No spare tire!

Probably more of an issue in a bigger country like the USA, but it is becoming almost the norm now for manufacturers over here to either provide a space saver spare or none at all, leaving you at the mercy of one of those puncture repair cans.

I suppose they could argue it's environmentally friendly not to carry all that weight around all the time and I suppose if it really upset you you could go and buy a spare for your peace of mind.

Another argument is that the Leaf is a city car and as such shouldn't leave you totally out in the sticks with a puncture. Maybe keep your breakdown recovery membership card to hand?

Obviously you feel strongly about this issue, but its a small price to pay for a wonderful car.

 

The truth is, you are more likely to be stranded by runing out of charge, than getting a flat tire. And, even that is difficult, as the onboard IT system always shows you the "range" on the GPS screen of where you can go in a circular radius with the car in the center. In my 10 years of driving 3 Prius's, I have never had a flat on a road that left me stranded (or needed to be changed on the road)... I did have a slow leak once that I noticed leaving work one day, and by the time I got home the tire was pretty flat... I put on the spare and took the damaged tire to get it repaired. BTW, it was a nail jammed in the tire that caused the slow leak.... Also, I have Triple A plus ($55 year, and gets me %20 discount on part of my insurance as well), they will either tow you home (within 100 miles) or to the nearest service station... It's perfect for the Leaf, you'll never be more than 100 miles from home, in theory. In the 10 years of driving, how much fuel has been wasted lugging around those "doughnut" spare tires? For the high density areas the leaf is designed for, a spare is really not needed.

Also, I believe the Leaf is going to come with some type of emergency road service for 3 years, from what I've read...

 

I have needed a spare engine more often than a spare tire, should I refuse to buy a car that doesn't have a spare engine?
That said, if you feel it is that important for your own peace of mind, either buy an extra tire or don't buy the vehicle.

 

Maybe for now most of us will never be more than 50 miles from home (I'd leave a safety margin and make that 40 or 45) but with the electric highway developing we're supposed to be looking toward the day when we make road trips in the Leaf.

However, more and more cars are coming out without a spare. I was chatting with the Porsche dealer about my quandary because the batteries had ousted the spare from my EV Porsche, and he told me that the new Porsches come without a spare! You're supposed to use a can of fix-a-flat, which ruins the tire, and then buy a new tire (or four new tires if they were worn down enough that one new one would be a mismatch) or else call for a truck to tow your car to a garage.

I had a flat in the middle of nowhere in the Prius and had to drive 50 miles on the doughnut tire. It was awful. But at least I didn't have to hitchhike to within cell phone range to call for a wrecker!

 

I've had problems with alternators, batteries, leaks that set the hyundai alarm to go off continuously etc etc. But never needed to fix a flat in last 10 years on the road.

With modern tires I think the risk has gone down so much, it is probably not worth the space.

Didn't we have this exact same conversation (a long one at that) on leaf - may be in a different forum ;-)

 

Hmmmm . . . let's see . . . how many decades . . . and how many HUNDRED's of THOUSAND's of miles ago was it, that I had a flat. Hmmmm, I'll have to get back to you on that.



Yea, I can see the rational. If it gets too many folk's shorts all bunched up, I'm sure those folks can just buy one of those teeny donut tires and keep it in the trunk. Or go REAL teeny . . . buy a can of flat fix it. There I go ... thinking outside the box. IMO, I'm ok with not having to pay for anything more than a can of flat fix it.

 

I've had two or three flats since I bought the Prius. Enough that I'd much rather have a spare than not.

And ruin the tire and have to buy a new tire. Or four new tires if just one new would unbalance the set.

 

This may be one of those generational things. I've experienced enough flats in my life, especially before cell phones were invented, that I will always feel inadequately prepared without a spare tire. And because I still frequently travel in areas with no cell service, AAA or an emergency roadside service plan is insufficient.

But the flat tire rate -- on cars, not on bicycles -- is now low enough that I can understand many people in the younger generations, particularly those who rarely venture into the cell phone map 'white areas', feeling they can get by without them.

Bicycles continue to provide this household with several flat tire repair reminders every year.

 

With the mandatory TPMS on all the tires, it will have enough early warning that the tire is low on pressure and allow you drive to the near gas station to fill up or use the fix a flat can to get you home before the tire is ruined.
With this argument, the spare will become the thing of the past.

 

You folks that have multiple flats ... you sound like perfect candidates for "run flat" tires. Thankfully, Nissan isn't strapping that cost onto the rest of us, either. But it does make me think ... I wonder how many flats per 100,000 miles the average vehicle has. I'm sure Nissan based their decision on some actuary that said that's the way it ought to be.

 

I guess you have never heard of the high rate leaks caused by very wide gashes.

For the more common slow leaks, I don't see the point in ruining an otherwise good tire for a leak that is easily and cheaply repairable.

When these first came out, they were very expensive, and their very stiff sidewalls provided a harsh ride. The 'cure' was worse than the disease. No thanks, I'd rather just do a simple traditional tire change and repair every few years.

Have the prices and ride quality changed significantly?

 

I have goodyear run-flats and no spare on my prius. My car came that way @ no extra cost, and is fine by me. they are much quieter than the bridgestone potenzas I used to have on my last car. I think i'd rather have michelin energy savers with lower rolling resistance next and will get a spare of sorts... I noticed a lot more noise and reduced fuel economy with the potenzas compared to the continental procontacts that were on before them, but the grip was superb. our roads in southern oregon are loud to start with

anyone else have runflats?