Apologies if I'm directing this to an incorrect forum. Clearly a newb here, but I figured this was the place to go for good Prius advice. A piece of the protective plastic protecting the underbody from the road debris came loose due to an incident with a curb, and scraped some of my tire away (as best I can figure). My question is whether or not your folks feel like this tire is safe to drive on (it seems to be, but wanted to ask) or do you think I should be looking to replace the tire? Any thoughts would be most appreciated. Thanks!
welcome to priuschat! hard to be sure in a picture, but it looks okay to me. you might have an expert look at it, but they have motive to sell you a new tyre. all the best!
That's fine.. looks like the extra sidewall protection did its job as designed. I've already experienced this twice on the same kerb(!). Can you believe that? The first cut was similar in depth as yours but twice as long on mine. patched it up with super glue and never became an issue. The second one though, got me worried as it was really deeper and longer and didn't want to risk patching it up again and running it for the remaining life of the tire (15%). I was still able to drive it to the tire shop 20 miles away and replaced all fours with new ones. The tire guy was particularly amused by the superglue fix.
The tyre has been pinched against the wheel rim when you made contact with the curb hard enough for a piece of rubber to be bitten off. The evidence is visible on the edge of the wheel rim adjacent to the missing rubber. The side wall is the weakest part of the tyre and the casing in the area of damage could be severely weakened. I know this is not what you want to hear, but I would not drive on that tyre. You are putting yourself and others in danger by continuing to use it. The tyres are your only contact with the road and a sudden deflation particularly on a bend with the tyre under load could spell disaster. John (Britprius)
How many miles are on the tire, and what's the remaining tread depth? Depending on how much life is left, maybe time for a new set? If they've got lots of tread still, I'd just keep a close eye on it, and check the pressure more frequently. One of our 17" OEM's (Michelin Pilot 215/45R17) has a similar flap taken out, but it's got a more prominent "rim protector" ridge.
If it was me, I'd change it as the sidewall is the weakest part of the tyre. What age is the tyre, it it's over 4/5 years, it's time to change anyway Plus, is it not a bit warm in VA to be running M+S tyres? (What is it these days, 60+?)
^ They say any tire over 5 years old should be replaced. As far as M+S, that logo's on every all-season tire, as far as I know. Doesn't mean it's a dedicated snow tire (with mountain/snowflake symbol).
