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Toyota Prius Tires Safety Report | Jan 03, 2014
Reported on Jan 03, 2014
| I PURCHASED A SET OF 4 MICHELIN DEFENDER XT TIRES FOR MY 2011 PRIUS II FROM COSTCO ON 11/29/2013. THE TIRES ARE MARKETED BY MICHELIN AS LLR (LOW ROLLING RESISTANCE) TIRES. HOWEVER UPON INSTALLING THEM AND OPERATING THE VEHICLE FOR NEARLY 1000 MILES, I FOUND THE MPG TO BE NEARLY 10 MPG. LESS THAN THE OEM TIRES THAT THESE REPLACED. THE ROLLING RESISTANCE OF THESE TIRES ARE HIGH. VEHICLE ALMOST FEELS LIKE BEING DRIVEN OVER SAND. AS SOON AS I TAKE MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR, THE VEHICLE DECELERATES RAPIDLY, MUCH FASTER THAN THE OEM TIRES. I CHECKED THE TIRE PRESSURE, ALIGNMENT, AND WHEEL BEARINGS, ALL ARE WITHIN SPECS. IT APPEARS TO ME THAT THE HYSTERESIS LOSSES IN THIS TIRE MATERIAL ARE FAIRLY HIGH. THIS TIRE SHOULD NOT BE SOLD AS A LOW ROLLING RESISTANCE TIRE. IT IS BEING FALSELY ADVERTISED AS HAVING THIS CAPABILITY TO INCREASE SALES. THE MPG DIFFERENCE WAS MEASURED BY CALCULATING THE TRUE MILES FROM MY GPS UNIT AND DIVIDING THE RESULT BY THE GALLONS TO FULL AT THE SAME PUMP. THIS WAS DONE THREE TIMES TO ACCURATELY ACCESS THE TRUE MPG DIFFERENCE. NO OTHER FACTORS ON THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN CHANGED. ONLY CHANGE HAS BEEN REPLACEMENT OF THE TIRES. | |
| Make: | Toyota |
| Model: | Prius |
| Manufactured by: | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION |
| Year: | 2011 |
| Was a crash reported? | N |
| Was an injury reported? | |
| Was a death reported? | |
| Was a fire reported? | N |
| Location: | NEWARK DE |
| Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): | |
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| Number of cylinders: | |
| Vehicle type: | |
| Vehicle fuel: | |
| Was a police report filed? | N |
| Tire size: | |
| Dealer name and location: | |
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