Tyres On A Gen 3 Prius

[abshot]

I am just about to buy a 2009 gen 3 Prius, T Spirit from a private seller.

I saw the car yesterday and the front tyres were pretty much bald, the mileage is only 26000 miles. They are the original Michelin 17" tyres from new.

Can anyone suggest a reason for this, is it due to the way the car's been driven?

I have a T4 Prius which did 40000miles before the front tyres needed changing, 26000 miles seems very low. Any suggestions please?

Many thanks

abshot

[Chris Dance]

26,000 miles seems very low mileage for Michelin tyres to be bald. I would be concerned that the tracking may be out. Going over humps at speed or hitting a kerb etc could cause damage. I would suggest you get the car checked by the RAC or AA or even better a Toyota dealer. To be honest I would be wary about buying the car. Your quote of 40,000 miles is about right before tyres need changing.

[valmiki]

40k miles from a set of tyres! blimey....

Doesn't it depend on the type of driving done?

If all motorway driving then I would expect extra mileage, but if it's all around town, then best of luck if you think you're going to get that sort of mileage!

[Bibsy]

I'm a cynical old Hector. Has the car actually done more than 26k?

[korat102]

Be lucky to get half that in Milton Keynes. Those stupid roundabouts every ten feet and the appalling state of the roads these days sees to that.

[thedeanobeano]

I got circa 40k on the fronts and 88k on the rears - although this is mainly motorway driving.

The lack of grunt on a Prius makes the tyres last ages IMHO

[Hicardo]

I live in rural Sussex and do mainly short journeys on country roads. I replaced my gen 3 Michelin standard fitment fronts at 27k when they were at 3mm. So I'd agree it depends how the car is used. Btw I'm a fairly gentle driver, easy on the car. Motorways will see more miles from the tyres.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

When I was a taxi driver I changed the fronts at 18,000/20,000 miles. The rears last a lot longer.

Tyre useage depends on many factors - mainly the use. There are those who say brakes should last xyz miles, but again if you drive 100 miles a day on the motorway, you're brakes will last longer than someone who drives through heavy traffic all day.