Featured Why don’t EVs come with spare tires?

I’ve had two in the last two years.
Neither required me to use a spare. In both cases I could drive to a shop and get it repaired or replaced.

 

If I was well off, and the two options were:

1. A tow truck guy comes out and swaps you over to your spare.

2. A tow truck guy comes out, fills your flat full of goop, and it doesn't hold, then he hooks it up and tows you, somewhere.

I'd still want a spare.

 

hycam still comes with a spare. had to buy one for the bolt. same problem as prius, what size, what jack, too expensive.
good news id that it fits under the hatch floor.

 

My brother called AAA not too long ago because his pickup broke down. The tow truck showed up three days later.

I like the independence of driving a car. But when it becomes a device that forces me to need so many other services, I start to question how independent owning a car really is?

 

After experimentation over the years, 'sticky string' works. If the tires are well worn and need to be replaced, a can of fix-a-flat is OK and shop at a tire store. Warn them about the can of fix a flat.

Buy two tires, one on for each side. If one is worn, its brother is too. The other pair may still have miles left on them.

Bob Wilson

 

I thought the Toyota supplied solution was only destructive if you elected to use the goo with the compressor, and if you went without the goo it's like any other inflator.

No?

 

Lately AAA is spending way too much on marketing and nowhere near enough on recovery fulfillment. All the tow operators play hot-potato with requests coming in on their apps so none of them get stuck with the unprofitable AAA jobs.

You do better these days by calling the tow operators directly.

 

AARP too which I discovered when I needed a tow. A couple of days later, I contacted my insurance company, USAA, and added roadside recovery for a couple of bucks.

Bob Wilson

 

But I can see why a person would want AAA from a financial standpoint. I was towed once by AAA, but the tow truck driver said that it would have been a couple or few thousand to have done it without AAA, and that was halfway between my town and the next one.

Again, all the more reason I'm starting to wonder if cars make sense for humankind.

 

You can use the GM kit with or without the goop. If you use the goop, you can buy a replacement container.

 

The GM one will wake the neighbors, too.

 

I use a floor-standing bicycle pump, quite effective, and more or less bullet-proof*. Stow it in the hatch, when we've done road trips.

* Bullet-proof until you inadvertently back-up over it, had to get another...

 

This is not an EV issue. Some conventional cars did not have spare long before EV. And it was not even luxury cars. My first no spare car was 2005 Sienna AWD family minivan. It came with very expensive "run-flat" OEM tires, but I learned they didn't run when it's flat as advertised. There was a class action on this run flat tires such that the first flat was replaced by a dealer for free before 20k on the car. But they did not last long. We had another flat within 20k. No more free replacement from Toyota. With this car, one flat on the "run-flat" tire, all four had to be replaced at ridiculous cost of over $2k back then.

Needless to say, I replaced with a set of conventional tires at a fraction of cost and also bought used rim and carried it as a full-size spare wherever we drove. But, never had to use the spare for the rest of ownership of the minivan, for over 100k miles in 10+ years.

It is frustrating not to have a spare when we need it. But it is all about risk management. We do much less long trips now. And no young kids in a car. The cell phone coverage is usually adequate where we usually travel. The most of risks are within a short driving distance trips from home. So, I can live with not having a spare in a car, if I had too.

BTW, I had AAA membership for a long time, but usage was so low for the membership fee I was paying. I was not getting money worth service. I dropped AAA some years ago and switched to a car insurance road side service option. I have used it several times now. For about $10 annually, it has been the best option I added on my car insurance plan.

 

Exactly. Seems like the EV without spare loophole gets invoked a lot, specifically: "hey we'd love to provide a spare, but with the car crammed full of battery, there's no space, something had to give".

Yeah I know, how prep'd do you need to be. Still, tow truck guy is not the tooth fairy (now there's an image...), I'm pretty sure when he shows up at car sans spare, the only thing he's going to be offering is a tow, to somewhere, maybe far away, maybe closed.

 

Two most recent experiences with tow trucks were, one to a nearest dealer when the solenoid was going bad and I did not want risk driving the car over 50 miles to the dealer. The car was parked on our driveway. I did not have to go with the tow truck. Just called the dealer ahead of time, so they can work on it and call me when finished.

The second one was when my kid totaled my old Civic HV. It went to a local shop, but I never picked the car up. Just gave the signed title to the shop owner and gave it away (no collision insurance on the car). He probably chopped it and sold parts to make up for the trouble. It had an almost new hybrid battery replaced under extended warranty at 105kmiles a year earlier.

 

My last flat was out here last summer:



No cell (one of the points of going there) but had spare back up. Decided to use OEM goo and compressor at campsite due to soft, unlevel ground. Worked, no issues. Got tire repaired at the closest Walmart for free (warranty) the next day. No issues with TPS.

Goop'ed a slow leak on my old C-Max Energi (spare at home) with a can of fix-a-flat. Kinda' "forgot" about it for a year till tire(s) were replaced. No issues with TPS.

DIY tire repairs on motorcycles for decades. No issues with goop; most of it dries and adheres to inner walls like it's suppose to. For trips, pack a cheap mechanical foot pump or electric compressor on those with a connection.

FWIW