Tyre losing air

[RPM - Robert]

My new Toyota doesn't come with a spare... doesn't even come with a jack or lug wrench. Just a bottle of "emergency puncture repair" basically Slime and an air compressor. Had a nail and a flat at the other day. Went to pop the spare on and low and behold. There is no spare. Since the emergency puncture repair hooks into the air pump it is costly to replace. Around $75-100, which is a lot more than a plug kit. So now there is a plug kit in the back. I'm even think about just getting a jack and spare out of an older Toyota and toss them in the trunk well.

The sealant expires after a few years annnnddddddd you are also recommended to keep the vehicle under 50MPH, just like a normal donut tire anyways. Cheaper for the manufacturer = more of a PITA for the consumer.

[fj1289]

Buddy at work had a blow out in a rental car in the middle of nowhere a couple years ago.  No problem - put the spare on and call it in at the hotel.  Nope.  Can of slime and a compressor ... and a long wait for a service truck!

[Old Rider]

My car that is a 2010 model came without spare tire or jack not even a fix a flat can .it is delivered with runflat tires if i get a puncture i get a message
in dash telling me that there is low tirepressure and says drive straight to nearest dealer keep speed below 80 km/h .I had one puncture and since it was a
small nail i just  filled tire with
fix a flat and it has been good for 3 years
I use to change the summer/winter wheels myself and had to buy an adapter to put on my jack. without it the plastic jackingpoints get damaged 

[Domino]

I'm surprised that someone would sell a car without a jack in Norway. As Old Rider says, we all have to change our wheels twice a year and I believe most people still do this job themselves. I know I do, and I'll keep doing it for as long as I'm able to.

[Bones]

My wife and I were recently thinking about buying another new car but the main criteria was that it had to have a full size spare wheel. We like doing road trips on our holidays and because we live in Australia where vast distances can be traveled in the middle of nowhere with no phone coverage, a space saver spare or repair kit just wouldn't cut the mustard. That narrowed the field by a huge margin and can't understand why the manufacturers don't give some countries that option, it's definitely a deal breaker.

[ribbert]

My wife and I were recently thinking about buying another new car but the main criteria was that it had to have a full size spare wheel. We like doing road trips on our holidays and because we live in Australia where vast distances can be traveled in the middle of nowhere with no phone coverage, a space saver spare or repair kit just wouldn't cut the mustard. That narrowed the field by a huge margin and can't understand why the manufacturers don't give some countries that option, it's definitely a deal breaker.

Very true Tony, Australia is unique in that regard.




Australia's Autobahn, try getting roadside service out here.

Noel

[aviationfred]

My new Toyota doesn't come with a spare... doesn't even come with a jack or lug wrench. Just a bottle of "emergency puncture repair" basically Slime and an air compressor. Had a nail and a flat at the other day. Went to pop the spare on and low and behold. There is no spare. Since the emergency puncture repair hooks into the air pump it is costly to replace. Around $75-100, which is a lot more than a plug kit. So now there is a plug kit in the back. I'm even think about just getting a jack and spare out of an older Toyota and toss them in the trunk well.

The sealant expires after a few years annnnddddddd you are also recommended to keep the vehicle under 50MPH, just like a normal donut tire anyways. Cheaper for the manufacturer = more of a PITA for the consumer.

I will go out on a limb here......

I don't believe it has much to do about keeping the cost of the vehicle down.       My thoughts are..... fuel mileage. With a couple of States and the Federal Government mandating specific MPG minimums. It is all about weight. Dropping 20-40 pounds of weight by eliminating the spare tire, jack and tire iron helps to get better gas mileage.



Fred

[Millietant]

I'm with you Fred, but it's all about emissions - use less fuel, make less emissions. And lts not geared to real life driving. It's all geared to getting the best figures in Govt mandated approval/ratings tests - hence why these auto stop/start systems are turning up on every new car now. They're a pain in the proverbial when driving, but help to get better emissions test numbers in the lab approval trials !!

[RPM - Robert]

That could be Fred but I don't think the 20-30 lbs makes that much difference for minimum MPG especially since it is getting around 60 MPG as it sits. I would gladly take a useable spare and sacrifice a MPG or two.

[Flynt]

The sealant expires after a few years annnnddddddd you are also recommended to keep the vehicle under 50MPH, just like a normal donut tire anyways. Cheaper for the manufacturer = more of a PITA for the consumer.

annnndddddd the tire shop will charge you to remove the shit from the inside of your tire before they can repair it...  Audi has had this setup since mid 2000's and it sucks.  It has always worked for me however.  Tubeless bicycle tires have a similar stuff you run in the tires to repair on the fly if you do get a smaller puncture... nice technology.

I think folks like us that might replace their tire rather than call roadside assistance don't really drive the market.  At least the goo/pump method is something pretty much anybody could attempt without threat of damage or injury...  and it does appear to work pretty well.

I do think it's funny that, for the Audi models I own anyway, the goo and pump are housed in a big foam piece molded to fit in the spare tire well already designed into the cars... It would be easy to just junk that setup and put a donut spare in there.

Dumbing down of cars is one of the great tragedies of our lifetimes IMHO...  who even teaches their kids to check tire pressures anymore?  The robot will take care of us... 

Frank

[RPM - Robert]

I do think it's funny that, for the Audi models I own anyway, the goo and pump are housed in a big foam piece molded to fit in the spare tire well already designed into the cars... It would be easy to just junk that setup and put a donut spare in there.

Same on the Toyota. It's a big hunk of hard foam molded to the inside of the spare tire well.