No spare tire?

No they don't. Sometimes plugs work, but they are still just a temporary fix in my opinion, and often leak. If you get a flat plug it to stop the leak and then your gonna want to take it to a tire store and get professionally patched. As long as the tire has a lot of life left get it patched, if its close to dead, don't bother.

 

this is the one i have had for a few yrs.....cant beat the price, and it works well.

12V Air Compressor - 250 PSI, Compact Air Compressor


Dan

 

Hi Dan,

Have you ever filled a flat 15" tire with that compressor? If so- how long did it take to fill?
Thanks....

 

Yes, it takes awhile, but beats waiting for the tow truck and the bill.

DBCassidy

 

I can't answer for that compressor, but can give my rules-of-thumb for two other units --
(1) my old 12V 165 psi Sears compressor tops off at the rate of 15 seconds per 1 psi;
(2) my bicycle floor pump takes 7 strokes per 1 psi.

This has been relatively constant over five different passenger cars (no trucks or SUVs in the mix). Knowing them lets me get right on the target pressure faster, with no wasted effort.

Perhaps others can chime in with similar figures of merit for their compressors and air pumps, so that PC readers can figure which pumps are faster.

 

So I took care of this today for about $60. I hope I never need to use all this stuff.

 

You definitely have your act together. Very good.

 

Nice- That will 'get er done'!

I'm going to look into that little yellow compressor Dan got from Harbor Freight- right now it's $8.99! Should be able to get the rest of the stuff from them for another $2-$3

This LED work-light/flashlight goes on sale for $2.99 every weekend, and it's very handy- I have one in each of our vehicles and a few around the house too:



Harbor Freight LED Worklight/Flashlight

 

Another thought just came to mind- thous of us who have purchased snow tires (mounted on their own rims) already have a ready spare at home! If you're local and get a flat- call your significant other and have them get it out of the shed and bring it to you.

 

Is there an adapter that will fit on the factory provided air compressor and a standard tire valve? If you know of one where can one go to purchase it.

 

What is the amperage draw on the compressor. The manual states that the maximum amperage for the power outlet is 10 amps.

Have you fully inflated a tire on the 2012 PIP using that compressor?

 

But what about the current draw on all these cheap pumps? Aren't most of these pumps close to the 'allowable' draw on the cig lighter? Wouldn't want to blow a fuse half way through the job....

r

 

This is yet another argument for a hand powered bicycle pump.

The only items there I haven't needed out on the road, still get used at home.

 

I have never blown a fuse.

 

I've had to change a flat tire on a friend's car on the side of the freeway at night and it was a terrifying experience. Fortunately, it was on the driver's side away from the freeway. Personally, I would like to avoid the scenario where I have to stand on the passenger's side manually pumping a car tire for several minutes while worrying if a car is going to hit me. So I carry a tire inflator that includes a digital pressure gauge that can stop at a preset tire pressure. I can set the inflator to the desired tire pressure, hook it up, turn it on, and walk away to wait more safely out of harm's way.

 

Good point. One always has to be aware the traffic situation. A acquaintance played good Samaritan , and helped a lady change a tire. His mistake, he parked his car in front of the lady's car. He then got trapped behind the lady's car and reckless driver, he was crippled the rest of his life, with a premature demise. Always protect yourself.

 

None that I know of. Toyota would prefer we use their equipment.

 

I stopped at Harbor Freight on the way home last night- picked up one of those $8.99 Yellow pumps rockerdan has in his post. Right next door to Harbor Freight is Auto Zone- so I bought the Slime 'Deluxe' tire repair kit for $9.99 and the Slime TPMS safe tire sealer bottle for $8.99.
The whole setup- inflation pump/puncture repair kit/sealant kit came to $30 including tax.
I feel much better of my chances of repairing a flat now (and without ruining the $70+ TPMS sender) with this setup rather than using the OEM Toyota supplied kit.

FWIW- my very unscientific 30 second test of running the Toyota OEM inflation pump then running the $8.99 yellow Harbor Freight pump from the Prius 12v accessory port pretty much seemed to reveal they both put out about the same volume of air per min. I guess I could have used a balloon and timed the inflation- but just putting my hand in front of the output port of both pumps seemed accurate enough.
Oh, and they're both annoyingly loud!

 

They're loud so you warn pedestrians that you're putting air in your PIP's tire.