I would like to buy a donut spare for my 2012 PIP - any suggestions including size and brand? Thanks.
It appears that the plug-in's tires are the same as for the standard Prius. On option is a salvage yard, if you live near any. Most spares have never been used and can be picked up for $50 or less. Otherwise use a typical Toyota parts source--I don't know if it can be bought as a tire/wheel mounted assembly though. I just looked at toyotartscheap.com and they want $75 (plus shipping, I assume) for a spare wheel without tire. I stick by the salvage yard option. Find one using car-part.com
It's a FAQ: What are my options for dealing with the lack of spare tire? Get a spare tire of the right size and leave it in the trunk The wheel size is 16 x 4T. The tire size is T135/80D16 101M. Your best bet is probably a salvage yard/recycler (i.e. car-part.com, choose Wheel (display w/image) as the part, and 2010 Toyota Prius as the model), where you should be able to find something for $30-50. You could also just buy a steel wheel from TireRack.com and put some cheap rubber on it – this has the added benefit of letting you drive at normal highway speeds if you get a flat – but it will set you back $110+shipping+tax and it will take up more space in the trunk. The car does come with a jack. It's under the driver's seat. See page 449 in the manual. Use the supplied tire repair kit Note that according to Toyota's own documentation, the goo in the kit will destroy your TPMS sensor. This seems like an expensive undertaking and you can do better Use a third-party repair kit that won't destroy your electronics Pick a TPMS-safe sealant such as Slime 10011 Tubeless Automotive Tire Sealant - 16 oz. : Amazon.com : Automotive and carry that in your car instead. Note that the air compressor that comes with the PiP cannot be attached to the valve stem directly and needs to be used in tandem with the supplied goo bottle. What you can do is drain the bottle and then run the pump some more to completely empty the bottle ahead of time, or you can scrap the whole idea and just buy a standalone compressor. Some people prefer to use tire plug kits, i.e. Slime 1034-A T-Handle Tire Plug Kit : Amazon.com : Automotive, which are TPMS-safe by definition and can potentially repair larger holes. Of course, none of these options will be of much use if your sidewall is destroyed by the time you discover the leak/have a chance to pull over. Call Toyota Roadside Assistance Note that your PiP comes with three years of complimentary roadside assistance service, which will give you a free tow to the nearest Toyota dealer. If this happens after-hours, that means that you need to arrange for your own transportation to your destination as well as back to the dealership after the tire has been repaired by the dealer. Relevant thread: Dreaded flat tire and I dont like it a bit Read more: The one and only Prius Plug-in FAQ! | PriusChat
Hmmm... I was thinking of something different! or...more properly..... Drive without a proper SPARE? ......NEVER!!
Of course they will. The guy that showed up when I had a flat was shocked that my PIP didn't have a spare. He wasn't expecting to have to tow me to the dealer.
Reason I ask is because the spares on PIPs would be considered non OEM parts and Toyota's policies do not allow their workers to put on non OEM parts and whether it was their SOP to use the repair kit or tow PIPs only.
If the compact spare is OEM Toyota (albeit for a non-PiP), I don't see any rationale for not installing as opposed to towing.
Yes, I agree with you from our perspective. I was looking at it from Toyota's perspective where they consider everything including legal consequences for going outside of their SOP.
The roadside assistance guy that showed up was just a contract towtruck driver. I promise that he had no idea of what constituted OEM. If I had the full-size Tirerack spare that I have now there is no doubt he would have put it on the car. (Of course....if I had the spare then I wouldn't have had to call roadside assistance).
skip the Donut and Toyota's useless roadside assistance. I replaced all of my tires with run-flats instead. Shame on Toyota for not doing that!
My steel rim & Yokohama Avid from tirerack was an easy call once I read the PIP FAQ and found out that the jack is under the driver's seat.
