AAA front tire change and can donut tire go in front.

i would just drive as slow as possible to the nearest place that could sort me out.

 

The Owner's Manual tells you to run donut only on rear.

If it were my wife and she could safely drive home with donut on front and stay under 50 mph, I would have her drive to the house and I would take tire to tire shop to see if tire could be patched or replaced.

 

sorry, i meant with the donut mounted on the front.

 

In a land far, far away there it was common to include tire-changing into Driver Ed classes. The theory was that all drivers should be capable of changing a tire.

My wife can change tires. The last time that she had a flat, she started to change it, and a guy stopped and helped by doing it for her.

Donuts are only for driving less then 50-miles. Highway driving with a donut on front is not safe. But regardless of where you mount the donut, it is still only to be used for a short distance.

Mount the donut.
Drive slow.
Only drive a short distance with the donut.
Fix or replace the real tire.
Get your wife familiar with how to change tires.

 

This is not rocket science. All drivers should know how and be practiced to change a flat, handicap withstanding.

 

My wife can also change a tire. I taught all 4 of my kids, two girls, how to change a flat tire. Some of my daughter's friends asked me to show them how to as their dad's had not shown them. The girls were most interested because they did not like the idea of having to depend on some strange man to help them.

 

I do not think it unreasonable for AAA to refuse to essentially change 2 tires - that is over and above the service that they offer. Just about all of the folks that respond to calls for AAA are independent contractors. They have contracts with AAA that have specific tasks (jump start, tire change, etc) and specific reimbursement rates for each. The AAA operator could not make a promise for an independent contractor for service that they did not offer.

It sounds like your wife was close to a tire shop - I would have had AAA put the spare on the front and told her to drive to the tire place as slowly as was safe. Driving a few miles on the donut at 25 or 30 mph would not be a problem.

 

The rule for donut spares is usually 50/50, 50 mph max for 50 miles max.

 

You know what happens when you assume...

 

I'd take AAA to task for putting their members in danger. It clearly states in the owners manual that the spare "donut" is not to be used on the front. It's a safety issue! For the big strong ape driving their tow truck to change two small tyres is nothing. For a woman unskilled in vehicle maintenance it's possibly dangerous.

One of many reasons I don't belong to those rip-off organizations.
And be careful, I may tell you what I really think about this.

 

AAA was at fault, but it was one member, acting independently, I bet a phone call to the dispatcher would change the policy if one were in place

The donut goes flat and causes an accident, who's at fault?

Toyota for putting the donut in the car, with instructions that it only be used on the rear, or the AAA tech, for doing the wrong thing?

 

I don't think it's an unreasonable assumption at all to expect AAA to change the tire, and do so in the manner recommended by the manufacturer.

If it was any other action...say jumping the battery and AAA was doing it wrong would we let it go?

Who ever was the private contractor here should of taken the extra time to do it right.

 

My guess is time is money. Throw the guy a few bucks and he'd probably rotate the tires.

 

I think you are right. Most of the roadside service plans are limited in mileage, services performed, etc. I think if you are willing to pay for services outside the plan limits they would probably do most anything you want.

 

Never put the space saver spare on the front. It's not the same overall size as the regular
tire and wheel. That's why it's called a space saver. The difference in diameter will cause
a differential in ratio's between the two tires. This could damage the transmissions internal
components. It forces the axles to run at different speeds and stress the trans.

 

Don't sugar-coat it, David!

I agree with you--blew a tranny at 9 a.m. between D.C. and Baltimore in the 1990s and called AAA every hour for the next six hours to try to get a tow. Never came, so i bought a cell phone and ditched AAA. Now I carry a full plug-type repair kit, air pump, and Slime, which can only be used as a last resort as it will clog the air pressure sensor.
For drive to Alaska, folks suggested carrying two full-sized spare tires mounted on rims, for what it's worth.

 

Just for information. The actual reason you don't use a "donut" spare on the front of a FWD car is not because of diameter difference. The differential can take care of that for the short distance and lower speeds you are going to use it at. Max. speed about 80 km/hr/50 MPH, "max" distance - to the tyre repair shop.
The real reason is the tyre is overloaded applying power to the road and cornering at the same time. Add to that the lack of any "protection" from nice chunks of rubber and you have a serious incident waiting to happen.

RTFM and don't do it.