Flat in my driveway - HELP!

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Main Forum' started by CeruleanBlue, Apr 11, 2024.

  1. CeruleanBlue

    CeruleanBlue Junior Member

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    I was about to get dinner out and got 0 TPM warning as soon as I started going forward. I didn't get far so about-faced and back to my driveway.

    Full front passenger flat after having driven last we a couple days ago locally. Surmising it's gradual but fast leak. I can't see any nail puncture but it's hard to see much.

    Have only tire repair kit. If I use that I understand I can't repair the tire and gave to replace?

    I have jack in and spare with our Elantra, but I don't see there are accessible Jack points. The manual mentions only floor jack usage. Wth!

    As long as I'm at home, what are my better options on getting this tire off and repaired without having to get a replacement? I have 2nd car available and AAA.

    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Use your 2nd car to get a tire inflator.

    There's a pretty good chance you can buy a small electric inflator nearby, and a reasonable chance that it will let you put enough air in that tire to get the whole vehicle to a tire repair facility.

    I'm in a very similar situation myself at the moment. Our Prius sprung a leak in one tire, about 10 minutes after I had ordered a complete replacement set of tires. It sits in my garage on its flat tire. I will pump it up on Saturday morning and drive it to its appointment at my preferred tire shop.

    (I could deploy the spare, but this tire needs 20+ hours to get from safe pressure to unsafe pressure, and my tire shop is 0.5 hours away. Your timing might not be so good.)
     
    #2 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Apr 11, 2024
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2024
  3. Hammersmith

    Hammersmith Senior Member

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    The manual shows the jack points on a different page. Check the index for the page number. (I don't remember offhand)

    Jack it up with the jack from your Elantra, stick a jack stand under it if you've got one, pop the tire off, and take it to a tire shop to see if it can be repaired.

    The other option is what Leadfoot said: Use a tire inflator to see if it's a slow leak or a fast leak. If slow, try driving it to the tire shop and let them do all the work.

    I've never used the Toyota stuff in the back, but maybe you can use the provided inflator without using the goop.
     
  4. CeruleanBlue

    CeruleanBlue Junior Member

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    The jack point is a hole deep under the body next to the the wheel, accessed from the front. It's not practical to use a regular hack because it's too far away, I'm guessing.

    I may try the inflator suggestion if I can find one on the cheap.

    Is the tire safe for continued prolonged usage after using puncture repair or do you have to replace it? If not, I'm probably better off inflating and driving to garage for repair?
     
  5. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    ... or use a bicycle tire pump, if one is immediately at hand. The full-size floor-standing type, not the handle-held portable type that cyclists carry while riding.

    Of course, this type of pump is good only for slow leaks like this:
     
  6. CeruleanBlue

    CeruleanBlue Junior Member

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    Further manual search found other Jack points on side where you'd expect. Manual index referenced only floor jack points. Standard car jack points found in Google search referencing page 498. I'll try that tomorrow first.
     
  7. CeruleanBlue

    CeruleanBlue Junior Member

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    Another question. Does the supplied repair kit compressor work (inflate) without using the sealant? If it's slow leak I can drive to repair.
     
  8. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Edit: never mind, see following post.

    I thought the only restriction with that pump was that once it was used with sealant it couldn't be used again.

    ...in other words, fine to use it dry for your purposes to get the Prius to a tire shop.
     
    #8 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Apr 12, 2024
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2024
  9. sclevine

    sclevine Active Member

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    I recently had same issue. But it was a fast leak. I bought a tire inflator at Ace and used it to fill the tire to get me to a place to patch the tire. Fast leak so had to stop every 10 minutes to re-fill the air.

    The supplied repair kit will not inflate without the sealant. The supplied connectors force you to use the sealant.

    Wish I thought of buying this thing years ago - I've inflated my tires many times at gas stations due to slow leaks, but this time the fast leak had me rethink the approach!

    This is the one I bought: https://www.acehardware.com/departments/automotive-rv-and-marine/tire-maintenance/tire-pumps-and-accessories/8386286
     
  10. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Wide selection of inflators out there. Even slime ones that can used without the slime, and have cheaper slime refills.
     
  11. CeruleanBlue

    CeruleanBlue Junior Member

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    Thanks everyone for the helpful responses. I went ahead and pulled the tire off using the Elantra jack and tools. Couldn't see any visible nail or puncture.

    Drove to nearby local tire center with the flat in my wife's Elantra. They quickly took a look, found a tiny puncture in the "no zone". Tire can't be plugged. Frick. It's gets worse. There are no, none nada, zip tires available in this size anywhere (195/50R19)!

    I say thanks and move on to my local Toyota dealer with flat to inquire in-person about tire availability. It's a big dealership chain North Carolina, Fred Anderson. That tire is nowhere to be found. Honda uses same size on their new Civic do they hit the same problemo with supply.

    Mechanic manager even called the Toyota - Michelin Rep for an explanation. The backlog goes all the way to manufacture of the tire. This tire is completely unavailable in the USA. Best they do is to order one, put me in priority list and wait about four weeks for a replacement tire.

    We're screwed by Toyota and the manufacturers, Michelin and Toyo, on this folks. If you get an unrepairable flat, you're effed.
     
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  12. TGTGUUD

    TGTGUUD Member

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    Have you tried America’s Tire? I did a research for both 195/50R19 and 195/60R17 and they are available in 1-5 business days.
    I have a floor jack and tire repair kit at home. I’ve plugged my tires ~20 times thru the years, many are in the shoulder area. Never a problem.
     
  13. CeruleanBlue

    CeruleanBlue Junior Member

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    The tire is out of stock ... everywhere.
     
  14. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    1. You can go old school - put a tube in there, re-balance and your on the road.
    2. Put a equivalent doughnut spare in the rear. At least you'll be able to move the car around.

    You've got options - guilt the dealership into giving you a doughnut spare or steely - hopefully it isn't an AWD. That will set-off your traction control on top of your tire pressure warning lamp.

    Hope this helps.....
     
  15. Hammersmith

    Hammersmith Senior Member

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  16. Blackat

    Blackat Active Member

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    Anoher reason why I'm getting rid of the 19's and getting new 17's w/tires from TireRack.
    More options for tires, especially if needing a replacement on the road in tim-buc-too
     
  17. CeruleanBlue

    CeruleanBlue Junior Member

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    I called, spoke with a rep who thinks they can have replacement to me by end of next week. He said they'd get shipment over Toyota, which is a little perplexing. Anyway, pulled the trigger and placed an order for Qty 1, $273.77 shipped.

    Once I get this mounted, I'll work on a backup plan .... compressor, jack and toolkit, donut or backup OEM tire. There's a lot of construction going on around me. Thanks for the tip!
     
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  18. CeruleanBlue

    CeruleanBlue Junior Member

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    -- dupe posting -- removed.
     
  19. Danno5060

    Danno5060 Active Member

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    I'd stay away from the sealant if you can. It makes a mess and could possibly make your tire hard to balance in the end.

    For a car in the driveway, when you have another mode of transportation, I'd pull the wheel off and take it to the tire shop like you did.

    Maybe instead of looking for a single tire of what came with the car, look for 4 new tires (and order the one, or two if you've driven more than a few miles) for later. At some point, you're going to need another 4 tires, so you can pull out the originals then.
     
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  20. Jabog6

    Jabog6 Junior Member

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    Had the same happen to me yesterday. It was a slow leak, but the tire was dead flat this morning. I have a compressor in my garage, so pumped it up and drove to a local garage. I couldn't really go to work or it would have been flat by afternoon. In 15 minutes it went from 32 to 25 psi... They were able to patch it up.

    With another car I would have just put on the spare in the morning and put the flat tire in the trunk. I would have gone about my day normally and stopped at a garage whenever it was convenient. I know many other have said it, but damn I miss having a spare.

    Next step will be to get a set of winters so that I can make do if needed, as long as I'm close to home.
     
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