I just started shopping for a Donut Spare tire for our 2013 Plug-in Prius. My wife and sister are taking a 16 hour each way road trip next week. 1) I see two different donut spare sizes showing for sale for Prius. Which is correct height match for our 2013 PIP ? T135/80D16 101M (Bridgestone Tracompa) T125/70D16 96M 2) I'll see if I can find a good used one before my wife's long road trip next week. But if a good used is not found, Tirerack.com has the T135/80D16 Tracompta for $165, but a a Yokahama Y870B T135/80/D16 1010M for only $66! Assuming TR.com has a donut rim for ≈ $65 price I see elsewhere, any reason to not get the $66 Yokahama? 3) I do see a donut spare on Craig's List saying it is brand new from a 2007 Prius for $100. Assuming this tire is the proper size,and was stored in car or indoors, it 'should be' as reliable and last as long as a brand new spare tire??? (It's about a 75 min drive each way away.) Extra credit : I will be putting 4 new P195/65R15 tires on before the trip. (bonus pts. for rec. of good long lasting new set of 4 tires. ) EDIT: Upon reading a bit on the forums, I am leaning towards Continental PureContact w/ EcoPlus. $85 each +$14.63 shpg. each for all fours.
I even showed her how to plug a tire on the road. She'd MUCH prefer to change a tire than plug one. Anyone find a good bag or container for the donut to sit inside? PIP has no tire well.
Xliderider, Excellent, thank you! Anyone with a PIP store their acquired spare donut elsewhere besides the rear hatch area floor? (like behind passenger's seat or flat on passenger rear seat? If in back, do you bother to strap it down? If in a rear seat, I wonder if the seat belt could be used as a safety tie down along with other straps or bungies? merged I'm seeing two different donut spare diameters called out for the Prius: T135/80 D16 101m (24.5" dia.) T125/70 D16 96m (22.9" dia.) [I think these are yellow on the outside of rim] It seems Prius' always had P195 (or 1865)/65 R15 regular tires, so I assume always 25" dia. Can the 1.5-2" smaller diameter be used w/o harming or causing the computer/ traction control sensor to shut the car down or put in limp mode due to the donut spinning faster? Say worst case, you were forced to drive 1.5 hours on the donut (at the specified reduced speed). Is the 101M (3.98") and 96m (3.78") a bolt pattern difference that would not be interchangeable? I believe the T135 24.5" is whats called out for more current models, but not positive. yellow T125 2003 2009 Toyota Prius Spare Tire Compact Donut Yellow T125 70D16 733 | eBay Black T135 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Toyota Prius Spare Tire Wheel Donut 16" 5x100 Plug In | eBay
This is from the regular 2010 Prius Owner's Manual: Our's is tractor yellow, fwiw. If you're going to regularly have a spare in the car, I'd make sure it's securely strapped down.
EDIT: TireRack.com says the 101m (of P135/80) vs 96m (of the P125/70) refers to load rating. 1819lbs & 1565 lbs respectively. I'd prefer the slightly taller tire as slightly better at avoiding tire/rim damage if a pot hole was hit (or air pressure was lower than 60 psi, but I guess the smaller tire is OK. The yellow P125/70 R15 96m donut is all I am finding locally. I found one at a recycler and one on Craig's list, both for $100. Does the spare have a TPMS? if not, what does the computer do when the donut is on? Mendel Leisk, thanks for the info.
i think the spec is in the pip faq. mines on the deck, no straps. but i don't wear a seatbelt, so don't go by me. i know some just throw it on the floor behind the front seats.
The larger size spare is for 2010 and up. G3 had larger tires 25" vs. 24.5" diameter. I assume some threshold had been met so Toyota had to issue larger spares. Same size as on 2009 Corollas versus before. No TPMS on the spare so you just have monitor it yourself Tires need to be replaced after 6-10 years. So even sheltered in the trunk, I wouldn't buy a 2007 spare. It's undersized anyway. If you really want a spare, get a 2009 and up Corolla spare. Same size and more plentiful. Likely to find for <$50. Tirerack can ship you a 195/65R15 balanced and installed with steel rims for a little over a $100. I'd take a full size spare over a donut any day and it costs less to boot. I doubt ESC or traction control will be an issue only because the G2 tire is only slightly smaller and it comes with the much smaller spare without issue. FWIW, I spent 3 years trying to find a cheap Corolla spare but no idea how to strap down and didn't want to lose the trunk space. Roadside assistance is included with my insurance. Contemplated buying a full size spare. 3 months ago, bought a 2005 Prius and will be sharing the spare even though it is a little undersized.
Techstream TPMS screen shows Tire ID1 to ID5 but all Prii I know have 0000000 code for ID5 for the spare (which apparently means no TPMS in that tire). That code could presumably be changed but I am not sure TPMS can be added to the mini-spare. Also the spare is a higher pressure tire so the alarm value would be the same as the main tires, I presume. Mine was set at 26.5psi
Unfortunately, All I can find is the 22.9" dia T125/70. I called two dealers service reps. one had no clue if 22.9" vs standard 25" would cause an issue. The second dealer said yes. Do not put on the front. The larger 2010 spare is 23.5" dia, which is still smaller than the 25" dia P195/65 0em regular tires. Since we will rarely if ever actually need this thing, I'd much prefer the less bulk and weight, especially since this is my wife's commuter and she will be changing a flat. I sure wish I could find out definitively somehow if a 2.1" smaller dia. spare is a true issue for the front drive of the PIP (or reg). Edit: Googling for Corolla spares, vast majority come up with the smaller T125/70. T135/80 is rare searching under Corolla's too.
The safest/simplest would be to get the spec'd spare size. Slow day, I took a few pics and measurements. I make the OD 24.75" (using yardstick and square).
Doughnuts are never used on the front of any car. All the instructions for any car that I have ever seen say that if the front is punctured swap a rear to the front and mount the doughnut on the rear. P.S. My doughnut runs at 60PSI as per the Toyota instructions.
That is fixable, even very far into adulthood. Though it helps to want to learn, as my wife did after having several tire problems in my absence. But I did ease the task by adding a much longer handled wrench to better enable removal of corroded or stuck lug nuts. The factory wrench on the household's SUV is simply too short for lighter weight humans to break sticky lugs loose. Even at my heavier weight, a few of them were a great enough challenge that I started using a long pipe section as a cheater bar. It is much better to learn before moving away from the parents' home, as my sister and her daughters did.
One issue I've noticed: rims can get frozen on the hub. In the garage I'll deal with it by putting wood cribbing behind the wheel and giving it a solid wack with a large sledge hammer, slid across the floor slab. Out on the road that's could bring a tire swap to a halt, tougher to deal with there.
I would usually push down abruptly on an oem tool with my foot/leg and hope it breaks the nut loose. But sometimes a tire shop has been heavy handed with their air gun prior. I like the idea of keeping a piece of pipe in the car to use as an extender/ cheater bar. Certainly an easier thing for a lighter (thankfully ) wife. LOL. With her 16 hour drive to Spokane, WA this Friday, I had no time to goof around looking for the $50-$100 T135/80 tire wheel combo. I was fortunate to get a local dealer to match an online price of $76 for the oem rim #42611-20A50. $83 w/ tax. I got a new Yokahama T135/80 from TireRack.com for $79 shipped. Might cost $10 to mount (I don't imagine they bother to balance the donut? does your have weights?) So ≈ a pricey $170 for the brand new donut spare, but wife's piece of mind is priceless (or her lack of piece of mind is quite tough on me... . Also coming from TireRack are 4 new Continental PureContact w/ EcoPlus. $85x4 + $59 shpg + $116 Mtg, bal, dissposal at the local Big O Tire and she is set for a safe trip.
As they say in court: Asked and answered...just search. I wrapped mine in an old sheet and put it upright in the well in the back, Holds it in place, keeps things clean. Takes up space and doesn't look so neat, but just keep the cover in place.
