEAR, INTEGRITY, P185/65/R15.

MY PRIUS EXHIBITS REMOVAL OF ELECTRICAL AND ENGINE POWER TO THE FRONT WHEELS DURING ACCELERATION WHEN TURNING SHARPLY RIGHT OR LEFT ON A SLIPPERY SURFACE. THIS OCCURS AS SOON AS ONE OF THE FRONT WHEEL SLIPS. ORDINARILY THIS IS ONLY A MINOR AGGRAVATION, AND EASING ON THE THROTTLE USUALLY RESTORES POWER BUT IN ICING CONDITIONS IT'S DANGEROUS. THERE ARE CONDITIONS WHERE I COULD NOT MOVE THE CAR WHEN CROSSING A SMALL BERM OF SNOW (3 INCHES HIGH WHERE ONE WHEEL HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LESS TRACTION THAN THE OTHER. I HAD TO BE PUSHED OVER IT. IT APPEARS TO BE A SOFTWARE ISSUE, BUT MY LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER CLAIMS THEY NEVER HEARD OF IT. *TR

EXTREME SENSITIVITY & INSTABILITY IN STRONG CROSSWINDS. THE STANDARD INTEGRITY TIRES THAT COME WITH THE CAR ARE A JOKE! *AK