The valve was on the bottom because Prius has a plug that you can remove from underneath to check/fill the spare tire. Luscious Garage has photos of in on their Facebook page
At work one of my tires was low and the Low Pressure Tire Symbol was ON the dash. I added air and drove home, 14.6 miles. Before I got there the Low Pressure Tire Symbol was ON again. I could hear the leak. So from home I called Toyota Care and they're option was to send a Flat-bed tow truck an hour later, who took the car to a nearby Toyota Dealer that I suggested, since my Dealer is farther away, near where I work. Since it's 6pm they will fix it in the morning. If I had a Spare, the only difference is that I could have changed the tire with the spare and dropped the tire off at the Dealer myself and been able to use my car until the tire was repaired. Instead I have to use the wife's car in the morning. An even BETTER Option would be Toyota Care having a Spare Tire available for delivery, instead of a tow truck, so that I could use my car while the bad tire repaired . So not having a Spare is inconvient, but there is a BETTER Option when one is needed.
Excellent idea. Delivering a full size spare replacement tire+wheel would be awesome. Forget the donut spare.
If I was always within 15 miles of home (local Toyota dealer is less than 3) I might be convinced to rely on Toyota to get me out of a jam. But I am up to 90 miles from home on a regular basis, with clients counting on my reliability in getting to them on time, so I can't risk not having a spare. And while I try to allow plenty of time for traffic, etc. and could change a tire in 15 minutes or thereabouts, I don't have an hour to wait for truck, let alone the time to get to a dealer and get the tire fixed. I filled out Toyota's questionaire today, and that is one of the drawbacks I listed for the current Plug-in.
Around LA, no bid deal ... but I routinely drive to Vegas and come home on Sunday. Very early, as Sunday drive home can be brutal. What goods is a "Toyota flat bed tow" gonna do you halfway between Baker and Vegas and 8 am on a Sunday? Hence, buy a spare, throw it in a bag, keep in gargage and grab it for long trips. Prius don't break down (so I'm told) but tires do!
Has anyone found out how much it costs for an extra wheel and tire to use as a spare....I like the idea of keeping one in the garage unless I'm going on a road trip....don't want to be without a spare in Bishop!
correct size of the doughnut is: T135/80R 16 - mine was $160 and seemed to be brand new ... Terry's wheels in Santa Ana - very cool people - took them 1 day to get it - others on the thread have gotten it much cheaper on ebay or at a salvage yard
Mine was $160 also, never used. Price fixing by the auto dismantlers? But, as mentioned, there are some to be had cheaper online. The dismantlers apparently list what they have in a private website available only to others in the business. The guy at the yard I went to searched and found a variety, but the first one he got was for the Gen II, in spite of my having told him there was a change in size for the Gen III. Afterall, how could the customer possibly know more than the guy behind the counter? Cost them extra $$ in shipping for something they didn't need, so I doubt there was a whole lot of profit in the one they sold me.
OK, here is the Rest of the Story !!! The flatbed tow picked up the car Wednesday at 5:30 pm and I was to call after noon Thursday to pick it up. I called at 2pm and the paperwork wasn't in. My Service Advisor called back at 2:30pm and it was ready. When I arrived at the dealer, they had an Invoice for Patching the Tire, $27.97. I asked Why it wasn't considered as a Road Hazard and covered by Toyota Care. She said it wasn't covered. I said tires bought across the road at a Tire Dealer always includes Road Hazard at no additional cost. She said that the Dealer does too, but that these tires are NOT covered by the Dealer. STRANGE. I told her I would warn all the owners on PriusChat, but she didn't care. I called Toyota Care, but even though it's suppose to be 24 hours, I waited on hold for 10 minutes today, Sunday, then hung up. They must all be at Church !!! If I had a Spare, they probably would have charged me the same, but I could have driven my car for the 24 hours that they had it.
in my experience, no one ever covers tires. there's always some stubid excuse and if they do give you pro rated warranty, they screw you on the price.
ok, I just got a deal on an entire set of original Toyota PiP wheels & tires, complete with TPMS sensors as well (a complete set off a PiP). I paid $1,000 for a set of 4, and I am offering 1 to 3 to anyone in the local Boston area, if you would like one. I have already started a conversation with bisco and mikenewmediary, as they are both local to me. I would like to avoid reshipping these out of the area, once they arrive in 7-10 days, as shiping is expensive ($200 to get the set from California to here..) I am willing to resell up to 3 of these, for $250 each, I may decide to keep 2 of the set of 4, as these are orignal equipment, and not easy to find. My guess is someone bought a new set of wheels/tires for their PiP (likely a set of the Prius Plus 17"), and this seller is a dealer who may have taken the original tires/wheels in trade, as most of his other auctions are for similar items, seems like he comes up with these every so often. PM me if you are interested, Here is the link to the auction I just won, for the 4 tires/wheels: 2012 TOYOTA PRIUS PLUG IN ALLOY RIMS / WHEELS WITH TIRES 15" === TAKE OFF. | eBay
I will buy one, I am in Connecticut. I can mail you a check or come up in person to prepay cash. Just let me know how you want to do it.
Sure thing, just received the FedEx tracking numbers a little while ago, hopefully will be in by the end of the week, but I'm not sure if the seller used FedEx or FedEx Home Delivery (they are worlds apart in service), I'll let you know when they are in... I am around on Fridays (have Fridays off in June and August) and weekends for pickup.
To mwbprius (and anyone else considering buying a spare tire): You're making a good decision. I recently bought a spare tire for my PIP, and although I haven't had to use it yet, I feel much more at ease on long (and short) trips, knowing that a flat tire will be only an inconvenience, not a major hassle.
Tires that came w/your car are covered by a separate tire warranty (see the warranty booklet). I've never heard of tires that came w/a car having road hazard (or mileage) warranties. As for ones coming from a tire dealer coming w/road hazard warranty. I've never heard of that either. I've always been given option to purchase a road hazard warranty (that only covers those tires) at extra cost.
It's very rare, but some tire manufacturers do include a road hazard warranty with certain models of their tires through a retailer.
If anyone in the Boston area is looking for a PiP full sized spare, complete with a Goodyear Assurance Full Max tire, the TPMS sensor, even the little center hub Toyota insert, I have 1 still availble, from the 4 I bought on eBay. They came in today, and they look great. PM me if you are interested.
I found a 2010 being parted out, so I emailed seller and asked if he had the spare to sell, he did, unused: $60.00. Need a cover for your spare? A black garbage bag is perfect, comes with drawstring.
