Donut tire - What/Where to buy for two/four?

most likely Ebay ,craigslist and stealership.

 

I recently spotted a Prius spare for sale on Craigslist so that could be an option too.

 

the first thing you need to do is find out if it's the same as gen 3. if it is, you can search the net and salvage yards. if it isn't, you'll have to go with the dealer, or wait for gen 4 wrecks.

 

FYI, I've been looking for this since 2012 when I purchased my PiP, also without a spare. I have been unsuccessful.

It's $106 on tirerack for a Prius-sized tire on a 15" steel rim, a full size spare in other words. Toyota will charge you more for an actual space saver spare. Don't just put it in the trunk because it becomes a dangerous projectile in an accident. Tie it down with something. I want a space saver spare because I don't want to lose the trunk space. I don't want to pay over $100 because full size > space saver. Hence, 3 years later, I have done nothing.

In the end, I bought another Prius with a spare, so I will just share. (I didn't buy a whole car for a spare tire. It just worked out that way.)

 

when i priced a donut at the dealer in 2012, it was $450. complete. i was fortunate that the parts guy had a salvage one he let me have for 50 bucks.
that's another thought, you can check with the parts departments, some of those guys have connections, if they're not complete idiots.
they can also give you the wheel spec. a lot of times, there are other toyota models and years that have the same spec. sometimes even other manufacturers like mazda and etc.

the biggest issue may be the height, since they lowered the floor on the non spare models. but i have no idea really. my donut is about 7" tall, i believe.

 

At this juncture I'd say just live with what you've got.

Second option: approach the dealership, see about a swap to a model with spare. This'll obviously cost $'s, but to equip your current model with spare and peripheral pieces, so that it matches a model with spare, will likely cost at least as much, and is an "option" that you likely can't recoup, come trade-in time.

 

Maybe look into plug repair kit? Treat the pump and sealant as last resort.

 

Agreed. Don't use the repair kit unless absolutely necessary. It may damage the TPMS sensor. The person replacing the tire will charge you for cleaning the gunk off the rim. If you lease, you might have to replace with same Toyota repair kit which wouldn't surprise me if it costs more than a spare tire. Costs may be less to be towed to a tire place and put on new tires than driving to a tire place after using repair kit.

 

I received a similar ridiculous quote from a dealer on the 2016. I think they wanted $250 for the tire and $200 for the rim, which is ridiculous considering JustTires quoted me $39 for the tire on the donut on my 2008 the first time I had a flat and was paranoid about needing to replace it (It lasted me several more flats and is still in the car)

I'm going to replace it, but I'm not really in a rush as I don't think I'll have a problem anytime soon.

 

I am facing exactly the same problem! I want Four Touring but the absence of the spare tire is not a good thing... We travel a lot into national parks and stuff. Mostly no cell phone reception, and I did have a tire damage before, which could not be repaired. Zojja, I understand you already have Four Touring 2016? If so, did you manage to figure out if the donut will fit under the trunk (where it is in Three Touring)? I spoke to one dealer today, and he actually said there is no space. I don't want to go lower to Three Touring because of auto-dimming mirror and HomeLink.

 

I can live without, but I do find it interesting that the spec for the donut looks to be the same whether you have 15" tires or 17" tires. I don't really get that.

 

in another thread, krous tore his down, and the donut fit perfectly. just need new styrofoam and a hold down bolt.

 

It's ok: same OD, same offset, same bolt pattern, it works.

That's us btw: 17" OEM and regular temp spare.

 

Yes, but that discussion is about Prius Two with 15" wheels. And in Four Touring it is 17"

 

You may think 17" wheels are bigger than 15" wheel but the diameter of the wheel (rim plus tire) is the same. Therefore, a spare that works for one will work for the other.

 

it's a hard concept to grasp. you got 17" wheels, but they're only 15" in diameter? and they cost you a few mpg's? they look good though.