Flat tires......rediculous

Both outside passenger seats are occupied at all times? I place my spare vertically in front of one of the passenger seats. I do agree with you 100%. To sell a car without a spare is ridiculous. Going forward sparless automobiles are automatically a deal killer. Unless of course there’s a place I can actually place the spare conveniently.

 

It may be new for you, but our 2005 Sienna AWD had no spare. Yeah, it was inconvenient when the flat did happen. Twice during the first 4 years of the ownership. But it was my wife's car and happened when she was driving both times. It would have made no difference if there was a spare in the trunk or not. She would have to call AAA regardless. And after the second flat, I purchased a spare tire to carry in the car. We never had a flat for the rest of ~8 years we drove that minivan.

Murphy's law corollaries: Things go wrong only when you are not prepared.

Now, I do carry a full-size spare on my PP all the time but have not had a single chance to use it for the last 5+years of PP ownership.

 

What exactly did AAA do? Toyota Roadside Assistance will only mount a customer provided spare the alternative is Towing.

 

The only thing that'll get through to the manufacturers is dropping sales numbers: don't buy a car if it doesn't come with a spare.

 

Toyota Roadside Assistance: "Towing will be provided to the nearest Toyota dealership (or to the Toyota dealership of your choice within 25 miles of the nearest dealer)."

Other towing including AAA and the towing add-on in my car insurance will tow to any tire shop open at that time as well as tire change, etc.

 

You may want to toss a highway plug kit in your trunk, just for emergencies. That way you can get to help, if you need to.

 

i bought a donut for the hatch. it's rarely inconvenient, but i wouldn't be without it.

the only thing that kept me from moving up to a prime was the reduced hatch space, and a tire would make it ridiculous

 

On Sienna, at both times with flat, the minivan was towed to the nearest Toyota dealership which happened to be where the car was purchased. AAA would have towed to anywhere I specified within the allowance of mile limit, which I think was 100 miles with Premier membership. If there was a spare in the back, then AAA would have put that on the car for her, but that was not a choice.

Ironically, our Sienna AWD was equipped with OEM run-flat tires precisely because it did not have a spare tire. Both times when the flat happened, the side wall collapsed such that the tire did not run flat. There was a class action lawsuit on these allegedly "defective" run-flat tires. We got the first set of replacements for all four tires as required by the manual for free of charge under the extended warranty agreed by the class action lawsuit. It would have cost about $2000 if I had to pay for it. But with the free replacement was with the same "defective" run-flat tires. After the second incident flat 2 years later, I opted to buy a set of conventional tires. After that, I bought a set of rims and tires to be used as a spare which was never installed on the car not even once during the rest of ~8 years tenure of the minivan.

 

Buy a plug kit and a compressor. For 95 percent of the holes you get this will be enough to get you home or too a shop.

 

Even a decent floor style bicycle pump will do. More of a work out but not that hard. And very reliable.

 

Another Prime owner I know purchased and carries fir trios a Corolla spare tire (the small ones that are stored in trunk) that is supposed to be compatible with Prime. Good idea if one doesn’t mind losing precious trunk space.

*excuse typos

 

Toyota not including a spare is to "enhance" your driving experience. To fully enhance your prime tire changing experience Toyota also equips the car with a marginal scissors jack and an a useless tire folding jack handle that has virtually no leverage. I recently had a flat in which the tire went from full to flat in seconds. Luckily I carry a full size spare…..purchased a old celica wheel which had virtually the same specs…..I fully enjoyed trying to find the jack and the 20 min fiddling screwing around with useless folding jack handle until I was able to lift the car. Luckily I had purchased a breaker bar/socket which was helpful to remove the lug nuts. After this painful and frustration tire changing experience I decided to reduce my next experience by purchasing a scissor jack adapter/coupler with a ½ drive(check out amazon/youtube) and a ratcheting breaker bar. I’m also considering purchasing a battery impact wrench. In my mind being able to change the tire quickly is both a safety issue and a time saving benefit.......especially roadside. Waiting hours for assistance is too painful and can be costly.

 

On the Toyota scissor jack the "eye" that the hook in the torsion bar fits is a single hole, soft-steel casting. With every rotation the torsion bar hook dances around in the eye, and metal flakes come off the eye.

In comparison: Honda scissor jacks have a U-shaped bent plate with two eyes, about an inch apart, keeps everything rock-steady.

The Toyota scissor jack quality is a minor beef; you will get there. Not so minor: the lack of spare. If not buying cars without spares ever catches on, watch the manufacturers wake up...


The Honda scissor jack eyelet style:

 

The Toyota "fix-a-flat" sealant didn't work for all of you? It did the job when my sister's Prime got a flat, but she was pretty irked when it cost $80 for new sealant from Toyota.

 

Yep my wife's 2017 Prius has a spare tire while my 2021 Prius AWD does not. I was okay with it until we were out driving her car and got a flat...I was thankful to be able to put the doughnut on it instead of messing with the fix-a-flat kit (or waiting 3 hours for AAA to show up). Soon after, I bought a doughnut for my car and keep it in the trunk area. I, also, bought a better scissor jack because the one Toyota gives us is not very user-friendly....especially when you are trying to hurry with cars zooming by you at 75 mph.

 

It's reduced, but I wouldn't call it ridiculous. Here's my spare secured to a D-ring I installed in the cargo area.


I completely agree that not including a spare is insane. We used the spare in my wife's 2017 Two on our way back from Iowa a couple weeks ago. Putting it on and driving to a tire shop to buy a new tire (hole was next to the sidewall) cost us three hours on an 800-mile day. I hate to think what it would have cost in time and money for a tow truck. (No, I don't have AAA and at 69 years old, I haven't needed it yet. Maybe someday when I'm too old and decrepit to even be driving. )

 

Flat tires are very rare and they usually either happen because the owner doesn't keep an eye on the tire pressure or they hit a pothole, the former of which is neglect and the latter of which is considered an accident. You can keep a tire inflator in your car. If you are neglectful enough, your spare if you have one will have gone flat by the time you need it anyway. Anyone with a car needs tow coverage through AAA, insurance, etc. You can then buy a spare and keep it in your garage. I wouldn't keep a dirty and smelly tire anywhere in my car, especially in front of the rear seat as someone suggested.

 

My full-size spare tire is not dirty or smelly. I almost never use the rear seats. It is almost always folded down to make more cargo space in the back. Thus keeping the spare in front of the rear seat saves space on the deck, and keeps the tire securely wedged in requiring no additional tie down. But as I commented, above, I have not had a chance to use it yet for the last 5+ years.

Spare tires are like insurance. You can risk driving your car without it, but I will be glad to have one when I do need it. In most cases, the flat incidences I have experienced in the past are the slow leak type with or without visible damage to the tire which does not require a spare tire or liquid flat repair goo. In this type of flat, I can just inflate the tire and drive to the nearest tire shop for a repair. I have done that even with a visible screw in the tire. As long as the tire is holding air reasonably well, like losing only a few psi overnight, then I am fine driving it for a few miles down the road to the nearest tire shop. The second type that is rare but has happened to me in the past is usually caused by a pothole or curve stones such that it is unrepairable either by the patch or goo. In this type of flat, having a spare tire would make dealing with the situation so much easier than alternatives.

Again, it is a risk management issue. In the case of a rare unrepairable flat especially while on a long road trip, having a full-size spare would save time and money plus a whole lot of aggravation, compared to not having one.

 

I agree with you completely…...I don’t believe I ever had a catastrophic flat like I recently experienced in my yrs of driving…….all leaks which could be still driven…...but all those past cars had spares. My cost for the spare wheel, mounting/balancing, tire cover, jack adapter, ratcheting breaker bar was less than $75…..I had a tire from a previous prius. Screwing around with the tire goop, reading the directions with a magnifying glass and flashlight, possibly ruining the tire pressure sensor, the wasted time, the replacement costs for the tire goop, the safety issues,…..,the hassle, the hassle, the hassle. I find waiting for toyota or other tire changing services and being possibly towed completely unacceptable for a flat. As you state it is a risk management issue but having experienced a catastrophic flat in the prime and having the full size spare available.... stored as you show it or in the back along with a few better tire changing accessories. is IMHO, not only highly recommended but mandatory. I even consider the doughnut tire with its limitations a waste. Having a full size spare makes a flat an inconvenience rather than major event. You are on your way in 30 min or less