Flat tire Disaster in using the supplied jack

Your jack from Prius may be defected.
The jack that came with my Mazda CX9 (weighing 4600lbs) can easily lift it up w/o much effort.
Same basic design.

 

If it takes me an hour to jack up the car as you say, and the car was at some funny angle so that the jack not vertical when up, I would have given up after 20 minutes and call a tow truck.

I am not saying it is your fault.

But you have to give up at some point and not torture yourself.

All jacks are flimsy things because you are expected to use it maybe once in 10 years. It certainly does not pay to have a sturdy jack. How many flats have you gotten in 10 years? So say you get one flat per 10 years. It takes you 2 hours to fix. That's only 12 minute per year. This is a small penalty vs. carrying a 40 pound jack. I rather work 12 minutes per year than carry a 40 pound jack.

I don't have roadside assistance. If I get a flat on the freeway, I'll get out of the car fast and call a towtruck to help me from a safe distance off the road. Life is too precious to mess with changing a tire on the freeway. $100, $200. It is worth it. You can die changing a tire on the road.

 

Wow. Good story but I feel for you! I haven't used the jack. There are many ways to get roadside assistance - it seems like everyone from cell phones to car insurance sell it - must be a money maker at one throw per 10 years!! But maybe it is worth it?

 

I have this one, 18.25 lbs, 2 ton capacity, $29.95. This add is from Sears but I got mine at Wal-Mart for the same price. Works great. I also picked up a long inexpensive torque wrench I use as a lug wrench. Throw in a socket (17mm l think), a pair of gloves, flashlight, and a board to set the jack on in case your in the dirt and your good to go.

GM Performance Parts 2 Ton Hydraulic Trolley Jack

 

Is the GIII jack different than the one with my '04 GII? I use mine a number of times each year to rotate the tires and switch from summer to winter tires. It has worked well.

PA P

 

That doesn't sound right. I took all 4 wheels off a couple weeks ago to wash the inside and do an application of Zaino AIO and Clear Seal and it only took me minutes to do each.

 

Sorry to hear of your flat tire.

A little more than a month ago, road debris on I-80 destroyed one of my 17" Toyo Proxes'. Luckily, I was able to pull off at a rest stop in time before all air was lost.

The jack supplied with my Prius worked fine. I needed a flashlight to find the two notches under the car to locate the proper spot in the dark. I had no difficulty raising the car such as you seemed to have. This was a rear right flat.

My only complaint is that no tire chock is supplied in the kit to keep the car from lurching forward/back when jacked up. I've had cars (non-Toyota's) where part of the kit served as a tire chock.

That flat cost me just under $500 which included the tire ($285 with dealer labor included), two night's stay in Ohio hotels while they located an OEM tire from Michigan (irony here is Ohio is known as the car tire state), and a couple extra days of food. I was able to extend my road trip and vacation by those extra 48 hours though.

 

When rotating tires last month, I did find this jack to be the hardest to crank of any car jack I've ever had. But it wasn't nearly as bad as your experience.

 

I recently put on my winter tires myself, so I have experience with the jack. Mine acted like you said in that it was very tight - I was able to use it with the included crank, but I was working hard to turn it with gloves on. One thing I've done is to put two small pieces of 2x4's in with the spare. On level ground you can fit both of them under the jack - it'll save how much cranking you need to do though it won't make the cranking easier. I don't know if more grease in the right spot is the answer, but it sure felt tight. Our Subaru has a nearly identical jack but it's a lot easier to turn (maybe because it's been used a lot more...)

 

I think those of you rotating tires have an easier time because the tire was not flat to begin with. So the car is sitting higher.

I suspect the car came with scissor type jacks (not sure I am using the proper term). I haven't looked at mine. This type of jack is very inefficient when the car is very low - like when you have a flat. You can tell by looking at the jack.

Also, if you have a flat, you have more inches of jacking to do so. First you have to jack the car back to normal height - the hardest part because of jack inefficiency at this height. Then you have to jack the car more to removable height. The total amount of work is increased 2x or more.

It is easier if you are just changing tires because you just have to jack from normal height to changing height.

 

I apply lithium white grease to the area of the crank that you insert into the jack. This avoids the metal-to-metal contact when you raise the car and will ease the operation of the crank.

 

I've used the Prius supplied tools a couple of times without a problem. I wouldn't care to work on all 4 tyres at at time this way, but I am lazy.

 

I agree, it is a bit of a workout when I rotate tires. But hey, other people pay a monthly fee to do this kind of thing at the gym. Do you think anyone would pay me so they could rotate my tires?

PA P

 

I've used the standard jack on my 2004 Prius for over 20 oil changes, without any problems. HOWEVER, it is a little difficult, and takes arm, wrist, and hand strength to turn the handle, so you might need to practice before another emergency situation occurs. It may be more difficult to jack up the car on the side of the road, on an uneven surface, with traffic flying by.

You must position and align the jack carefully to avoid tilting as you raise your car. Be absolutely sure you are using the correct jack point under the side of your car. There is an indentation to indicate the proper spot, but ask a mechanic for help if you are not confident in this.

If you plan to go under the car, use a jack stand or something sturdier than the OEM jack to hold your car up.

 

Your message suggests that you did NOT use the jack handle (take a look in your owner's manual, Section 5.2, "Steps to take in an emergency") that is supplied with the car. The jacking handle, which is made for the job, supplies enough leverage to make jacking the car easier, MUCH easier than a screwdriver, and does indeed work.

 

Considering how low the car is when it has a flat tire, you will need a hydraulic floor jack (not bottle jack) to fit under the car. And that will weigh quite a bit.

 

Or a shovel.

Tom