I just bought my daughters 2009 Prius touring package 5. Everywhere I find info on it, it says the touring package comes with 16" alloy wheels. I was with her when she bought the car in 08, and the tires in 2010. Today I came across a set of snow chains and was going to see if they fit 16" wheels. I look at the tires on the car and it says they are 185/65/15 tires. The size of the Prius base tires! I called the tire installer and he said if they put 15" tires on it then they are 15" rims! Says they cant put 15" tires on a 16" rim. I know my daughter didnt switch her wheels out, i know the installer didnt switch the rims out. He said dealers do it all the time. How can that be if the touring edition comes standard with 16" alloys? There are even the locks on the wheels. Do any of you have any ideas on this mystery? Is my info right or wrong that the 09 touring has 16" alloy wheels standard? What's my next step?
If you bought the car new and it had 15" wheels, someone at the dealer pulled a fast one.......or you didn't buy a touring model, but was told you bought one
Vin does show it as a touring. I think on Monday I'll call Toyota.com and verify the vin # as touring, ask them about the wheels and go from there. I just find it puzzling and a mystery!
1. It is true that the Touring model came with 16" wheels and tires. The rear spoiler on Touring is also slightly longer compared to the non-Touring model. 2. It is also true that 15" tires will definitely not fit on 16" wheels or vice-versa. 3. Wheel locks are not standard equipment on 15" wheels so that had been added either by the dealer prior to sale or by your daughter at some point during her ownership period. 4. I suggest that your next step should be to look at the manufacturer's window sticker that had been placed upon the car prior to sale, if your daughter kept it. Look at the description of the vehicle. Or, look at the original bill of sale from the dealer to see how the vehicle is described. 5. Even if you have the sticker or the original bill of sale; since 6 years have passed since the original sale, I would say that it is too late for you or your daughter to complain.
another way to verify the touring is to check the rear suspension. they have different colors then what is on the standard prius.
Six years is way too long to notice you have the 'wrong' Prius, IMHO. No amount of research will make those 15" wheels into 16" wheels. (this is good, as the 15" tires are far more common and less expensive) And yes, in 2009, the touring model had 16" wheels. In 2014, it seems like at least half the used Prius that claim to be touring, aren't.
Look for this sticker on the driver door jam and see which wheels were on the car when it left the factory. If it says P195/55R16 it is a touring and someone switched the wheels. If it says P185/65R15 then it is the sta ndard model and someone misled you.
Thank you to everyone who posted and gave me info on this. It is, indeed, not a touring. I have come to the conclusion that my daughter, over the last 5 years, forgot what she bought! She usually buys top of the line and this time probably bought what was on the lot, and knew at the time it was not touring, but her memory didn't serve her well! Toyota also sent me info on how the car came from the factory, what was installed on the car at port etc. I knew from when I had a 2006 base that the tires would be more expensive on a touring etc so I am happy it is not touring. So case closed on the mystery of 15" wheels on a touring! No switcharoo, nothing shady, just a poor memory on my daughters part! And I have nice 15" alloys!
The option package the car is equipped with more greatly dictates how upscale the car is than whether or not it is a Touring. They are parallel variants, each available with a range of option packages. Many of the Touring Prii I see are less-equipped than the non-Tourings. Enjoy the 15s--they also deliver slightly better fuel economy than the 16s.
