On models with no spare tire, what are folks doing?

I like having a plug repair kit and the spare.

 

As I said earlier in this thread, I'd had a destroyed tyre on my VOLVO about 2002, there was a town about 100km away which didn't even sell fuel - just basic groceries and a hot meat pie. Another 150km away was a reasonable sized town with tyre service, but only the most popular size tyres - they took one look at my tyre and said they could get a tyre in about 3-4 days (it was Saturday morning). So we kept driving, eventually finding a tyre 660km from where it was destroyed.

I distinctly remember the nervous feeling driving without a spare tire after a tire was destroyed, and knowing it was about 660km to the next service centre - almost all of it out of Mobile Phone coverage.

4 years later I was in a work vehicle when I had a puncture midway between 2 towns about 220km apart - fortunately with a full size spare - a temporary spare would have had to be driven beyond the 80km specified, and driving in those areas and sticking to 80km/hr would pose a safety risk as well.

If I go on my touring holiday next year, it'll be with a PROPER spare tyre - and maybe?? have to carry some fuel, though maybe not with the range of a PRIUS.



Many places actually with fuel won't have tyre service, or at least won't have a very big range of tyres.

 

I like having a plug repair kit and the spare.

 

I've never used a tyre repair kit - never seen one. Is it safe to DIY? And how do you mount the tyre after repair? I guess you can get it balanced later.

 

Repair is done through the outside of tire, no need to remove it from the rim. It's frowned upon officially, but still common use. I've done a couple on our Prius, with no further problems.

You push a super-sticky short loop of cord through the puncture with a heavy awl-like needle, then (due to an opening on the needle tip) you are able to yank the needle back out, leaving the loop inside the tire, and the two tails protruding. With razor blade you cut them flush.

There's lots of YouTube videos on the procedure. My favourite is by an Aussie. Of course I can't find it right now.

 

See you have three of them

 

In our neck of the woods being 50 miles from service is quite common. No cell service in those areas as well. Even if I could call for help it only takes 10 minutes to change a tire and we'd be back on the road. I've heard many stories of two hour waits, then a tow truck hauling the car back into town where a 24 hour cycle is needed to purchase the right tire and have it mounted. There's just no comparison.

If you live and only drive in a populated area, or don't drive too far from home where you can keep a spare tire/wheel in the garage, then no spare is no big deal.

 

It is looking like the Prime has done away with the D-rings at the corners of the rear deck. Not an easy way to strap down a space-saver spare.

 

Sure, I totally get that. Prius is mostly a city/suburban commuter car anyway. It's not a great car for rural living -- the clearance is too low, for one thing. I used to live up a steep, dirt road and I brought my Prius there and it was much worse than my old VW Bus.

 

Damn, that's pretty bad. What happened? Blowouts?

I am a suburbanite. My Prius only went off-road once.

When my Prius was brand new, I upgraded the stock Yokohama tires and then I replaced with Michelins around 65,000 mi. There was still enough tread left but I didn't want to chance anything.

 

Damn, that's pretty bad. What happened? Blowouts?

I am a suburbanite. My Prius only went off-road once.

When my Prius was brand new, I upgraded the stock Yokohama tires and then I replaced with Michelins around 65,000 mi. There was still enough tread left but I didn't want to chance anything.

 

Damn, that's pretty bad. What happened? Blowouts?

I am a suburbanite. My Prius only went off-road once.

When my Prius was brand new, I upgraded the stock Yokohama tires and then I replaced with Michelins around 65,000 mi. There was still enough tread left but I didn't want to chance anything.

 

I grew in a rural area, four miles from the nearest pavement, and still visit dad there frequently. Though after acquiring this Prius, pavement from one direction has now reached to within 1.5 miles of his house. I also get a significant amount of distance on other gravel roads, except in winter when only the Subaru goes those places. But both flats were purely on solid pavement.

The first flat was discovered the first winter in the general Seattle metro region, during its pavement-only season. An unknown foreign object penetrated the tread and cut a tire cord, but remained air-tight ... for a while. Possibly for a couple months, during which I felt a slight imbalance but could not find anything materially wrong. Unfortunately the tread was bubbling slightly around the object and broken cord, and wearing off the outer surface, causing a gradually thinning spot. When it became thin enough to finally expel the foreign object, the air seal was broken (slow leak) and the TPMS lit up. Tire shops declared the thinned spot fatal to the tire.

The second flat occurred a month ago in the HOV lane (legal carpool, no special stickers here) of I-405 between Bellevue and Renton when a tire ate a large bolt, causing immediate air loss. With 45k miles on this tire set (car has 60k) and 4/32" of tread left, this set had previously been exiled to the drier season. Tire tech looked at the size of the hole and reduced tread and refused to repair. I promptly retired the rest of that set too and swapped on my younger wet-weather set.

 

[

That makes changing a flat easier, too.

I remember watching my mother attempting to change a tire along the NY State Thruway in the 60s, only to see the jack sink into the soft gravel shoulder. Someone stoppeed with a board and save the day.

The way you describe your flats, I don't think I would have hesitated to use the compressor and sealant.

I have had rather good success with just a can of Fix-a-Flat on multiple occasions, including one with a rather large bolt-- but obviously every situation is unique.

 

Must-have item to keep in the car: small square of plywood. Plus a pair of wheel chocks.

 

On the other hand, getting 56 mpg is sort of nice when we live 20-30 miles from most shopping.

The only problems with dirt roads were scrapes and doings on the lower portions (aka "Arizona racing stripes").ts

 

you hear a lot about lowering the prius, but, is raising it possible?

 

Raising is possible. There was a Prius show car mentioned that was actually raised.
The Crossover Toyota Prius-X You Never Knew You Wanted

 

if i had to deal with dirt/gravel roads, i would be all over it.

 

That looks like an excellent solution for Prius owners who live on dirt roads.

 

The guys at Tire Rack tell me they do not carry space saver wheels to fit 2010-2016 Prii Hatchbacks, or anything that fits the Prime in a space saver. Has anyone had luck determining a part number from them for the stock equivalent of such a beast? And if so, knowing that it fits the Prime and the lug nuts that come with the Prime's stock wheels?

 

#3 here would be the rim:

WHEELS for 2016 Toyota Prius | Toyota Parts

And from 2016 Prius Owner's Manual pdf, this'd be the spare spec:



And on TireRack, this'd be a good candidate:

Yokohama Y870C | T125/70D17

 

A spacesaver spare tire from a Gen 4 trim Two or Three should fit, assuming the Prime has 15" wheels. I think there is a thread in Gen 4 with some part numbers.

EDIT Mendel beat me to it.

 

That's exactly where I got one of my flats recently.