OEM spare tire install

Darn - oh well. I'm not going to worry about it then - I'll just call Toyo for a tow if something happens and the inflater goop doesn't work.

I admire your dedication and ability to get yours in place!

 

Thanks so much for this. I’m somewhat good at assembling things but I would be too afraid to mess with wiring. Are you saying there was no need to? Also everything can fit into place without cutting the new foam piece?

Here goes my silly question. Is the deck board the piece that covers the spare tire to support the cargo floor? Of course I was hoping the new foam surrounding the tire would be gray or black. : }

Does the spare tire affect your fuel economy?
Thanks!

 

How much? I was going to order a spare online . And what is the protector? Just a cover?

 

Thanks Hammersmith! I just ordered everything for the AWD XLE and it came to $490 with free shipping/current deals. Just wanted to comment and say I appreciate the write up.

 

Does anyone know the size of the nut?

 

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This thread is very informative!
Unfortunately for me, since I'm getting a Prime this coming week, it appears there's no way to install a spare in it? What do they do in countries where spare tires are required?

 

The spare could easily be installed at the factory; the Owners Manual has a section showing how to use it, “if equipped”. The car body has the necessary cavity to hold the spare. The only impediment is Toyota.

 

No, there's no provision or space for a spare tyre for the PHEV/Prime. (Ignore Mendel, he's so angry about the lack of spare tyres he can't read clearly - he's thinking of the HEV/non-Prime). The PHEV's on-board charger, solar roof system and and fuel tank intrude into the space where it could fit in the HEV.

If there are countries where a spare tyre is required, then I guess they wouldn't be able to sell it there. Are there any? It seems the goop+compressor kit is sufficient in most places.

 

Well, Mendel reminded me to look at the manual again... The Prius Prime user's manual I downloaded has two sections:
page 483: "If you have a flat tire (vehicles without spare tire)

Your vehicle is not equipped with a spare tire, but instead is equipped with an emergency tire puncture repair kit.​

page 495: "If you have a flat tire (vehicles with spare tire)

Your vehicle is equipped with a spare tire. The flat tire can be replaced with the spare tire.​

This section includes images with where the spare would be mounted, the tools, etc.

So, clearly it must be possible, right? Is it a question of doing what Hammersmith did and find the parts from overseas? I'm not sure where to look.

 

Yeah missed that it’s Primes here. Still, please don’t presume to gauge my mood.

Toyota could make an effort regarding all these intrusions. But doesn’t.

and as long as buyers are complacent to buy their cars without spares, and cobble a spare install themselves, they’ll have no reason to change.

 

You're reading the non-Prime manual - those page numbers correspond to my US non-Prime copy. You're looking at pictures of non-Prime layouts.

My US Prime manual has just page 574: "If you have a flat tire - Your vehicle is not equipped with a spare tire, but instead is equipped with an emergency tire puncture repair kit."

There are four current layouts of the underfloor area you can create from Toyota parts:


Type A-C are for the non-plugin; A (US LE) is the low floor, and B (US XLE, Ltd) and C (overseas, eg Mexico, or Japan option) use extra height. Type D is the only plugin option - it has to be high to go over the charger on the left and the higher fuel tank. (The right-hand tray gets shallower too if you have the solar roof).

Toyota does not currently have any parts available to fit a spare tyre to a Prime anywhere. You'd have to go DIY, and it would make the floor even shallower. The non-Prime has a vaguely tyre-shaped floor recess ready for the tyre option, and nothing in the way. The Prime has a non-helpfully-shaped body and electrical bits exactly where the tyre would want to sit.

 

Darn it. Right you are. I had downloaded both manuals and got that from the wrong one. Thanks for setting me straight.

 

So Toyota has not supplied spares:

with the reg 5th gen cus they’re cheap

with the prime version cus they’re cheap, plus it would have involved a bit more design work

customers who’d like to have something more than a hatch fulla styrofoam with their $40k purchase “can” shop elsewhere. This is the only thing that’ll wake them up.

 

Yeah, choosing a car is always a compromise. I wish the Prime had a spare, but it checks other boxes for me.

Statistically, though, in a few decades of owning cars (including 29 total years with Prius - 2009 and 2010 models), I've only had 2 flats, and both were minor and close to home. Fingers crossed.