Replacement for Michelin Defenders (no longer comes in size I want)?

[cb474]

My partner has had Michelin Defender T+H on her Prius, which we've been happy with. But the sidewalls are cracking after six years (we live in a hot environment) and they need to be replaced. They actually still have a lot of tread, which is impressive. Unfortunately, Michelin stopped making 185/65/14 in that tire (this is the Gen 1 Prius). So I'm trying to figure out a good replacement.

Any suggestions?

I've been looking on Tire Rack at the BFGoodrich Advantage Control, General Altimax RT45, and Vredestein Quatrac 5. I'm kind of leaning toward the Vredesteins, after first thinking BFGoodrich was a good choice.

 

[JHZR2]

I’ve had good luck with BF Goodrich tires. I think they’re Michelin owned.

I actually like the basic Douglas USA made tires from Walmart. A Prius isn’t a heavy vehicle or needs a specialty tire. Definitely have a look at those, I find them to be a good value.

 

[KCJeep]

Continentals FTW

 

[edyvw]

My partner has had Michelin Defender T+H on her Prius, which we've been happy with. But the sidewalls are cracking after six years (we live in a hot environment) and they need to be replaced. They actually still have a lot of tread, which is impressive. Unfortunately, Michelin stopped making 185/65/14 in that tire (this is the Gen 1 Prius). So I'm trying to figure out a good replacement.

Any suggestions?

I've been looking on Tire Rack at the BFGoodrich Advantage Control, General Altimax RT45, and Vredestein Quatrac 5. I'm kind of leaning toward the Vredesteins, after first thinking BFGoodrich was a good choice.

Where is “hot climate.” If there is rain, avoid BFG.
RT45 is good bang for a buck. General is fully owned by Continental. Vredestein is also good brand.

 

[johnmyster]

BFG is indeed Michelin's second tier brand. For many years they kept production facilities separated. Have no idea if this is still the case.

 

[trd1zz]

Check costco if by any chance they are still making the X-Tour (rebranded Defender) in that size

 

[barkingspider]

Vreds!

 

[slacktide_bitog]

If you want all-season tires, Vredestein makes good tires, so you should be happy with the Quatrac

 

[Mainia]

My partner has had Michelin Defender T+H on her Prius, which we've been happy with. But the sidewalls are cracking after six years (we live in a hot environment) and they need to be replaced. They actually still have a lot of tread, which is impressive. Unfortunately, Michelin stopped making 185/65/14 in that tire (this is the Gen 1 Prius). So I'm trying to figure out a good replacement.

Any suggestions?

I've been looking on Tire Rack at the BFGoodrich Advantage Control, General Altimax RT45, and Vredestein Quatrac 5. I'm kind of leaning toward the Vredesteins, after first thinking BFGoodrich was a good choice.

This should point you in the correct direction.




https://www.tirerack.com/tires/test...-the-journey?ttid=336#spider-chart-comparison

.

 

[cb474]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts.

I’ve had good luck with BF Goodrich tires. I think they’re Michelin owned.

I actually like the basic Douglas USA made tires from Walmart. A Prius isn’t a heavy vehicle or needs a specialty tire. Definitely have a look at those, I find them to be a good value.

The Gen 1 Prius is atypically heavy in the front, for a vehicle its size, because of the extra weight of the electric motor and other hybrid components. The factory spec tires are actually 175/65/14, which are not load rated to handle the weight on the front tires, so you have to get special XL (extra load) tires. The last I checked there was only one tire that meets that spec, the same that came on the car from the factory. It is expensive and it lasts about 20,000 miles. Totally annoying. I don't know if they even make it anymore.

But you can put 185 width tires on the car fine and then any 185 tire meets the load spec.

Continentals FTW

They make zero tires for a 14 inch rim. Same with Michelin now. Bridgestone only makes a single winter tire in that rim size.

Where is “hot climate.” If there is rain, avoid BFG.
RT45 is good bang for a buck. General is fully owned by Continental. Vredestein is also good brand.

I don't know really if it's the heat on the constant sunlight, maybe more the sun, but tires just don't last where I am. The tread can be fine, but the sidewalls dryout and start cracking, if one's car is always parked outside. I've never had a tire run out of tread life, before the sidewalls start cracking.

Yeah, I saw that a lot of people are down on BFGoodrich in the rain, although on Tire Rack (for whatever it's worth) the Advantage Control rates pretty well for the rain (Vredestein Quatrac and General RT45 only slightly better). It doesn't rain much where we are, but when it does it can rain a lot, so I do care about wet performance.

 

[edyvw]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts.


The Gen 1 Prius is atypically heavy in the front, for a vehicle its size, because of the extra weight of the electric motor and other hybrid components. The factory spec tires are actually 175/65/14, which are not load rated to handle the weight on the front tires, so you have to get special XL (extra load) tires. The last I checked there was only one tire that meets that spec, the same that came on the car from the factory. It is expensive and it lasts about 20,000 miles. Totally annoying. I don't know if they even make it anymore.

But you can put 185 width tires on the car fine and then any 185 tire meets the load spec.


They make zero tires for a 14 inch rim. Same with Michelin now. Bridgestone only makes a single winter tire in that rim size.



I don't know really if it's the heat on the constant sunlight, maybe more the sun, but tires just don't last where I am. The tread can be fine, but the sidewalls dryout and start cracking, if one's car is always parked outside. I've never had a tire run out of tread life, before the sidewalls start cracking.

Yeah, I saw that a lot of people are down on BFGoodrich in the rain, although on Tire Rack (for whatever it's worth) the Advantage Control rates pretty well for the rain (Vredestein Quatrac and General RT45 only slightly better). It doesn't rain much where we are, but when it does it can rain a lot, so I do care about wet performance.

Yeah Advantage Control does fair better. However, considering how abysmal rest of the line up is (I have Advantage T/A Sport on Pilot) I do wonder how long they retain that performance.

 

[cb474]

Yeah Advantage Control does fair better. However, considering how abysmal rest of the line up is (I have Advantage T/A Sport on Pilot) I do wonder how long they retain that performance.

Right. Given the amount of complaints in the forum about BFGoodrich, maybe I should focus on either the Vredestein Quatrac 5 or the General RT45. They don't seem to have a lot of complaints.

 

[CharBaby]

Of all of the tires in your size listed(185-65-14) on the TireRack, I agree with those who recommended either the General RT45 or the Vredestiein Quatrac 5.

 

[John105]

I'm a Michelin fanboy. We had terrible luck with our x-over SUV, which started out with Michelin Latitude Tour's that came with it. Dry rotted to all heck, recalled, and our production date was excluded. Nice. But that didn't deter me from buying their then new tires, made from sunflowers, the Premier LTX. Those wore out prematurely, and luckily since Costco, got pro-rata no hassle replacements, the new LTX. Michelin tried to give everybody less tire, only 8.5/32, this was a disaster with some needing tires as soon as 19k. So they bumped it up to 10/32, figuring they could still hold out on some tread.

We had 2 go unrepairable and they quickly discontinued those "new" LTX as well, so we got one replacement, forget the model and the vehicle is gone or I'd go and look,, and so we got another Michelin model. For the first time in my life, I had a vehicle with 3 different kinds of tires on it. Not only that, for the maybe 2nd time in my life, tires that had a B, not A, nor AA, traction rating. This is a hard sell like youth hockey. Trying to say B, is the new AA. That maybe be so at Michelin, but it's not at the other tire mfgs. You can also say UTQG ratings are like asking a man for his height or salary on a dating website (both will be fish stories).

At any rate, the above scenarios have made me not as much a fanboy as I once was. The Pilot AS4's are in fact wearing pretty fast, as we were forewarned. They only have a 20k warranty if staggered--a hint. At the same time, the Pilot Super Sports (2014 mfg and I'm not throwing them away) may be the greatest tires I've ever owned since birth.

The new vehicle came with Bridgestone Alenzas. I refused to get them back in 2020, but here in 2025? They're worth a look. They are not noisy. They have a A traction rating, unlike many Michelins, and a 65k warranty which is slightly above the Michelin LTXs. What is odd in this day and age is to budget $400 per. I do recall in 2020, we were in the $180 ballpark. Good thing there's no inflation lol

Ok I'm done yelling at clouds

edit the last Michelin we got were Defender LTX M S2 with a 75k warranty (traction and warranty are inversely related, no?). They were a warranty replacement and we paid only $108 of the $300 price. They were the foray into B traction rated tires. The one before I don't recall the model, and these two replaced 2nd gen Premier LTX's (they just seemed to wear super super fast despite their treadwear rating, looking shot in 20k). It just may be worth looking to another brand even for us fanboys.

edit 2 the other tire was the Primacy A/S--either Costco couldn't get it, or, our size was discontinued. So before our car was a loss, it had 2 Premier LTX, one Primacy A/S, and one Defender LTX M S2. 3 different tires on one AWD vehicle, wasn't ideal but I'm not made of money lol

 

[97prizm]

My partner has had Michelin Defender T+H on her Prius, which we've been happy with. But the sidewalls are cracking after six years (we live in a hot environment) and they need to be replaced. They actually still have a lot of tread, which is impressive. Unfortunately, Michelin stopped making 185/65/14 in that tire (this is the Gen 1 Prius). So I'm trying to figure out a good replacement.

Any suggestions?

I've been looking on Tire Rack at the BFGoodrich Advantage Control, General Altimax RT45, and Vredestein Quatrac 5. I'm kind of leaning toward the Vredesteins, after first thinking BFGoodrich was a good choice.

Continental I think makes tires in that size. I had Pirelli tires on my geo prizm years ago that were close to that size.

 

[Slick3914]

I'm a Michelin fanboy. We had terrible luck with our x-over SUV, which started out with Michelin Latitude Tour's that came with it. Dry rotted to all heck, recalled, and our production date was excluded. Nice. But that didn't deter me from buying their then new tires, made from sunflowers, the Premier LTX. Those wore out prematurely, and luckily since Costco, got pro-rata no hassle replacements, the new LTX. Michelin tried to give everybody less tire, only 8.5/32, this was a disaster with some needing tires as soon as 19k. So they bumped it up to 10/32, figuring they could still hold out on some tread.

We had 2 go unrepairable and they quickly discontinued those "new" LTX as well, so we got one replacement, forget the model and the vehicle is gone or I'd go and look,, and so we got another Michelin model. For the first time in my life, I had a vehicle with 3 different kinds of tires on it. Not only that, for the maybe 2nd time in my life, tires that had a B, not A, nor AA, traction rating. This is a hard sell like youth hockey. Trying to say B, is the new AA. That maybe be so at Michelin, but it's not at the other tire mfgs. You can also say UTQG ratings are like asking a man for his height or salary on a dating website (both will be fish stories).

At any rate, the above scenarios have made me not as much a fanboy as I once was. The Pilot AS4's are in fact wearing pretty fast, as we were forewarned. They only have a 20k warranty if staggered--a hint. At the same time, the Pilot Super Sports (2014 mfg and I'm not throwing them away) may be the greatest tires I've ever owned since birth.

The new vehicle came with Bridgestone Alenzas. I refused to get them back in 2020, but here in 2025? They're worth a look. They are not noisy. They have a A traction rating, unlike many Michelins, and a 65k warranty which is slightly above the Michelin LTXs. What is odd in this day and age is to budget $400 per. I do recall in 2020, we were in the $180 ballpark. Good thing there's no inflation lol

Ok I'm done yelling at clouds

edit the last Michelin we got were Defender LTX M S2 with a 75k warranty (traction and warranty are inversely related, no?). They were a warranty replacement and we paid only $108 of the $300 price. They were the foray into B traction rated tires. The one before I don't recall the model, and these two replaced 2nd gen Premier LTX's (they just seemed to wear super super fast despite their treadwear rating, looking shot in 20k). It just may be worth looking to another brand even for us fanboys.

edit 2 the other tire was the Primacy A/S--either Costco couldn't get it, or, our size was discontinued. So before our car was a loss, it had 2 Premier LTX, one Primacy A/S, and one Defender LTX M S2. 3 different tires on one AWD vehicle, wasn't ideal but I'm not made of money lol

I’m starting to see other tires rated as B for traction. I read a really goid overview from Michelin that the wet breaking test is based on a locked wheel, not a vehicle with ABS. They are going for the best wet braking with ABS.

 

[mrsilv04]

I guess the first question is, how many miles did the Michelins see in 6 years of service?

 

[slacktide_bitog]

You have plenty of options, if you're willing to go gray market.

In a hot environment, summer tires might be a better choice. Here are some good options in your size 185/65-14:
Michelin Energy Saver
Yokohama BluEarth ES32
Vredestein Sportrac 5
Dunlop SP Sport Bluresponse
Conti EcoContact 6

Grand touring summer tires are good in the dry and wet while being quiet and offering a good ride. Of course, the tradeoff is that you can't use them in snow, but that doesn't seem to matter in your case

Thanks for everyone's thoughts.


The Gen 1 Prius is atypically heavy in the front, for a vehicle its size, because of the extra weight of the electric motor and other hybrid components. The factory spec tires are actually 175/65/14, which are not load rated to handle the weight on the front tires, so you have to get special XL (extra load) tires. The last I checked there was only one tire that meets that spec, the same that came on the car from the factory. It is expensive and it lasts about 20,000 miles. Totally annoying. I don't know if they even make it anymore.

But you can put 185 width tires on the car fine and then any 185 tire meets the load spec.

There are plenty of tires in that OE size now, 175/65-14 XL, some as low as $41 at Walmart (search by YMM, not just by size). A search on that site show 58 tires in the OE size and load index, including summer, winter, and all-season tires. Walmart filters out to make sure only the XL tires show up.

Goodyear makes a summer tire in the OE size 175/65-14 XL Goodyear EfficientGrip Compact (there's also an EG Performance, but it's out-of-stock). One of those was probably the OE tire for the Prius in Europe.

[Conti] make zero tires for a 14 inch rim. Same with Michelin now. Bridgestone only makes a single winter tire in that rim size.

There are winter tires in the OE size 175/65-14 XL
Falken Espia EPZ II studless
Nokian H10 studdable, available with or without studs

Nokian also has the WR C Van all-weather tire in 175/65-14C, the C being a commercial van high load tire (kind of like LT). While primarily designed for commercial vans, you can also use them in your Prius.

There are even more options in 185/65-14, as you know.

If you really want it, someone in Germany will ship you the Conti TS870 or the Blizzak LM005. In addition, they also have the Michelin CC+ and even a Conti AllSeasonContact (all-weather).

You just have to decide if you want to spend the money importing premium name-brand tires from Europe, or use something less expensive over here

 

[Allaned]

Consider Cooper Evolution. Walmart has them online in your size for $79. Very good tires

 

[camrydriver111]

RT45 is nice but I find it somewhat loud.

There is decent thread slap noise, which I assume is from the agressive pattern.

If you must run an all-season in the winter they are one of the best, but for warm climates there are probably better choices.

I had Defenders dry rot as well. I think there is something about them, at least that generation.