"Spare" your thoughts...

I had two flat tires in the first 5000 miles. They both occurred as slow flats. The first one I missed until I stopped to see why the car was driving funny. I had to have the car towed to the dealer, which was closed. So biked in the next day to pick up my car with new tire. I was not happy - this was on a Friday night when I had worked late and was just heading home.

The second one I caught because of the tire pressure light being on (it was on the first time too, but when I checked the tires visually they all looked fine so I figured I'd handle it the next day...). So I checked the tires visually and then drove straight to the dealer and got it fixed.

Both times I had to buy new tires. They told me not to use the spray stuff unless necessary but to use roadside assistance. So I did that first time but who would have thought that meant they had to tow the car!!!

I love my car but I'm in the process of buying a spare for it. The dealer couldn't even tell me what would work as a spare and so I took in the spare from my son's 2005 Prius and it works fine. They tried it on and checked it both front and back. This is the only thing I don't like about my Plug-In.

 

If you try the link in my post #7 in this thread, I believe you will find a list of space saver tires (donuts) that will work properly with the PiP. If I remember correctly, you should be using one from a 2010 or newer Prius, not from a GenII like your son's 2005. (They are different sizes, and the dealer should know that). Besides, he may need a spare, right? You can find them in auto recycling yards and online. Ones from other models of Toyota will work, but you need to have one with the right dimensions to avoid problems and possible damage. I have one from a 2010 Prius that had never been used. It takes up a little space, but provides relief from worry and stress. I can change it myself if I'm in a hurry and don't want to wait on Toyota's Roadside Assistance or AAA.

 

Things to consider since the PIP has no spare:

1. Get a small cheap 12v air compressor ($5 on sale at Harbor Freight). You can refill a slow leaker so you can drive to get it repaired
2. Get a tire plug kit (<$10) such as this Slime 1034-A T-Handle Tire Plug Kit : Amazon.com : Automotive
With this you can fix a puncture in the tread area. It is actually quite simple to use once you've seen it done. Use the 12v compressor to re-inflate. These can be good enough to last for the life of the tire sometimes.
3. Use the Toyota supplied compressor and goop if you are OK with trashing the tire and don't want to wait for a tow truck
4. Consider a donut spare that you carry on long trips
5. Get AAA or other service

Mike

 

Or wait 'till Toyota smartens up

 

Toyota is smart following (or leading) the modern trend for cars without spare tire. There are many models that do not have spare tires. See this AAA report. http://www.aaa.com/AAA/corpcomm/socialmedia/No_Spare-Tires.pdf

I have a doughnut spare that I place in the back for all out of town trips.

 

Yes, it sucks when you need it and don't have it. But the truth is that the average person travels hundreds of thousands of miles without a flat. And it is a fair amount of dead weight if you never need it.

 

I am in the UK.
I have just bought a space saver spare from a scrapyard for £20 ($31).

It has a good tyre and is unmarked. It came from a 2002 Avensis. All I need now is a storage bag and a strap to hold it down.

I believe the full specification is:
PCD 5X100mm, 54.1mm centre hole, and 45mm offset, 135-70-16 tyre.

In the UK fitted to:
Avensis 1998-2003
Carina 1988-1997
Celica 1994-2007
Prius 2004-Onward

 

I also bought a space saver spare from a scrapyard for $50.
I don't carry it for local driving or my daily commute to work, but when we use the PIP for out of the area trips- I take it along. It gives me some peace of mind knowing if I get a blowout on the Cross Bronx Expressway I can at least attempt to get out of there before things get ugly...

 

Too late.

 

Decided early to get a used full sized tire/wheel and etrailer black cover. Total was $150. I rest well knowing my wife has what she needs if there is an issue. It looks just fine in the trunk. Long trips aren't an issue either. Be smart. Get one. Calm down, carry on.

 

Wow have most of you folks been lucky!
Nothing like having car up on a scissors jack on a soft shoulder while changing a tire and a semi blasts by 3 feet away at 70 mph and the car rocks and starts to fall!
Not sure how many miles, but driving since 1964 and have replaced 4 trailer tires, 4-6 car tires.
Planning trip to Alaska, so have purchased full sized rim to mount normal tire for a spare.
I understand Slime will not kill the pressure sensors, so will carry that and air pump and hole plugs.
I think y'all have more trust in your tires than I have!

 

I tip my hat to you for the decades of experience, but still have a couple of tips, things to take along:

A pair of tire chocks (cheap lightweight set, placed on either side of the tire diagonally across from the flat)

A square of 3/4" thick wood, say 6" square or more (to spread the load under the scissor jack on dirt or gravel)

 

I absolutely agree with you! What I finally did was get a good hydraulic jack and build a platform to hold it so that I could use it on soft surfaces:


Don't get me wrong, the scissors jack is a HUGE improvement over the "bumper jacks" that came with the two-ton behemoths of the 50s and 60s. Those hooked onto the front or rear bumper and then had a ratcheting gear that would climb some teeth molded into a steel upright set onto a a small steel baseplate. However, the stalk would literally bend with the force of lifting so much weight and try to pop out of the bumper slot, plus the ratcheting gear was prone to sudden, catastrophic failure were the car would simply fall back to ground level with no warning. Thus one risked getting one's hands crushed whenever one changed a tire. I learned to absolutely minimize the time my hands were in the wheel well when the tire or it's replacement were not on the studs.
That type of bumper had zero crush zone, and therefore transmitted the force of a collision immediately and directly back to the car's driver, who was of course UNBELTED as seat belts had not become mandatory yet and would get speared in the chest by the non-collapsing steering wheel just before his head hit the non-safety glass windshield. Sigh.

They don't call those the "Good Old Days" for nothing!
And remember the Maine, Plymouth Rock, and the Golden Rule!!

Your advice to use wheel chocks also quite right, of course, and thanks.

 

Since I've had my PiP, I'd had two flats, both from debris in the road. I bought a doughnut, which I keep in the back of the car, and it's saved me both times.

 

Can't we call the Toyota service and they will take care of it for free?

 

after just a yr in the PiP, the TMS triggered when a nail pierced the tire. patched at tire shop and mounted on a full size alloy rim from tire rack. now, it's safely tied down in the trunk in a tire rack bag.

20min to change a tire beats waiting around for Toyota roadside, IMO

 

"Spare" you thoughts...

If you are going to buy any car that does not include a spare wheel assembly, negotiate a full size one, with an acceptable jack, required tooling, cover, tie downs, ect... before the purchase. Then learn how to use them.

 

the tow is free, not the tyre repair. and it's a major pain to call roadside assistance, wait for towtruck, go to dealer, wait for dealer, hopefully not sunday. much easier to have a spare in the back.

 

Yep, that's why there's one in the back of my car.

 

I ended up with a flat last night that didn't ACTUALLY start to leak until I literally was in my garage. I first called AAA and then thought "oh, I have Toyota Care Roadside Assistance. They should know how to handle this!". What a mis-perception I had. Toyota Care didn't even realize the PIP does not come with a spare. they had no solution other than the aforementioned tow. They had no idea where to tow it to. When the dealer destination was presented, they had no idea if the dealer had a night drop. And to top it off, their preferred tow service was going to take a minimum of 90 minutes to arrive and I only found that out when I called after waiting for 45 minutes. I ultimately called AAA again, they came out right away, we decided to tow it in the morning to the dealer and they came back at 6:30a to tow it over there. They had it fixed and conducted another service on the car and I had it back in 2 hours. Toyota Care sucks.