Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I had that happen on my Eclipse.
Tire got shredded real close to my house so I limped it home, got out my jack and tools and... nothing.
That sucker would not come off. Beat it with a big hammer, slow rolled it, nope.
I've done lots of wheels in my garage. 1st time that ever happened. Attempted roadside repair would've been a big waste of time.
Tire place got it off somehow.
If you can't change a tire then the problem lies elsewhere, not in having a spare.
If you can't change a tire then the problem lies elsewhere, not in having a spare.
I have swapped dozens of wheels without this ever happening.
I thought it was gonna be a piece of cake... remove wheel, take wheel and new tire to tire place, put wheel back on. Easy!
But no... the dang thing was stuck and just would not come off.
Everything was definitely undone. It had no lug nuts on it and no other fastener holding the wheel on.
So, it wouldn't have mattered if I had a spare. It wasn't getting changed by me.
Tire Guy obviously has more persuasive persuaders than I do.
Definitely a deal breaker for me.
Not even if it had one of those silly 'space-saver' spares.
There are plenty of situations that I can think where I really wouldn't want to be waiting who knows how long for road-side assistance.
When I'm out in the Aussie bush, I have 2 spare tyres & have had to use them both on more than one occasion.
But then again, if you never go past city limits & don't mind being dependent on others, why not?
Tire dependability has come a long ways since the tube-type tires of pre-60s. I've had a couple flats on 5th wheel campers over the past 15-20 years, but the last time I needed a spare on the vehicle was in 1970 -- 46+ years ago. That was at night (or at least in the dark of December) in rural Alaska.
I had a spare, of course, and have always carried a spare since then. I've needed fan belts, batteries, alternators, a clutch and a catalytic converter on the road since then but never a tire. An air pump and a can of sealer will likely be all you need on the road. If you need more, towing service is usually available on short notice via cell phone. I have emergency roadside service included with my car insurance. I call them, they take care of getting help to me.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,690 posts, read 57,994,855 times
Reputation: 46171
Quote:
Originally Posted by mmyk72
I'm looking for a new car and just test drove the Toyota Prius Prime Plug-in Hybrid. I'm not a Hybrid die-hard, but what enticed me is that there are fed & state tax incentives right now that makes this car very price competitive. It ends up just under $22K (+TTL) after the tax credits, similar to a plain old Compact but with all the bells and whistles and the benefits of low operating cost.
However, after I've gotten over the 'wow, I like it' factor, I realize it doesn't have a spare or donut - only has a tire repair kit. ... If there is no spare, I'd be in a bind to get the car towed to a shop that can fix it right then and there, probably for a lot more $$.
What do you guys think about cars that don't come with a spare - no big deal or absolutely deal-killer?
If you have a similar car (with no spare), what's your plan to handle emergency situations?
B....
Mount it on the grill or the top, like we did / do when x-country.
but... if you are a backcountry camper... don't take the Prius (Had to extract one from a NM campground using 2 trailers and transferring to a rollback for the 300 mile trip to Denver...) Took all day.
When camping take your 'Stealthrabbit' and park on a hill... 50 mpg since 1976 on free cooking oil and they BUMP start, no battery, no problem.... (Need a manual fuel valve or a 9V battery)
I cruise a lot of very lonely roads, BUT it have never had a flat tire on a lonely road
I don't know what is included with the Prius in the OP was asking about, but the inflator kits that came with the vehicles I own are a 12 volt air compressor that plugs into the lighter and a built in can of sealant that gets injected through the compressor as you toggle the switch. You aren't plugging tires on the side of the road. It takes a couple of minutes, and doesn't require a jack, lug wrench or any such thing.
I'm personally not a big fan of using tire sealants on my vehicles.
They are great at getting you off the road, but after that, they tend to be a PITA. A lot of shops balk at repairing a sealed tire, and suggest total replacement of the tire. They also have some potential to damage TPMS sensors, and the chemicals in them can damage the finishes on some nicer wheels. I just rather not take a risk.
Maybe on my wife's accord, with 16" wheels where tires are cheap, I'd probably be ok with a sealant. But the tires on my car are ~$300 each, and practically new, so if I got a nail in the tire, I'd rather put a spare on and have the tire repaired, vs seal it and potentially have to buy a new tire if I can't find a shop willing to scrape all the goo off.
My wife couldn't manage doing any of this anyway, so for her I just told her to use AAA and get the car home and i'll take care of it.
BTW, with all this said, in 15 years of driving, only once have I ever needed to change a flat on the side of the road. Most slow leaks I caught in time before they went flat and could repair, and the one time I had a failure on the road, I knew the tire was suspect and had intentions of replacement within a week. I'm pretty diligent with tire maintainance and inspection, as I realize they are pretty important with regards to safety, so I tend to catch nails and slices and such that could cause an issue. I still just personally prefer a spare tire, but I wouldn't hesitate to call AAA and let them deal with it depending on circumstances.
OP here... after scouring other forums specific to the Prius Prime, I learned that the sealant may indeed mess up the TPM sensor, requiring a $200 reset. Also, replacing the bottle of goo is $100. That means I'd be already out of pocket $300 - before having the tire repaired/replaced - in cases where I can't summon towing services or if I need to continue driving after a flat.
I still really like the car, so it seems I may have to seriously consider putting a spare in the passenger/truck space (I'll be too lazy to haul it out and put it back in just for longer trips).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
