Undeleting the spare tire from a 4

True, but it just has to get me to a tire store. I was raised in the tire business, my dad owned a small chain of tire stores for about 30 years as I was growing up. As a teen I would run all the old take off tires on my hot rods, since I would burn them off burning rubber. Never had any problem with the old tires. But if I run across a new tire that fits of course I would change it. Thinking now there may be room in there for a stock tire and rim, and not the donut style. Going to start looking for a cheap set to try it with.

 

My daughter had to put on the spare, front/right corner of a 4-wheel drive Pilot, and there it sat, for months. I even transferred her a grand for new tires, but busy, busy. She drove to the 'States thus. Twice...

 

Right after I bought the Prime, I tried the spare I had on the 2005, then test drove it. It seemed OK, No
floor gap, no scraping. I now have 2 of these plus a full size spare from the dealer.

 

I had a very hard time finding an elegant solution to add the spare tire and jack without having a bump in the middle of my floor mat on my 2017 4T. I won’t go into the details on how to cut the factory foam or purchasing the spare tire since I feel it has already been covered in other threads, but I will say I have the stock 16” late model Corolla temporary spare tire with a 2015 Ford Fusion jack foam kit that required very minor trimming to get it to fit flush underneath the factory floor mat. Now I have everything needed to fix a flat and it fits perfectly and elegantly. I could never have done this with the factory jack so now I use the slightly smaller one from a Ford Fusion that fits inside the spare rim. Hope this helps someone trying to do add the spare tire to a fourth gen Prius without spending too much money while still making it look and function like it was not an after thought.

 

Brilliant solution !

 

Can you supply more info on that, parts numbers or something? Very innovative.

 

Isn’t it strange how one individual can make a brilliant solution AND the multi billion $ Corporation didn’t even know there was a problem!

 

The corporation saved money meeting their goals. Any fallout problems are the user's responsibility. Toyota saved their 50 cents per vehicle

 

Foam box assembly - DS7Z-9913546-A

Storage Box - Ford (DS7Z-9913546-A) | TascaParts

Jack- DS7Z-17080-A

Jack - Ford (DS7Z-17080-A) | TascaParts

I fount the entire assembly on eBay for around $65. Brand new, the jack is the most expensive part at $84, but one can probably find that cheaper on eBay. The foam is only $34. Unfortunately, the stock Prius jack is too big to fit inside even the 16” spare rim.

 

I ordered these parts online a couple weeks ago. The two foam pieces and spare retainer cost about $340 delivered (my local Toyota dealer's parts department is somewhat unhelpful and overpriced with parts). \I ordered a full size 15" steel wheel and tire from Tire Rack for about $150 delivered. I've attached a photo for reference of how a full size wheel fits.

Even though I'm almost $500 in, I'm happy with the result.

 

Brilliant solution, but I'm not sure if it'll catch on. Maybe a business enterprise project for you, were you able and so inclined. Watch the feedback for viability.

 

Best solution, I think, is to not buy levels without a spare. This cuts both ways: saves you onerous expense and hassle, and maybe wakes Toyota up. As long as buyers are willing to buy the cars with the slime pump and subsequently cobble a spare, they will not care.

 

Many car manufacturers have dropped the spare wheel, although some offer the ridiculous space-saver doughnut spares. I'm convinced it's just another way to increase corporate profitability. They're able to offer up to £5,000 discounts to certain eligible groups over here, so there has to be a huge chunk of profit being made on some cars.

 

Do you mean like the compact spare on Prius? I'm ok with that format, think a full-size spare is kinda overkill. As a short-term, get you home or to the tire shop facilitator, it does the job.

You do want to periodically check it's pressure, being 60 psi and small, it tends to drop pressure faster.

 

Please humor me (or point to the thread that covers how you cut your foam). This is a project that's been bugging me for two years and now I'm finally motivated to get it done. Your installation looks so factory fresh!

 

It's ok for short low speed trips, but on a fast UK motorway they're almost a hazard in themselves. You become a sort of rolling road block!

Addendum:. Some of our motorways and most dual carriageways allow cars to travel at up to 70mph but most are only two lanes wide, so going really slow is no such a good idea. They seldom follow a straight line.

 

Is your floor flat after doing this? That would be a big plus for me.

 

It's flat enough for me, but not a perfect fit. When the back seats fold flat, it's flat across from the back to the front. I've attached photos. You can see how high up the cover passes the tie-down anchors.

There's a foam strip on the underside of the flat cover... I may remove it because it doesn't quite fit with the taller foam. I was hoping not to alter any of the existing parts.

Also note: I feel like I lose a significant amount of cargo room up top, but the storage cubbies in the floor and around the spare make up for it.

 

What did you do about the hold-down for the spare tire?

 

Some people just buy the hold down bolt since the threaded part is already in the car.