It happened. Flat tire. No spare.

Vs satellite right?

 

I don't know of any car that has a satellite uplink. Some use services like Sirius/XM data for some things, but that is receive-only, like traffic info. And the Prime does not even do that; it uses HD Radio for traffic info.

 

Most auto insurance offers a towing option. It costs less that AAA, but many like the other services AAA offers.

The ToyotaCare towing is only to a dealership. If I need a tire, I want to go to the nearest tire shop that has one, not necessarily to a dealership. This is especially important on a weekend.

I put Ride-On sealant into the Prime tires. I know motorcycle riders who have had good results with it, so it's getting a try in this car. I used the Auto & SUV version. 3 bottles did the job. Kind'a bothersome & messy to install. It is said to do a better job that Slime and also be easier for the tire shop to handle than Slime when they dismount the tire from the wheel.
Auto Tire Sealant | Car Tire Repair | Auto and SUV Formula - Ride-On

If you carry a spare, be sure it is securely tied down. In the case of a crash, you do not want the spare tire to become an unguided missile inside your car.

 

Thanks for pointing to this thread. Had not seen it before, but I was not following Gen 4 as closely then as now. Within that thread, response #26 seems to be a positive review of the DriveGuard tire, though on a Mazda not on a Prius. And it is the only positive comment in the thread. Fortunately, I have donut spares with both my Prius, so I don't have to face that decision.

 

There's quite a few mentions of AAA and towing, but I fail to see how this replaces the function of a spare: they will not get you on your way, they will greatly inconvenience and delay you, and you will be at the mercy of very retail oriented people trying to pressure you into a new tire, or set of tires.

Last flat I had, was this time of year, in a Costco parking lot: put on the spare, drove home, brought the flat in the house out of the cold, plug-repaired it, inflated (with a cheapo bicycle pump), back on the car.

That was about 4 years back, it's rolling down the road as I type, lol.

 

You can get compressors that plug into your lighter socket too, as well as patch kits like the tire places use to repair punctures. I still have the compressor that was in my 2012 Sonata Hybrid. Handy because you can check tire pressure when tires are stone cold first thing in the morning.

 

Be aware that the lighter socket is rated at a very low amp draw. If you get a cig lighter compressor that's too big, you'll be blowing fuses like crazy. That's why I went with a compressor that clips directly to the battery. If can air tires even faster and no blown fuses.

Tire woes. Two flats in 4500 miles. | Page 4 | PriusChat

 

Good to know.

 

Using my trusty/rusty Schwinn I can re-air even a plug-repaired flat tire. It's a bit of a workout, but no risk of draining battery or blowing fuses. I'm a sucker for old-school: got sick of throwing batteries in a digital caliper for example, got a dial model, will last basically forever.

 

Not possible in my Prime. I have two kids who regularly fill the back seat and I'm very often filling the cargo area with our stuff.

So I carry the goo kit the car came with and a separate plug kit and compressor.

 

I just paid for road-side assistance through my car insurance yesterday. $8.27 every six months.

 

You type while driving Make way for Mendel!!

 

I'm often just the pit crew these days.

 

The other half of post 22?

 

Exactly.

 

I like: "no spare = no sale". I think it's the anthem we need to adapt. It is ludicrous to sell a car without a spare, borderline criminal. I don't care how good the mileage the car has, I want a spare in my vehicle and will not buy one without.

 

If they don't sell, the manufacturers will get the message.

 

Big if tho.

 

Exactly! Unfortunately, not everyone is so attached to self-reliance and mostly do not give a crap if a spare is omitted. That is why the cars are being sold today with no spares. Hopefully enough consumers are inconvenienced and fleeced by dealers due to simple flats that this trend will reverse.

 

Better start getting used to the used market as spares are going away.

In reality, if you really want to have a spare of something to reduce strandings, the number one thing to have is a spare 12V battery, as they are far more commonly the cause of inability to drive than flat tires are.