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Yes, many new vehicles still come with a spare. My one year old CR-V has one.
I don't really get what the big deal is though. These days you are just as likely to get a flat tire as you are to have some other type of break down. In addition to a spare tire we should probably also carry things like a spare cvt transmission, spare computer, and a spare timing belt and head and valve train and gaskets to go with it..
For those who are afraid of getting stranded in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, I'd be willing to bet that if you were in a situation like that, you could still make it to anywhere you needed to go if you had to. A toasted rim isn't the end of the world.
Although a flat tire is very rare for many of us, a blown transmission in the middle of no where is more rare, as a snapped timing belt and the computer on the car shorting out 500 miles from home. Considering all the debris in the roads, items falling off trucks, pot holes, a flat tire is a much more likelihood than a mechanical breakdown.
Ive had 3 flat tires in 20yrs and the spare got me home, even though I was only 15 miles from home and 4 mechanical breakdowns which all required a tow truck, but where 5, 15 and 30 miles from home.
A flat tire in town and worst case, you can leave your car on the side on the expressway and come back, but you probably wont do that hundreds of miles from home with your family in the car and the car packed with all your stuff.
Even if you did have a spare and are 500 miles from home, atleast the donut cant take you 50-60miles to the nearest town with a a hotel and repair shop.
Ive had more issues with dodging blown truck tires that can tear up your car than sharp debris that can take out a tire
We drove 2400 miles to Colorado and back with no spare in August. Never worried about it.
People die once too but they buy life insurance. Flats are not that uncommon anyway. One is enough to ruin your life. I can switch out a flat under 10 minutes. Waiting for AAA is nice in theory but that's not an always an option. What is more likely to happen is to find out your spare is flat too. How often people check their spares? Often, they don't even know how to get it out or where it even is.
I don’t ever want to depend on AAA or cell phone, even though I have both.
What I can depend on is a full-size spare and my ability to change a tire. I also taught my daughter how to do this, and I’m astounded that there are grown men who don’t know how!
Good luck with that when you flat outside Monahans, TX and it's 110 degrees in the shade and there's no shade and no cell phone coverage either.
I am not a traveling gal. If I'm driving it's usually within 15 miles of home. Are there actually places where you don't have cell phone coverage in the USA outside of maybe Montana, Wyoming or Alaska?
I probably wouldn't want to take along trip without a spare, just for peace of mind. However, I replace my tires fairly conservatively, living in snow country I need to keep good tread for winter traction, and I can't say that I can remember the last time I had to swap tires myself for a flat. I have had a couple of slow leaks from punctures in the past 20 years, but I noticed them before flat and had those fixed at a service station.
I always travel with a spare (and I carry a can of fix-a-flat too, in my milkcrate which includes a wool cap, wool gloves, tow strap, jumper cables, can of de-icer, bottle of water, small fire extinguisher, two large plastic garbage sacks (to either lay on the ground or wear if need be), crescent wrench or locking pliers, flat screwdriver, pointed screwdriver, knife, wind up flashlight (and a regular flashlight with spare batteries in my wife's car), small first aid kid, two packs of chemical hand warmers, tire pressure gauge, and three days of emergency rations). I am thinking about adding a laser pointer to the kits too.
I forgot to add I also have a reflective space blanket in the milkcrate, along with a wool blanket draped over the rear seat. In the winter time when we go on a long trip, I toss in a sleeping bag too (rated to -20F from my climbing days).
Something else, for you AWD vehicle owners to consider. An AWD equipped vehicle needs all four tires to be the same size, within about 0.050", or so. A difference greater than that, will have the vehicle think that you're making a turn, constantly, and mess up either the differential on that axle, the center differential, or both.
And FWIW, this also applies to a rear drive car with a limited-slip differential.
I am not a traveling gal. If I'm driving it's usually within 15 miles of home. Are there actually places where you don't have cell phone coverage in the USA outside of maybe Montana, Wyoming or Alaska?
Yes, my house.
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